Chiang Khlong.

So after leaving Chiang Rai, it was off to Chiang Khong, a smaller town on the border of Thailand.  We stayed at this awesome guest house that was right on the Mekong river. You could see Laos on the other side, and hear the music they played at night. It was beautiful!

Because the town is so small, we were quickly able to make friends. Actually we were able to meet a peace corps voluteer named Josh, who lives in Chiang Khong and is a frequent visitor to the guest house (to use the free wi-fi). We decided to hang out the next day - rented bikes and rode/hiked to the waterfall that was nearby. The bike ride was pretty intense. I guess I'm that out of shape. Super hilly so definitely no good but beautiful scenery of the mountainside and a chance to see a Hmong village. Luckily Josh could speak Thai and asked for directions because there were no signs for the waterfall after the one sign we saw in town. We had biked for 10 km and then hiked for about an hour in order to reach the actual waterfall. It didn't seem like this was something many did, since it wasn't all that easy to get round. Plus we hardly saw anyone that day, just Hmong kids essentially running the hike we did in flipflops!!!! and in less time than we did.  So like all the other waterfalls I've been to I was disappointed, and unfortunately this waterfall was nothing special as well....it is the dry season after all, and I really should have connected the dots....But this time, I think it was more the journey than the destination that made it worthwhile.

We also were frequent visitors to the Bamboo restaurant which specialized in homemade wheat bread and MEXICAN! That's right Mexican. The bread was delicious. One of the best so far...real grains and nuts that made me feel just a bit more healthy. The wife of the owner actually learned the recipe through trial and error after getting a recipe via online. That's some real skill right there.  As for the Mexican, the chips and salsa were yum.....not as good as the one in Bangkok that I went to for Xmas, but the chips were freshly fried and salted, and the salsa had a Thai spin - green and red chili peppers, little tomatoes, cilantro, and some kaffir lime I think.

Chiang Khong isn't a fairly large town, and isn't a very touristy one at that. I'm glad we stayed longer than just a night to get a better perspective.

So this is my last town for the Northern Thailand portion of our 2 month trip extravaganza. It has been pretty amazing these past couple of weeks. I just find it hard to believe how different northern Thailand is from central Thailand. It hardly seems like one country...although both had some fabulous scenery, delicious food, and friendly people to boot.

I'll be crossing the Mekong River via a longtail boat to get to Laos. Super excited!