Night out with Family

After a couple amazing dinners at our hotel our hosts decided to take us out in the family station wagon for a night on the town. The whole family piled into the car with us in the back seat and we headed to a roadside vendor/restaurant to have an amazing meal. The owner and father of the family ordered for us and while we sat down to eat we tried to overcome our language barrier as much as possible and chat. When we tried to pay for dinner he insisted that it was his treat. Our night did not stop there.

We left the restaurant and strolled down the street a little ways until we came to a dessert place where we ate yummy little snacks made from taro and egg. Then we walked to the amazingly beautiful clock tower and while we waited for the show to start, the owner and his wife bought us warm soy milk which was very tasty.

We had no idea that there was a clock tower like this in the middle of town. At 8 and 9pm every night there is a light and music show that is spectacular. We sipped our warm milk and enjoyed the show. Afterwards we were dropped off at the night market and told just to give them a call whenever we were ready and they would come pick us up. It was an amazing night and we really felt like part of the family.

The next day I got a little over ambitious and decided that we should bike all the way to the hot springs which are about 25km away. I figured that it would be a long way and that we would be tired by the time that we got there but I hadn't counted on all the hills. After we made it about 15km I was totally pooped out. I knew that even if I made it all the way there that there would be no guarantee that I would ever be able to pedal back. As soon as we made the decision to turn back it started raining. At first it was a lovely little drizzle but soon it was a downpour and we needed to find some shelter before becoming completely soaked. There was a little bike/small engine repair shack on the side of the road so we pulled in and the owner did not mind us hanging out under his roof for a while until the rain died down. Unfortunately after the rain the roads were really wet and by the time we got back to the hotel we had strips of water and gunk up our backsides and of course I had a white shirt on.

We are getting very comfortable riding around town on the bikes. We can make it to the night market and back no problem, we just avoid making right hand turns as much as possible. Traffic is usually light and they are so used to having bikes and scooters on the road here. We've also biked to the Hilltribe Museum in town which is a small but very informative place which has displays on farming techniques, costumes, traditions and the history of the opium trade. After going to the museum we've decided against going on a hilltribe tour because it seems to do more harm then good to their culture and way of life.

More photos of Chiang Rai...