Chiang Rai

Første dag og indflytning i air b’n’b byhus

Dag 9: 15.03.2023

Dagen startede med en lækker morgenmad. Vi mødtes på en cafe kl.9, da vi skulle tjekke ud og med en bus til Chiang Rai kl.12.15 fra busterminalen i Chiang Mai. Turen ville tage 3t og 20m. Efter ankomst til Chiang Rai, havde vi igen svært ved at finde hotellet, så vi gik en dejlig lang omvej med kufferterne. Det var lidt hårdt for mine skuldre der er lidt bøvlede, grundet mit erhverv. Da det ikke er første gang jeg går forkert pga underlige placeringer på google maps mm. vil jeg stærkt anbefale, at man tager en taxa/grab, første gang man skal til sit hotel!
Så slipper man for at vade rundt i varmen og gå forkert, med alt ens bagage.

En anderledes by

Da vi kom til byen Chiang Rai, blev vi alle lidt overraskede over hvor stille byen var. Det var selvfølgelig lidt noget andet end både Bangkok og Chiang Mai. I bookingen af det sted vi skulle overnatte (et lille by-hus) stod der at placeringen var fantastisk, og at det ville ligge midt i centrum. Vi følte os dog ret langt væk fra alting. Huset er fint, men meget “Urban” og med rå vægge. Det virkede til at man nogle steder bare havde malet hen over noget der måske ikke var særlig pænt eller renligt. Der hang døde dyr i spildelsvævet i loftet, og der var ekstremt mange myg og andet kravl i huset. Om aftenen hørte vi meget til naboerne – det var så lydt at man kunne overhøre samtaler og når de gik rundt. De larmede indtil langt over midnat, på deres altan, lige ved siden af vores soveværelser.
Lydene fra gaden var også ret høje og voldsomme, med et hospital ikke så langt der fra, så det var svært at finde ro.
Byen er smuk og det er selvfølgelig stadigvæk hyggeligt her, men nok bare ikke hvad vi havde forventet.

Alternativ indkvartering

Vi blev derfor enige om at finde et nyt hotel, fortrinsvis med en pool – som alternativ, kunne vi så nyde tiden ved den.
Det ville være for dyrt at ændre flybilletterne selvom vi gerne ville have været videre mod øerne før tid. Mange alternativer blev undersøgt – Men da Chiang Rai er en af Thailands nordligste “stor-byer”, ville det eksempelvis tage omkring 10,5t med en bus til Bangkok.
Så vi måtte få det bedste ud af det, til vi kunne komme videre.

Det er meget de samme ting man kan lave heroppe, som turist. Der er nogle populære templer og buddha statuer, et par viewpoints og ligende.
Eks kunne man køre et par timer, ud til “The Golden triangel” Her mødes grænserne mellem Thailand, Laos og Myanmar, ved sammenløbet af Ruak og Mekong floderne. Dog ikke den mest attraktive oplevelse, ud fra de ting vi søgte på rejsen. Vi er okay med at vi ikke har alt for mange dage her, da vi gerne vil opleve lidt flere forskellige ting, så vi ser frem til at komme videre.

Første vaskedag

Efter at have stilt vores ting og fået et bad, satte vi turens første vask over. Vi gik herefter ned for at undersøge byen og finde noget aftensmad.
Vi fandt et område med lidt mere liv, og en sød lille cafe hvor vi satte os. Pigerne fik en pastaret og jeg en kyllingesalat, så ikke det mest fancy mad, men det smagte udemærket. Da vi kom hjem fik vi hængt vores vasketøj op og så en film. Inden sengetid mødte vi en stor skrubtudse der sad lige ved siden af døren. Spændede med alle de dyr man ser hernede.
Tak for denne dag!

– Josie

Flytte-dagen

Dag 10: 16.03.2023

Vi stod op og tog ned til den samme cafe vi havde fået aftensmad på dagen forinden.
Morgenmaden så nemlig ud til at være super fin, og det var den bestemt også!
Der var en hyggelig have med små springvand, som vi nød at sidde i, i varmen.

Efter morgenmaden gik vi tilbage og pakkede vores ting så vi kunne tage op på det andet hotel. Det var dejligt og slippe væk fra de mange myg og andet kravl. Lige inden vi går, gik ser vi at en stor kakerlak havde kravlet ind under hoveddøren og var blevet mast da en eller anden havde trådt på den. Who knows when?! Vi var glade for at vi skulle videre.

Phowadon Resort & Spa

Vi ankom til det nye hotel lidt over middag og var alle meget positivt overraskede. Stedet hedder Phowadon Resort & Spa, og her fik vi hver vores lille cabana at bo i. Den var i meget traditionel Thai stil, og utrolig hyggelig – og REN!
Stedet er omringet af ene små søer, men har også en lækker pool, og der er en skøn jungle vibe over det.

Det ligger placeringsmæssigt lidt ekskluderet, et stykke udenfor byen, men var stadigvæk bedre en det alternative by-hus. Vi gik en tur i 7/11 som ligger lige omkring 1,2 km fra hotellet. Derfra tog vi videre ind til et storcenter som hedder Central Plaza. Her var der alt hvad hjertet kunne begære af både mad, tøj og andre gode sager. Lidt mere moderne end de mange ellers fine og autentiske gadeboder der findes i byen.
Jeg tror pigerne var meget begejstrede for at kunne snuse til lidt butikker, der minder om dem der hjemme.
Efter en bid mad tog vi tilbage på hotellet, og slappede lidt af.
Om aftenen gik vi op på baren og delte en lille pommes og fik en Mai thai, og gik så til ro.
Dejlig måde at slutte dagen på.

– Josie 

Wat Klung Roun – Det hvide tempel

Dag 11: 17.03.2023

Dagen startede ved morgenmadsbuffeten, som vi valgte at tilkøbe ved booking af hotellet – vi tænkte det var meget smart, når hotellet ligger lidt længere væk fra midtbyen. Maden var meget fin og simpel, både med noget til os fra vesten, og varme thai retter/supper mm fra østen. Efterfølgende tog vi ud for at se Wat Klung Roun, et populært tempel i Chiang Rai. Templet er helt hvidt og fyldt med små spejle der alle er sat på i hånden enkeltvis  

Der var ekstremt mange turister, og det satte selvfølgelig en lille dæmper på turen. Men smukt var det uanset hvad. 

Vi tog bagefter en grab tilbage til hotellet og lagde os ved poolen det meste af dagen.
Om eftermiddagen fik vi noget Thai frokost, bla. Pad kwa pow, Borbia og Gai Satay (en stirfried ret med kylling, forårsruller og kyllinge sticks).
Vi gik så på værelserne for at få en lille lur, og slappe af ovenpå alt solen og maden.

Korean BBQ

Om aftenen tog vi igen ud i Central Plaza, og fik denne gang prøvet lækker Koreansk Barbeque/grill. Det var en spændende oplevelse, og selvom det var det dyreste måltid vi har fået hernede, kostede det os kun 141 danske kroner, pr næse. Det var inkl drikkevarer, og drikkepenge. Kødet var premium kvalitet og mange af grøntsagerne var lidt specielle og unikke. Du kan finde adressen mm. ved at klikke her.
Da vi ankommer lidt sent til aftensmaden, og de lukker kl.21.30, er vi nok de allersidste turister der forlader centeret. Det ender da også med, at vi faktisk er ved at blive spærret inde, og må ved at finde en medarbejder, guides ud. Vel at mærke, af deres vareindleverings dock. Vi blev både filmet og grint af, af de lokale – og det forstod vi måske også godt lidt. Vi grinte hvertfald med dem.
Pigerne ville efterfølgende, gerne have øl med hjem. Vi fandt en bar, efter en lang forklaring, om at de gerne ville have dem som takeaway, lykkedes det endelig ved køb af 5x2L’s øl.
Da vi kom tilbage til hotellet, gik vi hvert til sit. Jeg drikker umiddelbart lidt sjældent, hverken på ferier eller hjemme.

– Josie

En afslappende dag på hotellet

Dag 12: 18.03.2023

Vi fik morgenmad på hotellet omkring kl.9 og pigerne gik derefter til poolen. Jeg havde lidt brug for at trække mig lidt, så jeg gik for mig selv og fik slappet lidt af med mine egne ting, til omkring middagstid.
Denne gang fik vi mad på hotellet, en buffet med alt muligt forskelligt thai mad og nudler. 

Regn i Chiang Rai

Resten af dagen blev brugt på at slappe af og lave ingenting. Det begyndte at regne helt vildt på et tidspunkt, og på vej til aftensmaden (også på hotellet) så vi en helt masse mikroskopiske små fører der var på vej ned i søen. De var ret søde, og mindede mig om en tur lignende, min mormor og jeg havde i Danmark da jeg var barn.

Jeg tog en tur i 7/11 for at købe morgenmad, vi skal nemlig videre til Bangkok med et fly kl.8.25 imorgen tidlig, og videre derfra til Koh Samui kl.15.40. Så vi skal lige sørge for at der er en form for morgenmad inden (ellers bliver jeg lidt hangry). Jeg fik pakket og ville så gå tidligt i seng. Men jeg fik pludselig besøg af den sødeste og mildeste lille kat, som bare gerne ville nusses og lagde sig uopfordret på mit skød. Så det tog lidt længere før jeg kom ind i seng. Det skal siges at katten var enormt velplejet og menneske søgende, så jeg tror den har hørt til et sted i nærheden. Taxaen til lufthavnen kommer og henter os allerede kl.6, så vi sikre på at være i god tid til flyet. Man ved aldrig om der går noget galt så det har jeg det altid bedst med.

Jeg har kogt ned på alle de dejlige indtryk og oplevelser fra Chiang Rai, i denne lille video.
Enjoy watching – Hope you like!
For at se flere videoer fra turen, klik her – eller du kan klikke her for at få et overblik over alle indslagene fra turen.
– Josie 

 

ENGLISH

First day and moving into air b’n’b townhouse

Day 9: 15.03.2023

The day started with a delicious breakfast. We met at a cafe at 9am when we had to check out and with a bus to Chiang Rai at 12.15pm from the bus terminal in Chiang Mai. The trip would take 3h and 20m. After arriving in Chiang Rai, we again had difficulty finding the hotel, so we took a nice long detour with the suitcases. It was a bit hard on my shoulders, which are troublesome due to my profession, as a tattoo artist. As this is not the first time I have gone wrong due to strange locations on Google Maps etc. I would strongly recommend that you take a taxi/grab the first time you need to go to your hotel! Then you don’t have to walk around in the heat and go wrong, with all your luggage.

A different city

When we got to the city of Chiang Rai, we were all a little surprised at how quiet the city was. It was ofcause a bit different from both Bangkok and Chiang Mai. In the booking of the place we were going to spend the next days (a small town house) it was stated that the location was fantastic and that it would be in the middle of the city centre. However, we felt quite far away from everything. The house was nice, but very “Urban” and with raw walls. It seemed that in some places they had simply painted over something that was perhaps not very neat or clean.

Loud and full of Crawlies

There were dead animals hanging from the cobwebs in the ceiling, and there were extremely many mosquitoes and other pestilens in the house. In the evening we heard a lot from the neighbors – it was so loud that you could overhear conversations and when they were walking around. They made noise until well past midnight, on their balcony, right next to our bedrooms. The noises from the street were also quite loud and violent, with a hospital not too far away, so it was difficult to find peace.
The city is beautiful and of course it is still cozy here, but probably just not what we expected.

Alternative accommodation

We agreed to find a new hotel, preferably with a pool, so we could then enjoy the time sunbathing and relaxing.
It would be too expensive to change the plane tickets even though we would have liked to have gone on to the islands sooner. Alternatives were investigated – for example, It would take around 10.5 hours by bus to Bangkok. So we had to make the best of it.

Being a tourist in Chiang Rai

It’s much the same things you can do up here as a tourist. There are some popular temples and buddha statues, a few viewpoints and the like. For example, you could drive a few hours to “The Golden Triangle” Here the borders between Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet, at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers. However, not the most attractive experience, based on the things we looked for. We are okay with the fact that we don’t have too many days here, as we want to experience a little more different things, so we look forward to moving on.

First washing day

After putting our things away and having a shower, we put the first wash of the trip over. We then went down to explore the town and find some dinner. We found an area with a little more life, and a cute little cafe where we sat down. The girls got a pasta dish and I got a chicken salad, not the most fancy food, but it tasted excellent. When we got home we hung up our laundry and watched a movie. Before bedtime, we met a large toad sitting right next to the door. Excited about all the animals you see down here.

– Josie

Moving day

Day 10: 16.03.2023

We got up and went down to the same cafe where we had dinner the day before. The breakfast looked to be super nice, and it certainly was! There was a cozy garden with small fountains, which we enjoyed sitting in, in the heat. After breakfast we went back and packed our things so we could go up to the other hotel. It was nice to get away from the many mosquitoes and other crawlers. Just before we left, we saw that a large cockroach had crawled under the front door and had been stung when someone had stepped on it. Who knows when?! We were glad we were going on.

Phowadon Resort & Spa

We arrived at the new hotel a little past noon and were all very pleasantly surprised. The place is called Phowadon Resort & Spa, and here we each got our own little cabana to stay in. It was in a very traditional Thai style, and incredibly cozy – and CLEAN! The place is surrounded by small lakes, but also has a nice pool, and there is a wonderful jungle vibe about it.

It is a bit excluded in terms of location, a bit outside the city, but was still better than the alternative town house. We went for a walk in the 7/11, which is just about 1.2 km from the hotel. From there we went on to a shopping center called Central Plaza. Here there was everything the heart could desire in terms of food, clothes and other good things. A little more modern than the many otherwise fine and authentic street stalls found in the city. I think the girls were very excited to be able to sniff around a few shops that remind them of the ones at home.
After a bite to eat, we went back to the hotel and relaxed a bit. In the evening we went up to the bar and shared a small fry and had a Mai Thai, then retired. Nice way to end the day.

– Josie

Wat Klung Roun – The White Temple

Day 11: 17.03.2023

The day started at the breakfast buffet, which we chose to purchase when booking the hotel – we thought it was very smart when the hotel is a little further away from the city centre. The food was very nice and simple, both with something for us from the west, and hot Thai dishes/soups etc. from the east. Afterwards we went out to see Wat Klung Roun, a popular temple in Chiang Rai. The temple is completely white and filled with small mirrors that are all put on by hand individually. There were an extremely large number of tourists, that put a small damper on the excitement. Afterwards we took a grab back to the hotel and laid by the pool most of the day. In the afternoon we had some Thai lunch; Pad kwa pow, Borbia and Gai Satay. We then went to the rooms to have a little nap and relax on top of all the sun and food.

Korean BBQ

In the evening we went out again to Central Plaza, and this time got to try delicious Korean barbeque/grill. It was an exciting experience, and even though it was the most expensive meal we’ve had down here, it only cost us 141 Danish kroner, per nose. It included drinks and tips. The meat was premium quality and many of the vegetables were a bit special and unique. You can find the address etc. by clicking here.

As we arrive a little late for dinner and they close at 9.30pm, we are probably the very last tourists to leave the centre. It also ends up with us actually being locked up and having to find an employee to be guided out. Of their delivery dock. We were both filmed and laughed at by the locals – and perhaps we understood that a little too well. At least we laughed with them. Afterwards, the girls wanted to take beer home. We found a bar, and after a long explanation that they wanted them as takeaway, we finally succeeded by buying 5x2L of beer. When we got back to the hotel, we went our separate ways. I rarely drink at all, so nightie night for me.

– Josie

A relaxing day at the hotel

Day 12: 18.03.2023

We had breakfast at the hotel around 9am and the girls then went to the pool. I kind of needed to unwind a bit, so I went by myself and got to relax a bit with my own stuff, until around noon. This time we got food at the hotel, a buffet with all kinds of different Thai food and noodles.

Rain in Chiang Rai

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and doing nothing. It started to rain really hard at one point, and on the way to dinner (also at the hotel) we saw a whole lot of microscopic little drivers heading down into the lake. They were quite sweet, and reminded me of a similar trip my grandmother and I had in Denmark when I was a child. I took a trip to 7/11 to buy breakfast, because we have to go on to Bangkok with a flight at 8.25 tomorrow morning, and from there to Koh Samui at 15.40. So we just have to make sure there is some kind of breakfast beforehand (otherwise I’ll be a little hungover). I got packed and then wanted to go to bed early.

A new buddy!

I was suddenly visited by the sweetest and gentlest little cat, who just wanted to be cuddled and laid down uninvited on my lap. So it took a little longer before I got into bed. It must be said that the cat was extremely well-groomed and human-seeking, so I think it belonged somewhere nearby. The taxi to the airport would come and picks us up already at 6am, so we would make sure to be in good time for the flight. You never know if something will go wrong, so I always feel the best about that.
I have boiled down all the wonderful impressions and experiences from Chiang Rai in the video postet earlier, or you can watch by clicking here!

Enjoy – I Hope you like!

To see more videos from the trip, click here – or you can click here to get an overview of all the blog posts from the trip.

– Josie