sorry, only google translate 🙁
After the great experience with Jeab in Chiang Mai, we had to Chiang Rai again a couch surfer wanted, which was ready to host us. Her name is Namsan and they run a business in Chiang Rai. Although we had learned from the profile that we would sleep in the hotel that we would however benefit the entire hotel operation, we at least was not entirely clear. So we got a room in one of the most expensive hotels in Chiang Rai for free, incl. Breakfast 🙂 Also Namsan is also incredibly nice and helpful, though quite busy so we looked up on a dinner itself.
As we had already made it our habit, we rented directly after our arrival a scooter – the hotel had a partner who brings the scooter directly to the hotel – and drove off to THE highlight of Chiang Rai. The white temple, Wat Rong Khun! Of course incredibly touristy, but even after we had already seen some temples and slowly began to dull, the Wat Rong Khun is absolutely unique! In addition, we drove on the way back to a monstrously large female Buddha over.
The next day we spent again also on the scooter around the Khun Korn waterfall to look at, which precedes a 45 minute hike through the jungle.
Here was once a small criticism of the tourism business permits in Thailand. It is virtually impossible to go anywhere without walking guided tours. This short tour was really an exception, otherwise is always a guide announced, as one would otherwise not even find the way.
Well anyhow. The hike was incredibly beautiful and the waterfall truly breathtaking. The real highlight was waiting but to return to us. Because of the rainy season, we had the road almost completely to ourselves (we saw 3 other migrant groups within 2 hours), which was probably the only reason that Tobi heard rustle at once over our heads a. A quick glance upwards confirmed the assumption that just a pack of wild monkeys away ran over our heads, we think because they wanted to run away from us. It was then that is very difficult to put it out again in the jungle, much to photograph because, because every time one of the monkeys realized that we were watching him, he immediately looked into the distance. A few, however, are run us anyway before the lens 🙂
The next day, the north of Chiang Rai on the agenda, which tea plantations and again should contain the waterfalls for us. After about 40km on the highway, we turned off the first waterfall and then it happened. We had a little muddy bridge in a small village and – albeit at low speeds – slid forward to once the rear wheel off and we lay on the street. While it was not particularly bad, but our – and especially Kerstins – leg had gotten nasty scrapes which we first tried to clean poorly with some water from the water bottle. Here we were able to once again enjoy the hospitality of the Thai people, because within a few minutes were 7 villagers with bandages, alcohol (to clean, not to drink :-)) and iodine around us to patch up our makeshift.
Particularly Kerstins wound looked a bit scary, so we just went back to the hotel to wash out the wound again better. When demand for a few cotton swabs to the reception, it turned out, fortunately, the Namsons aunt is a retired nurse, who then again more exactly took Kerstins wound under the microscope and thoroughly cleaned. Your initial insistence that we should not hesitate to go to the hospital, we were able to refute with reference to our tetanus shot because we were reluctant to spend the entire afternoon in the hospital.
In the evening we ate still in the hotel restaurant together with Namsan evening to exchange us a little and the next morning we were (a little verkorkstem time management after by the repeated cleaning and inspection of the wound of Namsons aunt) driven by the hotel staff to the bus station with break bus to Laos.
The scooter was way too easily scratched, but probably a small fortune would have cost us in Germany, cost us € 25 for the spare parts …
How we survived the bus and whether Laos has let in us, then is the next entry 🙂