April 27 - Chaing Rai, Thailand

It's been 5 days since I last logged on. Time flies, or either I lost a blog or two! Probably just didn't get a blog written.

I have been in kinda blah places, without much to tell about.
One thing that has happened is that I now prefer "noodle soup" in the morning instead of those eggs and toast!!

I have gotten fairly good with grabbing a mouthful of noodles using chop sticks, and can also pick up some vegetables or an 0ccasional piece of meat with chop sticks. Of course since it's soup, a spoon is necessary, but a spoon will not get the long noodles! So - I'm a noodle man. Wonder if I can get them at the cafe in Moultrie?

Monday, I finished up my business in Tha Kheck (I think that's where I was), and was pretty much finished with my trip except for visiting my friends in Chiang Rai.

I decided to leave Laos. I was on a border city on the Mekong, so with a 50 cent ferry ticket, and a visit to the Laos immigration office, I was on my way to Thailand.

I always (almost always) travel with a LONELY PLANET travel guide book. On this trip I had not planned to go anywhere in Thailand except from Vientiane, Laos to Bangkok, which I can handle without a guide book, and to save weight in my pack I had left my Thai guidebook.

After crossing the Mekong on the ferry, and Thai immigration, I walked out onto the street of a town I don't know the name of. I was looking for a Bank to exchange my left over Laos KIPS and some USD dollars for Thai Baht.
At ALL border crossings there are always money changers, or exchange banks, plus touts and tourist guides.

At this border - nothing! No money - no guides - no touts - no one that spoke English!

I decided I just needed to walk a little ways into town, and I would find a bank and a travel office and someone that spoke English. Well, I walked , and walked, and it was getting hot - and I was seeking help. I went into a nice looking Hotel, surely someone speaks English. There was no one in the hotel! I walked over the bottom floor, behind the desk, the office, the closet, there was no one there!

So, back on the street, I saw a policeman sitting on a stool in the shade, and he was looking at me.
I walked toward him, and he looked friendly and I asked if he speak English. He smiled, said a little. I asked him where a Bank or money exchange place was. He understood, but could not explain how to get there.

He gets up, goes to his scooter, motions for me to get on, and off we go. Now, it's a little scooter, not much room for my big fanny and him, plus I have my day bag to the side, and my backpack on my back! We're loaded. He took me a LONG way, and dropped me off at a very nice and busy bank!! People are nice!

Inside the bank I'm being careful with my Laos Kip and a fifty dollar bill as I sit in line for the clerk. The man next to me is casually holding a stack of hundred dollar bills. Later counted out by the clerk (for everyone to see) as being 4, 500 dollars. I'm hiding my fifty!

When my turn came, they did not convert KIP, I had about $35.00 worth left. I wanted to save as many dollars as possible, and after getting an initial small stash of Baht, I will use an ATM in Bangkok to get more Baht. But without the KIP I had to pull out another of my dollar money. Now I am low on emergency reserve, but --- not a serious worry.

The clerk did not speak much English, and could not tell me how to get to the bus station.

The tut tut drivers did not understand 'Bus' either. Nor the policeman. So, I walk. Thinking this is some predicament I had to find an English speaker.

I walk in front of an electronic store with big TV's and all kind of stuff. There was a desk near the front entrance , and a young lady sitting there - looked like -"information center" to me. She spoke no English, but understood what I wanted, and she motioned for me to wait.

A minute later this young guy shows up, speaking American English, and he is very friendly. I asked him did he know where the bus station was that had night sleeper buses to Bangkok. 'Of course,' he said!! It's close by. He gave me instructions, and then I asked a question about what he had just said, so he says - 'wait'. He gets some paper and draws me a good map.

Thanks man! Thank you, Lord! ... I'm now going somewhere.

It is a 20 minute hike to the bus station - far enough. As I'm walking through the bus station to find the Bangkok ticket window, a tout calls out to me - 'want go to Chiang Rai'? - I stopped and asked what kind of bus - and he said a sleeper bus, AC, Toilet, VIP.

I had no idea I could even get there from here. I called my friends in Chiang Rai, and they said come on up.

So, 2 hours after arriving in Thailand completely lost, I'm having lunch (fried rice) , have Thai Baht in my pocket, and a night ticket to Chaing Rai.

It was a good ride. The bus has two seats on one side, and one seat on the other. I was on the single seat side, second row. It was very comfortable, and I had a John Grisom book I have not read, or read and forgot, plus my Sudoku book, so it was a good trip. Now for some, it may have been a little long, but we stopped every 2-3 hours and got out, and at 3:30 in morning I had a bowl of noodle soup at a bus stop. But it was long - 18 hours. Cost $26.00.

have some pictures I will put up later.