Chiang Rai Back Home in Land Of Smiles

As I walked over the border crossing of Chiang Kong I can honestly say that I feel so happy to be back in Thailand which almost seems in a way Like I home. Me and my mate have been travelling hard through Cambodia , Vietnam and Loas and it feels so good to be back in Thailand where we started our trip over 3 months ago. I say Sabidee Krup with a big smile on my face to the border official has he stamps my passport - I have not said that for ages. To get to Chiang Kong we have had to spend 7 hours on a very loud and fast speed boat from Luang Prubang with our knees up to the side of our head with a very small space to sit. It was pretty un-comfortable but the slow boat was 3 days and we needed to get back to the Land Of Smiles fast.

So once out of the border crossing we find another 2 backpackers and share a Songtew with them to Chiang Rai, which is probably about an hour away. We chat about our adventures in Loas and talk about how awesome Vang Vien is. We tell them about how mashed we got every night and how many buses we missed in the mornings. When we checked out of our hostel we were actually there 3 more days than we thought - all good though, definitely go to Vang Vien if you get the chance.

As we drive through the Northern Thailand countryside I just can not help feeling so happy about being back. We started off our trip over 3 months ago mainly spending time around Bangkok with Thai friends and since then we have been on the road for 2 months around Cambodia , Vietnam and Loas. Travelling was pretty tough specially in Vietnam there are some killer bus journeys. One journey from Hanoi to Hoi An took 23 hours, and believe me the buses are far from luxury. But that is all behind us now, I am just so looking forward to some spicy food and a very cold Singha.

We arrive in Chiang Rai at about 10pm and get dropped off around the centre somewhere. We see a sign for a cheap guest house - Mae Hong Son Guest House down a Soi and go and check it out. 200 Baht per night is a great deal and the Dutch owner is so friendly that it seems stupid to refuse. He tells us about a great night bizarre just around the corner so after a shower we go and check it out.

The night bizarre is rocking. Hundreds of people are out eating drinking and listening to the live music. There is also a market as well. We order some spicy chicken dish and sit down with a cold Singha. We Chok Dee (cheers) each other and congratulate one another on what we have done so far in terms of our trip. When the food is ready I start to eat, the chilli slowly taing over my mouth. I have so missed spicy food, well I have so missed Thai food really, the food in Cambodia , Vietnam and Loas is incomparable to Thai. As the chilli literally kicks the 5hit our of my mouth I take a sip of the freezing cold Singha, the cold beer meeting the chilli causing almost a fizzing sensation in my mouth.

After the meal we sit back and down some Singha's. It is great to soke up the atmostsphere of the music and the people and generally Thailand - god I love this country. If you do make it to Chiang Rai make sure you check out the night bizarre as it is seriously probably one of the best in Thailand .