Hereandthereclaire.com

Saturday 

We all get up reasonably early after a good nights sleep.

It’s pretty dry and sunny when I get up so I head to the pool while everyone is still asleep. I managed to do 10 lengths, which is pretty good for me! It’s a big pool. 

I go back to the room and Rebecca, Chris and I all have some breakfast, then Chris goes to the on-site Gym while Rebecca and I go back for some relaxing by the pool.

The pool is so beautiful and peaceful, surrounded by lush vegetation which attracts lots of wonderful birds, butterflies, dragonflies and lizards. It’s just gorgeous especially as I’m just chilling with my Rebecca 😍

Chris joins us at the pool for a while then we decide to walk to get lunch, check out the beach properly.

On the way we pass a lovely looking Beach Resort called ‘Carpe Diem’ which is doing a Bottomless Bloody Mary Sunday! OMG😁 We book it for tomorrow! 

We walk through the little road of shops and then come onto the beach. 

Wow, it’s so different when the sun is out! 

We find a cool little beach bar and settle down for some lunch and beers! 

Then we have a stroll up the beach and spy on a wedding taking place 🎉

Have a Cocktail or 2! Pina Colada’s on the beach, perfect! 

By now it’s getting towards evening, so rather than walk back to the apartment, then come back out we decide to chill at the beach and watch the sunset. 

It’s absolutely gorgeous. 

We walk back after this, with a brief stop at a tailors shop where Chris ordered a Suit and 2 shirts!!  He had all his measurements taken and needs to go back on Monday for a first fitting. The price is so good for a bespoke suit!  

We have a little night cap then we are all knackered so it’s an early night! 

An amazing and beautiful day. 

Sunday

Up again earlyish for a nice swim, and early breakfast as we are booked for ‘Bottomless Bloody Mary’s’ at 12.30. 

The Beach Club is only a short walk away and again the weather is gorgeous. 

The Beach Club is so fabulous, Very fancy! 

The Bloody Mary Station is epic! The last time I was at a Bloody Mary Station was with Anne, Mandy & Steph and it set the tone for the whole day…..Fun & Messy! 😂

This was pretty much the same!  

We ordered Lunch Nibbles, delicious 😋 

Then we spotted someone drinking Rose Wine, asked for the wine list and they had ‘Whispering Angel’ it’s one of my absolute favourites!

By now the Bloody Mary’s have kicked in so of course we order a bottle!! 

It’s was totally yummy! 

It looked for a while as if there was going to be a storm, the sky was looking awesome, luckily for us it blew past. 

We ended up staying at the Bea h Club for Dinner and more drinks.

It was a fantastic. 

Then when we got home we all had a lovely cool down in the pool. 

We were a little tiddled!! 🤭🤪😍😂

I had the best day. 

Monday

Mmmm nobody is feeling particularly bright & breezy this morning!! 🤕🥴 After very little to drink for the last 4 weeks a boozy day has floored me! The weather is also not very good, torrential rain. 

We chill at the apartment in the morning then grab a cab and head to Boat Avenue, a little complex with shops, restaurants, supermarkets etc.  On the way we drive through the town, which looks good. 

Unfortunately Boat Avenue, whilst being great it’s is also very upmarket, not many traditional Thai eateries. It’s really too wet to walk to the town, so we had lunch in a very lovely French Restaurant, which also does great Thai food. 

We then grab some bits from the supermarket (including umbrellas ☂) jump in a taxi and head home. 

Chris has to go back to the Tailors today for his first fitting, I think he’s quite nervous about what sort of quality it’s going to be. 

Well, what can I say, the suit is bloody gorgeous! The shirts fit perfectly, it’s fabulous! 

Chris is very tall so struggles to get shirts, suits to fit him well so this is really great. He looks very handsome. In fact he’s so impressed he orders another shirt! 

As it’s now stopped raining we walk down onto the beach for some food, it’s so quiet, a few bars are closed but we find one open and have some food and Beer for Chris & Rebecca, I have a Lemon Iced Tea! 😁 

We walk back and jump in the pool again, it’s fun at night watching all the bats swooping down to the water. 

A really fantastic few days.

Lots of love, fun & laughter. 

Thursday 

So today is the last day here in Chiang Mai. I’ve had an absolutely fantastic time here. I really love this little City. I am confident I will return. 

Today is also only 1 more sleep,till I see my Rebecca & Chris!! So excited.

I’m going to spend today doing washing, packing, sorting and chilling!

On my way to return a Book to the fabulous ‘Lost Book Shop’ I bumped into Matt, the chap from the hotel. It seems that he is also now leaving tomorrow, only for a month to do a project in Hong Kong. We arrange to meet early evening for a catch up.

I get all my washing done, books returned, packing finished then head to the pool. The Hotel is definitely getting busier and it’s now difficult to find a spot by the pool, in the shade to chill 😬 How bloody rude! 😂

I manage to find a sun bed as someone leaves….phew and just chill with my book.

Obviously I’m going to go to Kats Kitchen for my last Dinner! 

I’m going to miss this lovely little place! 

I have a Pad Thai as my last meal, No Rice! (Nikki & Jenna 😳) it was, as always delicious! 

When I get back to the hotel Matt & his beautiful Girlfriend, Emma come over and we head out for a Drink. Emma is stunning, English and a student here in Chiang Mai, her & Matt have not been together very long. We have a lovely beer & a chat together then they ask if I’d like another Beer, but as much as I loved their company I think they need to have Matts last night in Chiang Mai alone, without a random tag along! It was extremely kind and thoughtful of them to invite me. 

I head back to the hotel for my last night. 

Roll on tomorrow and reunion’s!!! ❤️❤️

Friday

OMG! It’s today, I’m so bloody excited! Didn’t sleep well, but that’s OK!

The lovely Pok, organises a Songthaew for me to the airport and off I go! 

As usual I early 😍 so have to wait for 30 mins before I can check in. Check in is an absolute breeze, I’m 2kg over my weight allowance but nobody cares! 

Rebecca & Chris have messaged to,say they have arrived in Phucket!! 😍

The flight is on time, boarding is easy. Unfortunately I’m in the middle seat, I hate the middle seat, but it’s only for 2 hrs.

And then we are here!! I tell,you how excited I am! Excited and emotional! 

Luckily the luggage comes through in record time, I grab my case them I’m practically running towards the exit and there they are! I start crying as soon as I see them, then I’m hugging my best most beautiful big girl and crying my eyes out. 

3 years is far too long! I’ve missed my Girl, I’ve missed Chris. It’s just so incredibly fabulous to be together! 

After lots of hugging, lots of crying we grab a taxi and head to our Airbnb in Bang Tao Beach. 

The journey is just a big full on catch up! 

Our driver isn’t really sure where we are going so Chris has to put it in his SatNav! 

We arrive and it is gorgeous! The apartment is fab, and the complex is stunning, a massive pool surrounded by tropical greenery! 

We do a little bit of exploring p, a bit of unpacking then go out to find food and orientate ourselves. 

Everything is closer than it looked, the beach, the bars, shops etc. 

unfortunately the weather isn’t the best, rainy.

We grab a beer and some nibbles by the beach then jump,in a taxi to go to the supermarket. We need to stock up with essentials. 

The supermarket is a fancy one with lots of imported stuff and is expensive (relatively) 

Our Taxi is going to wait for us, thank god as the heavens open while we are inside, torrential rain, thunder & lightning! The ride back is a little soggy! 

We unpack the food then when the rain stops we go back out for some dinner. 

We end up eating in the restaurant right next door to the hotel I’ve booked for next week! We chat to the guy and he says he’ll do a deal on price, so looks like I can cancel my Booking.com and go directly and save £60! Result! 

Dinner was lovely, surrounded by all the neighbourhood cats!! 

Just such a pleasure to be sitting together sharing love & laughter! ❤️

We walk back home, listening to the millions of frogs, have a sneaky JD nightcap then it’s off to bed. It’s been an emotional, but wonderful day! 

Tuesday

For some reason I’m feeling very tired this week!

I had a pleasant morning, catching up with emails, writing my blog and generally just doing very little! 

After yesterdays epic storm the sun is shining today and it’s Hot 🥵

I’ve decided to walk back to the Thai Trouser place today as I’m pretty sure they’ll be open. It’s not far but a bit harder work in the blazing sun, I walk a very wiggly route trying to stay under the awnings and in the shade 😀 

Luckily the shop is open and my purchases are made and I walk back a slightly different way and stop for a cold drink. 

I’ve seen,lots of people drinking and ordering Thai Tea (iced) so I decide to give it a go. It is delicious, but really sweet, apparently it’s made with strong black tea, milk, condensed milk & sugar! 😀

I think the Thai people have a very sweet tooth! Might account for all the Dental Clinics everywhere 😂

I spent the afternoon chilling at the pool. The hotel is getting busier p, which is fantastic for them, but I’m a little out out that so many people are now in my bloody swimming pool!! 😂😂(just kidding….I think 🤔😁)

My Thai Tea has kept me going all day, but by 6.30 I’m hungry, so,go,out early for my dinner, I go back to ‘Hummus’ for a falafel and some tomato salad! So good.  

We really need a good Falafel place in Newquay!! Nikki? Jenna?

I’m pretty tired so I have an early night. 

Wednesday 

Today I’m going to do a Thai Cooking Class! 

I’m doing a half day course in the morning.

I get picked up at the hotel at 8.45, our group has a French guy and his son, and 3 lovely Spanish ladies who are at my hotel. 

Our first stop is the local fresh food market, which I’ve walked past but not investigated. Our guide/teacher, Kat, explains all of the various key ingredients in Thai cooking. Things like: Fish Sauce, palm sugar, oyster sauce, garlic, tamarind sauce, tofu, turmeric, chillies. 

Vegetarians can swap out the fish sauce for Soy Sauce and the Oyster Sauce for Mushroom Sauce. 

They also use certain things as flavour but don’t eat, like Lemongrass, Thai Ginger (galangal), Kaffier Lime leaves.

There are so many amazing vegetables and food stuffs at the market it’s fascinating. 

We get to cook 5 dishes! I choose. Pad Thai, Coconut Soup, Penang Curry and we all do Spring Rolls. The 5th item is the curry paste. 

After looking round the market we walk to the cooking school. 

They have a lush little herb garden and Kat explains what herbs are which, the difference between Kaffir limes and limes, Kaffier Limes are used to add sourness. The 3 different sorts of basil, some which is hot and used in stir fry’s and sweet basil used in curry paste 

We start the lesson with a Thai welcome snack, called Meang Kum. 

This consists of a Betal Leaf which you use to hold everything. In the leaf you place very small chopped pieces of, Lime with the rind (the rind adds a bitter note) Birds eye chilli (add as much or as little as you want) sliced shallots, sliced ginger, roasted peanuts, toasted coconut and palm sugar syrup. 

Once you’ve put a small amount of everything in the leaf you wrap it up and eat the whole thing at once. If you chew slowly it releases all the different flavours! It was amazing! 

If you can’t get Betal leaves you can use cabbage, or large spinach leaves.

After this delicious snack it was cooking time. We started with Pad Thai, some people chose different stir fry’s; Pad Se Uw, Cashew with Chicken. 

We had all the ingredients laid out we just had to chop and prepare. 

I feel like I could go full on and describe every detail, but feel that would make this blog very, very long, so I’ll try and cover the highlights! 

The Paid Thai was surprisingly quick & easy to make! Once you have your ingredients ready it’s just a quick cook in the wok! 

I think to do Thai cooking properly you need a really good wok, steel, metal, no non stick stuff! and learn to control the heat! 

My Pad Thai was soo good! We all stopped to eat and try the others food. And drink some much needed water! It’s hot wok!

Then Kat said we would be cooking everything else, and eating it at the end. 

First we needed to make the insides of the Spring Rolls, it’s made in 1 batch and I was nominated to make it! 😍 

Next we made our various soups. Pretty simple, but yummy!

Then it was in to the Curry Paste. There are 3 base pastes, red, green & Masamam things are added.

The Penang Paste is a red curry base then you add peanuts. 

Khao Soi is a red curry paste with curry powder added.

We had to chop all of the ingredients very small then grind it down in a pestle & mortar, this we did in pairs, thank god as it’s bloody hard work! Once the paste was right my partner, Blanca & I added the peanuts for the Penang.

Then it was a case of cooking our Curry’s. Once again it’s actually very simple once you have your ingredients! 

My Penang was absolutely bloody amazing! 😍 

We then fried our spring rolls and sat down to eat. 

I had an absolutely fantastic time, everything about the morning was amazing. 

We also got to keep a recipe and cookbook. So I’ll be making Thai food alot on my return! 

The Spanish ladies; Blanca, Helena, Natalia and I all walked home and then being full and hot, just lazed by the pool all afternoon. Bliss. ❤️

One other particularly helpful thing to come out of the morning. Was a chat I had with the Spanish ladies, they said they were leaving Chiang Mai on the 30th July, so I said ‘oh Sunday’ and they were like ‘No, Saturday’ and I’m thinking, but I leave on the 29th which is Saturday. Well actually Claire, it’s not! You leave on Friday!! 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ 

I had really got it in my head that I left on Saturday, I’m pretty sure (😬) I would have figured it out in time! 

I told all of this to Rebecca, thank god, because she had also got her timings wrong and thought they were leaving after work on Friday but it’s actually after work on Thursday!! 

Jesus! What a pair of numptys we are. We are both usually more organised and on the ball than this!! Honest. 

Still it’s all sorted now! 

So tomorrow is my last day in Chiang Mai. 

Which means it’s only 1 more sleep until I see my Beautiful Rebecca!! That’s just too exciting. 

I’m going to post this blog now, and probably won’t post again for a few days. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

I’m going to have the best one!! Reunited ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Sunday

I woke up to a beautiful sunny day! I think the torrential rain over the last few days has stopped for a few days 🤞 

It feels hot but slightly less humid, which is nice. 

I decided to walk back to a shop I’d seen and been into on my excursion to find Passport Photos, I need to buy some more of the fab Thai Trousers for the lovely Hayley, as per her order 😍 Unfortunately when I got there the shop was closed, possibly as it’s Sunday, which I’d forgotten! 🤦‍♀️ 

I continued my walk down some different roads and ended up at Warorot Market. As it was dry and sunny I had a walk around the shops etc outside and then decided to venture in, but avoid the Meat section. 

It’s a bit of a labyrinth inside, lots of different stalls selling lots of interesting stuff. I really wanted to take lots of pics, but some people told me no photos, so decided to not bother, rather than upset people. 

The market really is a local hub, and very busy every day. It was the centre of trade in the past where everything was bought & sold. It still has that kind of vibe. I’d love to go with a local to find out what everything is, spices, vegetables, dried stuff, stuff in jars. 

I continued my walk and saw an interesting looking alley/road so decided to go down as it would take me in the direction I needed to go. 

I think the road was where quite a few small warehouses and workshops were situated, not all of which were open, it wasn’t actually the best place to be, a little rundown and quiet 😳 it was also a bloody dead end! So I had to walk back up again. 

I walked through some more pleasant areas and stopped at a popular little place called ‘The Hideout’ I think it’s in an area with lots of hostels as there were loads of young backpackers in there. It was great, I had the most delicious slice of banana bread, toasted with butter 😋and a fruit smoothie. This gave me the energy required to walk the rest of the way home. As I was nearing home I was thinking that my feet were sore today, then I thought I can go get a foot massage! So I did……Bliss ☺️☺️ 

I went back to a restaurant I visited a few weeks ago, ‘Dash’ I fancied the walk and the food was good. 

The restaurant is popular and busy, it’s run by a guy called Dash, who is from London, with a strong London accent! He’s very nice, very helpful and accommodating. I asked if I could take his photo as I’m writing a travel blog, he was happy for me to do this. I had a really good meal, chicken fried rice with curry, which isn’t on the menu 😄, bless them, and some yummy spring rolls.  Dash has said that they have music on a Tuesday & Friday evening and he’d love for me to come back, which I think I will! 😍

Although it was still early, 7pm I walked home and read then got an early night. 😴

Monday

I had a proper lazy morning, sitting outside my room, writing, reading the news, checking my still weird FB, drinking tea and eating lovely Thai Biscuits! 

I also got chatting to another guest, Matt, who I have seen coming and going, well to be more accurate just going, in the mornings! He’s been here since I arrived. 

Well it turns out he is currently living at the hotel whilst working here in Chiang Mai as a Physicist! Impressive. He was living and working in China, which is where a lot of physicists work (who knew 💁‍♀️) but had to leave because of covid. 

My lovely Pal here, David, is leaving first thing tomorrow, he’s been a great person to chat with. I got a picture of him in the pool! 

He is hoping to get a permanent place here working in conjunction with the University, then he’ll find an apartment. He was really lovely. 

I’ve decided to try somewhere different for lunch today it’s a little Place nearby which sells cheese, cold meats etc, has some good reviews and it will be something different.

‘The Happy Frog’ is a short walk from the hotel and looks very nice. 

I go in and peruse the menu, which is massive (which I find difficult, too much choice 😳😐) I settle on a smocked chicken and salad baguette with extra Edam (I’ve had no cheese for 5 weeks! 😥) 

I waited ages to make my order then ages for it to arrive, it arrived and was totally the wrong thing, mine then arrived 10 mins later minus the Cheese! Cheese then came separately, by now I was starving, so I slung the cheese in the baguette and wolfed it down! 

It was tasty but shortly afterwards I needed the Loo! 😳 I feel I might have acquired an intolerance to bread and cheese! WTAF 🙀 I guess as I’ve been eating a diet of mainly Thai food with the odd Falafel thrown in, very little dairy and certainly no cheese. Interesting! 

After my not brilliant lunch I walked back and spent a long while swimming in the pool, the hotel was lovely and quiet. 

Then the clouds started to gather and we had the most amazing Thunder Storm, not much rain but huge thunder claps right above and rumbling constantly, it was fantastic, I just sat outside listening and watching. Awesome. 

Tonight I walked back down to the Night Bazaar to collect my Mauy Thai Shorts! Very impressed. 😍 this meant another walk down ‘Saddo Road’ as I’m now calling it, still full of big, old, white, sad men. 

I called at Kats for dinner and they were slammed! They saw me waiting in the queue and the next thing I know Is a little table is bought from somewhere, with a little blue stool and popped outside the motorcycle shop next door, and I’m led out of the queue to it! Yeah! Im now a VIP! 🥰 to be fair, it was like sitting at the ‘Naughty Table’ like Billy No Mates 😂 but I got my dinner and was very happy! 

That’s it’s for now guys.

Have a great week. 

Enjoy the Summer Break.

Stay Fabulous. 

Friday

The weather today started badly! Lots of heavy rain. 

I started my day with tea, a banana and some more crackers, whilst writing and uploading my blog. It was nice sitting at the table undercover listening to the rain, which had eased off a little. 

I left the hotel to return a book to the fabulous “Lost Book Shop of Chiang Mai” which is just around the corner, I’ve mentioned it before. 

Todays visit was calm & peaceful, I spent ages perusing the shelves, looking at the huge reference books and generally having a lovely mooch. Eventually I chose a book: ‘Redemption’ by John Hart, I’ve just read another one of his; ‘The Last Child” which I really enjoyed. 

It was still raining but very gently so I went for a little walk, down some little side streets and ended up back in the road which has lots of laundry places, today it smelt amazing, but different, almost like a sweet liquorice/aniseed scent it was really nice! I also spotted a tiny little frog, I’ll post a picture, it’s pretty hard to see but so cute about the size of a sugar cube! 😍 I’m not sure what the people going past thought as it looked like I was taking a close up picture of the pavement! 😃

I came across a Temple that I hadn’t seen before, it was lovely and so peaceful with a beautiful cockerel wandering around. 

There are over 300 Temples in Chiang Mai so it’s fair to say I’m not going to visit them all. 😃

The temple is opposite a Cafe/Bar called “Annie’s”, which apparently does a mean Sunday Roast! Gareth who I met early had been and said it was awesome. It would be a fabulous treat if you were British and living here!  

I’m sure it wouldn’t be as good as Tish’s’ ‘Big Bastard’ or Marsha Minxys epic Roast Potatoes!! ❤️

The rain started to get heavy again so I wandered back and stopped at ‘Stories’ for a smoothie and scrambled egg on toast. 😋 

Then an afternoon of swimming, reading, laying in the sun (between clouds) 

Tonight I am heading to the Night Bazaar, I’m surprised I haven’t been before tbh! I need to visit a shop there which sells a great selection of Mauy Thai Gear, I’ve promised to get Grantley some authentic shorts  from Thailand. 

The road leading down to the Bazaar is the same one I walked down last week to get to the river, then it was very quiet, tonight it’s a different story.

This is clearly where all the bars and clubs are, there are also lots of massage places and some restaurants. It’s still pretty early, 7.30 so it’s not mad busy but definitely a very different vibe to the daytime. 

I found my shop, made my purchase, had a look around the stalls, food halls and then thought I’d walk back and maybe stop in one of the bars for a beer. 

I didn’t stop for a beer as pretty much every bar just had single, old white guys sitting with beautiful Thai girls, it didn’t feel like somewhere I’d like to go or where I’d feel comfortable, the Thai people calling me in were all very friendly but the guys just give me the creeps! 

This side of things I haven’t seen a lot of, probably because I’m not seeking it out and I’m in bed by 10pm! But it’s a side I find distasteful, exploitative and grubby, just like the men! 

I walked back to Kats Kitchen for some much needed dinner. 

Kats was very busy tonight, so no small tables, they gave me a table for 4 and a bit later came and asked if they could seat another single woman with me? I was happy that they’d asked and was more than happy to share the table. Carissa was a lovely American Lady visiting Chiang Mai on her own, like me. She was a wonderful dinner companion, really lovely and interesting to talk to. She is in the US Military and works as an engineer, this has enabled her to travel extensively to many different and interesting places. 

We enjoyed our dinner and chat sitting listening to the thunderous downpour outside! 

The rain was extremely heavy turning the roads/paths into rivers! 

I made it back to the hotel, grateful for my pink plastic rain Mac!

Saturday 

Today has been a pretty chilled day, some wandering, some reading, some swimming and some chilling! 

The hotel seems to pick up a fair bit over the weekends, so lots of new faces, some will smile and chat, some won’t, preferring to keep to themselves, fair enough. 

A few people that come to stay have arrived from other hotels in Chiang Mai which they weren’t happy with, and are so pleased to find ‘Somwang Boutique Hotel’ 😍 The pool is a big hit! 

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned before about the terrifying site that is the electrical/telecommunications cables! 

There are so many of them, so many connections, so many wires, bits dangling down! It’s a bloody miracle that everything works and that more people don’t die!! They fascinate me every time I’m out! 

I decided that this evening I’d head down to the ‘Walking Street’ at the other end of town. I went there when I first arrived so I feel another visit is in order! 

I made the big mistake of leaving the hotel for the first time without my Plastic rain Mac 😳 To be fair, when I left it was bright sunshine, however by the time I got to the Walking Street ominous dark clouds were gathering.

I had a wander, bought a couple of items, then popped into a lovely Bar/Hotel I’d been to before. I ordered a ‘Cuba Libre’ (fancy name for Rum & Coke!) The couple next to me asked if I was on my own and would I like to join them, sweet. 

They were a lovely Kiwi couple on a tour of Thailand, they live on North Island over near New Plymouth. Three of their Nephews play for the All Blacks 😍 The Barrett Brothers! How fantastic is that! I really should have got their contact details, to go visit next time I’m in New Zealand and perhaps their Nephews and friends might be visiting at the same time!!👍😍😂

While we were chatting the heavens opened to a torrential downpour, with winds, thunder, lightning ⚡️ It was incredible, suddenly everyone was rushing into the Bar, the chairs were being bought in, doors and windows closed, plants and tables were getting blown over it was Mad! 

The storm lasted around 20 minutes or so, then petered out to fine rain. The Kiwi couple left and I ordered another drink, when they bought my drink over, which looked massive they said as I’d had to wait so long, 8mins! I got a free shot! The drink was very strong 😳, but no, this didn’t include the extra shot which they bought over separately! OMG 😜 I feel this is going to go to my head big time, as I haven’t been drinking for a week, but you know it would be rude to leave it so I soldiered on 😂 

I had to buy myself a new Plastic Mac and they only had Lime Green, not my colour but needs must! 

By the time I left, feeling only a little squiffy the rain had stopped so I decided to walk back. Although it’s dark the streets are busy, lots of people, Tuk tuks, cars. The bars and Cafes are all open so it’s quite safe. I was hungry now, so stopped at my favourite, Kats! 

It was fun watching the little kitten there, catch and play with a huge cockroach 🪳(the customer reactions were the best 😂)

I’ve only seen about 3 of these 🪳on my entire trip, so pretty good going really! 

Then home to bed! 

Wednesday 

I woke up this morning definitely feeling better, not perfect, but better.

I had a banana and some crackers for breakfast keeping it nice and bland. 

Some of things I needed to do over the last few days have obviously been put on hold so I figured that today I could make a start on at least 1 of them. 

I have to organise a Visa extension, not a difficult process and I was originally going to do it in Phuket, but figure I have the time now so why not get it done.

I’ve found out where the immigration office is, found out what I need, the lovely Sing has printed a few items for me, I now need to get some passport photos. I’ve found a little place locally that does them, so that’s what I’m going to do this morning.

The place I need is around a 20 min walk from the hotel, but seeing as this is my first time out & about & therefore away from a toilet 😳 I figure I’ll grab a Songthaew (red taxi). 

There is a guy with a Songthaew who sits at the end of the road, he’s always asking if I need him so today was his lucky day! I showed him a screen shot of the map route (in Thai and English) and the shop front, with the name in Thai. I explained that it was a photo not a GPS map, I asked if he knew where it was he said yes, so off we went. 

Turns out he actually had no idea where we were going, he stopped and asked 2 people, I pointed out where I thought it was on the 2 times we drove past it!! He ignored me. 😠 He drove around the whole area, then started heading back to where we started from, but then went in a completely different direction, I said this is not the right way, he said he was trying something (yes he was trying, trying my fucking patience! 😤) The next thing is he’s dropping me back where we started! 

I was pissed off. I gave him 20baht he laughed, I said well, you didn’t take me where I’d asked, gave him another 20baht a withering look, got out, slammed the door! I walked back to my hotel then burst into tears! 

I’m putting this little episode down to low blood sugar after nearly 3 days of very little food, tiredness and low bullshit tolerance. 

After my mini meltdown, I got my shit together, literally and figuratively and decided I was getting these Damm photos one way or another (I know some of you are now singing Blondi! 😂)

The walk did take around 20 mins and the shop was exactly where I’d said! 

The shop doesn’t have a photo booth, it’s a very old shop, staffed by a nice older gentleman who took me up 3 flights of rickety stairs to the studio, which consisted of a large dark room with a chair at the end surrounded by lights and a camera stand, very old school and a little serial killerish! 

Suffice to say, all was well and the gentleman managed to take the single most hideous picture of me ever! 😳

My mission finally completed, I walked back to the hotel for more bananas and crackers, Yeah! 😕 I have an evening trip booked for later, so don’t want to risk being ill again. 

My trip today is to 2 Temples:

Wat Umong Suan Phutthatham

This temple is over 700 years old and has some interesting tunnels. It is also a centre for Meditation 🧘‍♀️ 

The site is lovely and quiet in the early evening, just the sounds of birds and the Cicadas, which are very loud! 

We saw a couple of cute little bats in one of the tunnels. 

It was extremely humid and as it was early evening a lot of mossies! I was all sprayed up and covered so was ok, but my ‘skin so soft’ spray was a welcome relief to some of the other guys! 

I really enjoyed the peaceful feeling at this temple. From here we headed up through the jungle to our next temple:

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep

This temple is set in the jungle high above Chiang Mai, at an elevation of 1,037 meters.

The road up is very steep and winding and it was amazing and impressive to see so many people running or cycling up! 😳 

There is also a walking route through the jungle called ‘The Monks Trail’ which David, a guy from the hotel took, it takes nearly 3hrs and he said it was pretty hard going, the path was not always clear and was very slippery! Suffice to say this is not getting added to my itinerary! 😂

The Temple was first established in 1383 and has been expanded and added to over the years. It is an extremely sacred place to many Thai people. 

From the car park there are 309/366 steps to reach the temple the steps and the Temple are guarded by a huge Naga (half human half cobra)

Luckily for me there is also a very handy cable car to the Temple! (Phew! 🥵) 

It’s actually nice and cool up this high, with a lovely cool breeze. 

The temple is stunning and again really quiet with hardly any visitors, just us and some monks. 

Lots of Gold and flowers and just a very beautiful place. 

Then we walked out onto the viewing platform and Wow! The views of Chiang Mai are breathtaking. We were so lucky that it was not wet and cloudy so our view was incredible! 

It was wonderful to be able to soak in the views in almost silence. 

There is something magical about viewing a city from above at night. 

The only downside was that we had missed the last cable car back down! This meant walking down the 366 steps! I took it slowly and held onto the Naga’s scales all the way down, It was all good, a slight head swimmy moment half way down but apart from that OK. 

I loved this short tour and how peaceful it felt. Just what I needed. 😍

I got them to drop me off at Kats Kitchen where I had a very welcome portion of Mango Sticky Rice!! Yummy. 

When I got back I had a lovely chat to the beautiful & wonderful Jenna, then it was bed time. 

Thursday

I have decided that today is the day for me to go and sort out my visa extension. I’d read in a blog that it’s a good idea to head over in the afternoon, as this may cut down the wait. So with this is mind I grab a Songthaew, armed with all the relevant paper work, photocopies, photos and my passport, and off I go.

The immigration office isn’t far away and I arrived just as they reopened at 1pm. I get given my first queue ticket and pointed towards an area outside, this is where I fill in my TM7 form, get all my paperwork checked before being allowed into the building. 

The form isn’t that difficult, but more tricky than it looks! I wait my turn to speak to one of the lovely helpers. He explains a few issues I have with the form checks my paperwork and then let’s me know that I need another form, T30, which I don’t have, but can get from the office just behind him, which is where I also have to have more photocopies made of more forms. After I’ve done this, I go back and get everything rechecked, I need 1 more photocopy, back I go, back I come, recheck and finally it appears I have everything I need! 

Now I’m allowed to enter the building! I get given another queue ticket, O169, they are currently on O090, it’s 2pm. By 3pm we are on O130, by 3.30, it’s O133!  There are lots of people here, there are monks, young people, elderly people, tourists, families with small children but everyone is being very patient and chilled. I find a place to buy some water, a spot outside by a fan and a view of the board and just settle down, read my book have a nice chat to John, an American guy over here teaching English, it’s his first time outside of the USA and he is loving it. 

The queue goes down little by little but by 4pm we are still only on O144 then at 4.15 the numbers just start going up rapidly, it’s actually quite exciting! 

My number finally comes up at 4.30, I go in handover my paperwork, pay my money, then sit back down to wait some more! At 4.50pm my name is called I’m handed my passport, my paperwork and my extended visa!! Yeah 😍

It was actually not an unpleasant experience, everyone was very helpful, and now I don’t have to worry about it anymore!

I head back to town, jump in the pool to cool off then go,straight out for dinner, as I’m starving! 

I go back to Hummus for a delicious Falafel and some Dolma (similar to dolmades) served with really good savoury yogurt stuff! 

I ordered way more than I could eat so bought the leftovers back for snacks tomorrow.

When I got back to the hotel I got chatting to a lovely English couple Nathan & Emma, we sat for a while just talking, they are leaving tomorrow, early to head to Krabi. 

Then I was off to bed.

It’s been an interesting week. 

Have a great weekend everyone, stay cool, stay safe.

Saturday 

Having visited the museum yesterday I realised that I’ve yet to walk down by the river properly, I’d seen it in my visit to the flower market but that’s it.

The river here in Chiang Mai is called ‘Ping’ it’s quite a large river. I decided to walk down to it and then along the shore, if possible.

My walk took my down a busy road towards the river, this road had lots of large hotels on and is also the road that leads to the Night Bazaar (which I haven’t been to yet!) 

It’s interesting to see how many of the cafes, bars, hotels and shops are closed, possibly for good. Thailand and its economy were hammered by COVID as they rely so much on tourism. Hopefully these businesses will open again as things get busier. 

I arrived at the River and the Iron Bridge, a large iron structure built to replace the Nawarat Bridge, there have been 3 bridges on this site the first built of Teak and this last Iron Bridge built in 1970 the bridge connects the east & west banks of Chiang Mai. 

There were very few people about which is quite pleasant. I spent a while on the bridge watching some children fishing on the bank and a Catfish hanging in the current waiting for food! 

I continued on my way past the first Christian Church in Chiang Mai, I’d seen the pictures of the Bridge and the Church in the museum yesterday. The other side of the river was nice and shady, which was a relief as it’s very sunny today. 

I crossed back over on a small foot bridge which bought me directly into the Warorot Market, the market is on daily and is the biggest and best known in the North of Thailand. It’s a really busy area and the market sells everything! I’d walked through it on my quest for flowers 10 days ago. 

Today I kind of skirted round the market, not wanting to accidentally come across the meat stalls again! 

I continued on my walk and eventually got back to the Thapae Gate area, but this point I’d been walking for approx 2.5hrs! (It’s 33 degrees!)

I decided to go to the hotel and get in the pool! Lush.

I chilled at the hotel, went to Kats for dinner, read my book, went to bed!! 

Sunday

My thoughts for today were to have a chilled day then visit the Sunday Walking Street later.

With this in mind I decided just to visit a local Art Gallery which wasn’t to far away. 

I stopped on the way at the second hand book shop, it’s a great book shop! Unfortunately today’s experience was completely ruined by a very loud, very opinionated, very arrogant British Ex Copper, who was regaling some poor Dutch guy with his plethora of opinions, how wonderful he is, how wonderful his life is, why everyone should live in Thailand, how cheap it is, how he likes to fly business class, how his motor home in the uk is worth more than an Aston Martin, how much his home is worth, on and fucking on without drawing breath! I left before I said something unpleasant! Areshole!

I found the gallery which is called ‘The Meeting Room Gallery’ it’s quite small but with some fabulous art work, all by local Thai artists. I really loved a couple of the pieces, but they were expensive and huge! 

I walked back and grabbed some lunch from across the road, vegetable rice, which had lots of nice green veg in. It was nice but not my favourite from there. 

I chilled by the pool before heading out to the Walking Street around 6.30.

Interestingly, they were asking people to wear their masks again, that hasn’t happened before (I don’t think) it’s fine, but very muggy so masks aren’t ideal. 

I walked down through the market and stopped at The Writers Club for a glass of wine! Pretty much my first one since being here, it was ok, not the best wine but made a change from Beer! I also had some spring Rolls. I chilled here for a bit people watching, then went back to the Walking Street, so many things for sale, so far I haven’t bough anything but today I did, I purchased a little colourful necklace and a beautiful white jade, mushroom shaped face massager. (Yes, random, but I’ve wanted one for a while!) 

I stopped for a bit to listen to a band playing some jazzy stuff in a hotel, very good. Then started to walk back but stopped again at another Gallery, which had some wonderful art work in. It was the artists studio and he was there. I sat and went through some of his prints, which I really loved he then showed me some recent originals, which again I loved! I was very, very tempted to buy something, but decided to come back another day and look again. 

After that it was home to bed!

Monday & Tuesday

Woke up on Monday feeling a bit sick, and have now got a Stomach Bug. 

I’m guessing from something I eat on Sunday, which is probably the vegetable rice and possibly all the green veg that might not have been washed, whatever it is it’s not nice!

I’ve spent 2 days at the hotel, drinking lots of bottled water, eating the odd banana and plain cracker, reading and sitting on the loo!! 

It was inevitable I guess. 😳

Tuesday was better than Monday so hoping by Wednesday I’ll be OK!

That’s it for now guys. 

Stay cool, stay hydrated, use sun cream!! ❤️

Thursday

Today is a Buddhist holiday, so whilst there are more people about, not everything is open and Alcohol sales are banned. 

I thought I would have a nice lazy morning, catching up with my blog, emails etc.  It all started well, sitting outside my room with a cup of tea and chatting to a new guest, David, who is from Spain. We got talking about visa extensions and he panicked me somewhat by saying how difficult it is and the way I thought I could do it wasn’t correct! 😳😳 

I googled it and am pleased to say that I was right and I should have no problems extending my visa, (in theory) my plan was to do it it Phucket but I might go and visit the office here on Monday just to reassure myself! 

After our chat I checked my emails and found my car insurance was up for renewal, it is set to automatically renew. However the price has risen by over £100 which seems a lot, as I’ve made no claims etc. I searched online for alternatives and found several that were at lest £200 cheaper! What a bloody rip off! 

As if this isn’t annoying enough trying to cancel my automatic renewal was Damm near Impossible! Of course it was! They are fuckers, I spent over an hour trying to get to the right section only to find the site was down! 😤 This kind of nonsense really irritates me. I decide to leave it and try later. 

I headed out and popped to the very calming sanctuary of the local secondhand book shop ☺️ I actually don’t need any books as I have loads already downloaded on my kindle, but I can’t resist! So many to choose. The great thing is if I read and return it it get 50% of my £ back. 

I just grabbed an easy to read Harlen Coben. 

Feeling calmer, I continue my walk down to the Chiang Mai Gate area, looking at the beautiful flowers, spotted a fab Dragon Fly, then back along the Canal/moat to my area where I grabbed some Green Curry Vegetable Rice in a fab little place then came back to have a swim and read. 

Saw my Kiwi friend,  Colin, who is leaving today to go on a meditation retreat. He has been fun to hang out with and chat too. 

I love meeting new people and connecting for a short while, it’s one of the reasons I stay in Hotels rather than Airbnbs as there are always people about, coming & going, staff to chat to, things to watch. 

I had dinner back at Kats, I got greeted like a local! 🥰 had a yummy Pad Thai then home just before the torrential downpour! 

Friday

The lovely Dominika, Gareth & Solomè are leaving today, I got up early to say goodbye but I missed Dominika & Solomè by minutes, busy making a cup of bloody tea! Gareth is leaving a little later, so hopefully I’ll see him before he leaves. Again it’s been a pleasure to connect with them, it enriches my experience. ❤️

Luckily I did manage to see Gareth! 👍 

After that I had a little mooch to The Chiang Mai Provincial Museum. I’d been chatting to David in the morning and he had visited and said it was really good. I googled mapped it and it is by the 3 Kings Monument, which I know how to get to. 

Unfortunately, Google maps was not entirely accurate. I thought it was a building I’d been into before but Maps was saying something slightly different, so after walking around for a bit I eventually trusted my instincts and went to where I thought it was and I was correct! 😀

The museum is quite small and charts the history of Chiang Mai and it’s people. I found it really interesting. 

One of the things I particularly liked was the date given for the Founding of Chiang Mai, according to the Chiang Mai Temple Inscription Stone, Chiang Mai was founded on 

“ Thursday, the 8th day of the waxing moon, in the 6th lunar month of the year of the monkey, 1296 at four in the morning” 

It doesn’t get more specific than that! 😍

The museum also covered the building of the Khun Tan Train Tunnel. This is the tunnel I came through on my way here. 

It took 10 years to build, starting in 1907, many workers were killed of Typhus, lack of oxygen and falling rocks! It’s completion created a direct rail link to Bangkok, thus improving trade and tourism. 

After the museum I wandered some more, visited the Post Office, my second time, it was again closed! 😞 

I then walked back to my end of town, stopping at ‘Hummus’ for a yummy Falafel 🥙 

Then it was back to the pool to cool off and relax. 

I have decided to go back to the Burmese restaurant I visited with Dominika, Gareth & Solomè as the food was so good! It was excellent! 

Walking back I managed to dodge the torrential downpour by stopping for a cheeky McFlurry!  😂

Some random things:

The White Tiger Balm continues to work wonders!

The mossies seem to have gone off me a bit, Yeah!! 🎉

I’ve tried to massively cut down on my salt intake, it’s working. 

I still find the pavements a little scary! 

I haven’t fallen over yet!! 👍

That’s all for today guys. 

Tuesday.

After my disturbed nights sleep, I woke at around 7.30 

I apparently have breakfast included in my room rate, so figure a shower, breakfast then the White Temple.

I shower in my tiny room, then dry the toilet seat!  

The lady in charge of breakfast is awesome, tiny, with excellent English, very helpful and friendly. She is not happy that I don’t want any eggs, omelettes, French toast, and just want Tea and toast! She relents and brings me a lovely cup of tea. 

As I’m sitting there enjoying the last of my tea the hostess comes over to my table with another lady and asks if they can ask me a few questions? I’m not really sure what’s going on, but say, yes, of course. 

The hostess then asks me what my plans for the day are, I tell her I’m heading to the White Temple at which point she says that the lady with her is traveling on her own and would it be OK if she joins me for the day? The lady with her is Helena, who speaks English. 

I’m a little caught off guard and also feel a little cornered. If I say no that’s not ok I’ll sound like a bitch, but I’m not entirely sure I’m happy to spend the day with someone I don’t know. I weigh all this up in a few seconds and decide to go with it. 

I go on to explain that MY plan is to leave in 15 mins, to get the bus to the Temple, so if Helena can be ready that’s all fab. 

Helena meets me and we head off to the bus terminal. 

There is a local bus that goes to the White Temple which I want to use. It’s a normal, non fancy bus and it costs 25bht! I loved it! Full of locals, it had loads of character, and lots of rainbow colours 🌈

Helena and I arrived at the White Temple, Wow, just Wow! It is stunning. So unlike anything else I’ve seen here in Thailand. 

It was the site of one of the oldest Buddies temples in Thailand, it was in a terrible state and no money to repair it so It has, been and continues to be restored and rebuilt by a Thai Artist called, Ajarn Chalermchai Kositpipat. He started the project in 1997. He wanted total artistic freedom to create his masterpiece. It is white to represent Buddhas purity. 

There is so much symbolism within the temple, for example inside (you can’t take photos inside) there are murals depicting, hello kitty, Spider-Man, The Matrix, Harry Potter, Micheal Jackson, the Twin Tiwers, weapons, missiles, space stations and so much more. These are representing an imperfect life, false gods, consumerism, international politics and our lack of respect and protection of the natural world. 

It is a truly astounding and a remarkable achievement. 

The gardens are also wonderful, I even spotted a Blue Crested Lizard! I initially thought it was a statue (🤦‍♀️) I got some pics, tried to zoom in but ended up with pictures of its tail only! 

I absolutely adored my visit to the White Temple made even more fun by the journey home! 

Helena and I initially thought about getting a taxi back as we were very hit, unfortunately neither of us had a Thai SIM card so couldn’t call one, and there were none around. We walked back out to the main road to find the bust stop and wait for the local bus again. I’d read that they came every 30 mins or so. What turned up was a Blue version of the Red buses/ pick up trucks that they have in Chiang Mai.

It pulled up we looked in and it was completely full, 5 people on either side, as we turned to wait for the next one, a young girl waved us back and then produced from the front of the bus 2 handy little plastic seats which were placed in the aisle in the middle of everyone, next to a large pile of Motorbike tyres! 

All of the passengers were local and one of them was a Buddhist Monk. (This is an important factor)  

All was going well until someone wanted to get off! Then it was the funniest version of musical chairs ever! We all had to move, myself and Helena carrying our chairs had to get off the bus to allow people to disembark, then get back on re stack our chairs and sit on the seats….But, in Thai culture females aren’t allowed to sit next to monks! I knew this, Helena didn’t! So she  went to sit next to the monk, the lady across the way spotted this just in time and grabbed her arm at the same time as hoiking her boyfriend up to take the spot next to the Monk a bemused Helena just sat where she was directed, then a new person got on the bus, plastic chairs were dispersed again, someone at this point was also sitting on the pile of tyres! It was hysterical, I was busy trying not to completely crack up. This palaver happened all over again when we arrived at the garage where the tyres were being delivered! Honestly it was very comical, my pictures don’t do it justice at all! 😂😂

After our eventful journey we arrived back in town and Helena went off to visit the blue Temple. I went for another stroll, it was very quiet and peaceful in Chiang Rai. I spent an hour in a rather fabulous Cat Cafe! 😻😻 

Then I walked back to the hotel and got into the pool, which was busier than I’m used too (I’m normally alone in the pool!) I had a refreshing swim, a nice chat to some Italian visitors, then went back to my room to get changed for Dinner. 

I left earlyish and had a drink back at the Irish Bar, the enjoyed my second meal at Barrab Restaurant. This time I had Pad Thai (my first) and a small portion of ginger curry! 😍😋 Once again a really tasty meal. 

Apparently there is a big parade, celebration tonight to see in Buddhist Lent, which is tomorrow and the start of a Thai long weekend. 

It all sounds great but it starts at 11pm! I finished my dinner at 8! The thought of staying out or awake till 11 is too much! 😳😫 

I head back to my hotel, my damp sheets, and sleep!! 

It’s been a fabulous day! 

Wednesday 

I’m traveling back to Chiang Mai today, my bus leaves at 11am.

I’ve really enjoyed Chiang Rai, if and when I come back to Thailand I’ll definitely stay here for longer. 

The bus station and my bus were much busier today as all the locals are heading home for the holiday and long weekend. 

The journey back was quite rainy and dark and at one point we passed through a small town that was flooded! 

It was so good to get back to my lovely hotel 🥰 I have definitely lucked out with this little gem. 

I had a swim and chilled. 

I’m going out to dinner with Gareth, Dominica and Solomè tonight, which will be fab. 

We decide to go to a Burmese Restaurant that the guys have visited before. This is great for me as I probably wouldn’t have found or known about it otherwise. It’s also so helpful to have someone guide you with the menu, and get to try new things. 

We had a selection of things; Chicken meatballs, a dish similar to Pad Thai but different, a peanut salad, a fish curry and some rice. 

Everything was so so good! The salad was amazing and the meatballs were very light. I loved the food and will most certainly visit again. 

It was lovely to spend the evening with the guys, they are great company and very interesting to talk to. All in all a fabulous evening! 

We take a slow walk back to the hotel and I’m off to my bed! 

That’s it for today guys.

Stay cool! 

Sunday. 

Another incredibly special day today as it’s Georgia & Grantleys Birthdays!! 🎉🎉

I’d like to thank everyone who helped to make it so special, Jenna, Nikki, Tish, Jack, Rebecca, Sasha!  

Today was spent mostly mooching about, walking down roads and alleys I haven’t been down, just round by the hotel. The little sides streets and Alleys (not alleys as we know, more just smaller streets) are great. It’s where people live and also where some more fab places to eat etc are. 

Walking down one street that had a fair few Laundry signs up, was wonderful as it just smelt of clean washing!! 

As I was strolling along a moped came towards me and the lady rider started waving, it was one of the waitresses from Kats Kitchen! clearly I go there Alot!! 😂

My stroll took me to an unusual place called ‘Breakfast World’ a bit of a German vibe I felt, but it had a lovely garden, live music and I was starving! 

I sat in the garden and enjoyed a tasty Club sandwich, minus the boiled ham with an orange juice. Very pleasant. 

After this I went back to the hotel for swimming, reading and relaxing!

Got chatting to Colin the Kiwi again, he’s very interesting, he’s travelled a fair bit and has some good stories! 

I bumped into him later in the evening when we both arrived at Kats Kitchen at the same time, so ended up having dinner together. He is great to chat with and Dinner was lovely. I had Chicken Fried Rice (yes, again!) 

I headed home straight after eating so that I could have a video chat with the Birthday Twins! Which was so so lovely. Love and miss you G & G. 

Early night for me, as I’m heading to Chiang Rai tomorrow. 

Monday.

I’m only going to Chiang Rai for 2 nights, so leaving my stuff at the hotel and just taking my little back pack. 

I had contemplated walking to the Bus Terminal, as it didn’t look that far on the map, but in case of rain opted for a taxi, which the lovely Sing on reception called for me. Thank god I did, as it was a lot further away than It looked! 

The Bus Terminal is fun, lots of locals & tourists heading to various places, some buses look a little more weathered than others 😳

I’m travelling on a Green Bus which is quite fancy really, it has air con and a loo! I’d chosen my seat when I booked and opted for A1 right at the front, as I thought it would give me the best view, sideways and through the front drivers windows, Sadly not! The drivers section is partitioned off so my front view was a wall!  But the seat is big and comfy, so I’m happy. 

The journey takes 3hrs and once we leave the City we start a steady climb up into the jungle, it’s really beautiful, lush and green, with villages and rice fields dotted around. The route takes you through 2 National Parks: Doi Luang & Kuhn Chee National Park. The views are stunning. 

I really enjoyed the journey, although I’m very glad I packed a wrap, as the air con was ferocious 🥶 (even when the vents were closed) 

I arrived in Chiang Rai at 1.30, so on time. 

I found my Hotel pretty easily, as it was approx a 5 min walk from the Bus Terminal and my screenshots of Google maps worked! 😃

I’m staying at a medium sized hotel, that is more expensive than my one In Chiang Mai and it’s nowhere near the same standard 🙁 It’s OK, but not great. 

My room is on the ground floor and has patio doors onto a caged balcony, the toilet and shower room are together and very small so if you shower, everything gets soaking wet! My bed linen looks and smells clean, but it feels a tiny bit damp!! TBF I am being a bit of a princess about it 👸 I’m only staying for 2 nights so I’ll be fine. 

My aim whilst in Chiang Rai is to visit both the Blue & the White Temples. I think the White Temple will take longer to get to and to explore so I plan to do that tomorrow. 

With this in mind I head out to find my way to the Blue Temple. I get stopped by a Tuk Tuk driver almost immediately, and as I haven’t actually been in a Tuk Tuk since my experience in Bangkok I decide to go for it. He says it’ll be 150bht to take me there, wait while I visit, then bring me back. I reckon this sounds like a reasonable price. 

I jump in and off me go! I realise pretty soon that I’ve jumped into possibly the oldest, rickityest Tuk Tuk in Chiang Rai, I just hope he makes it there! He does. He drops me off and settles back to wait. 

The Blue Temple is, well, very Blue! and very beautiful. It’s so nice to see a temple that isn’t red & gold! It’s not huge, so it doesn’t take me long to look around, there are nice grounds and some stalls/shops. I haven’t really eaten much today so I’m tempted by some coconut and mango ice cream, which is served with blue (obvs) sticky rice. It is really good. 

I end up sharing it with a cute friendly little cat! (I’d checked on my driver, he was sleeping in his Tuk Tuk, so I didn’t feel bad about not rushing. 

When I got back in the Tuk Tuk I was so busy making sure I got my legs in and my bag that I failed to notice the solid metal bar across the top, which connected quite hard with the top of my head! Ouch! 😫 

The route to the Temple had taken us across a large river, called Mae Kok, I got a couple of pics, but not ideal. 

When the driver dropped me back in town, I had a walk then decided I wanted a better look at the river, I checked my tourist map and it was pretty straight forward, just follow the road I was on. 

I did this. Chiang Rai seems to have more trees and greenery along the paths than Chiang Mai, Thank God as it was really sunny, it’s also worth remembering that tourist maps are not to fucking scale!! The river was further away than it appeared. But I’d committed to my quest so on I walked! 

I eventually got to the huge road bridge which crosses the river, and followed the path that went underneath, and thus to the river. 

It was as I approached the river that I started thinking that it was quite deserted under the bridge, I was almost at the river so carried on, I got to the river. The underpass was pretty desolate, rubbish & broken bottles, 1 large pick up truck and a random man! 

At this point I thought, shit, I’m actually a bit vulnerable down here, so I snapped a couple of rapid pics and turned tail and headed back the way I’d come. 😳 suffice to say I was fine, but it was a lesson learnt. I shall not be going to anymore Underpasses while in Thailand! 

I walked back into town, then down some different streets past a locals walking market, by now I was very hot and very thirsty! (I did have my water with me, which I’d been drinking) 

I found myself in another Irish Bar ☘️ having a well deserved Singha! 

From here I walked to a restaurant I’d found online earlier, called ‘Barrab’ it had really good reviews for its authentic Thai food, it also happened to be near the hotel! 

The restaurant was very underwhelming when you go in, it was also empty not a great sign! The waitress, May, who was also the owner came out and she was so lovely and talked me through the menu, explaining different items, especially dishes that were local to Northern Thailand. I took her advice and had a Butter Curry with chicken, homemade nans and a cucumber salad, I added vegetable rice! 

OMG! It was absolutely incredible, so tasty, the best Thai food I’ve had since I’ve been here. May was so kind and helpful. I’m definitely going back to tomorrow! First impressions not always the best! 

After my lush dinner I walked back to my hotel, showered and climb into my still slightly damp bed! 

As I’d had a pretty full on day I was hoping for a good nights sleep, unfortunately the Aircon had other ideas! 

It goes from a gentle hum to suddenly making these weird noises. It sounds like bubbling water and mumbling! I kid you not! A proper Shakespearean nightmare! 

I managed to sleep between the curse making!