We recently spent a couple days in Chiang Rai. It is a pretty quiet city that sees a lot less tourism than Chiang Mai. During our stay we went out for dinner at a restaurant called Cabbages and Condoms. Their logo is "Our food is guaranteed not to cause pregnancy". They are part of an organisation that promotes family planning and combats AIDS in Thailand. They want to make condoms are freely available as cabbages. It was a great meal with some entertaining decor.
The next day we walked to a Wat where a monk wanting to practice his English gave us an impromptu meditation lesson. It was a lot of fun. He gave each of us a bracelet and prayed for us to have safe travels. The monk explained that Buddhism and Christianity are same same.
We are now in Chiang Khong. We can see Laos from our guesthouse. The restaurant is right on the Mekong River. Tomorrow morning we will cross the boarder into Laos and board the slow boat to Luang Prabang. The trip takes two days. It should be a nice time to relax, read, and take in the scenery. We started taking our antimalarial medication a couple days ago, and so far we have not noticed any side effects.
It sounds lovely! Thailand is such an interesting place, one thing I notice from reading your blog that I think I didn't appreciate there is how different cultures meet there. Like, Steven from North America trying to grow carrots (or whatnot) and the owner of the farm, Taw who is bilingual, and then hill tribes. And a few miles away is Laos.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow I'm really enjoying reading you guys' blog, keep it up.
HI
ReplyDeleteThe latest blog entry is great. The experiences in relationships and culture are really interesting. Really enjoying your take on these experiences. Hope your boat ride is a relaxing and you enjoy the experience in Laos.
Love
Mom and Dad