January 28, 2008
Chiang Dao - Rim Doi: A rainy dry season
We wake up to very grey skies, they couldn't be greyer in Munich on a winter day. When we get on our bikes it's drizzling, and ten minutes later while we are having breakfast it starts to pour. We sit tight for two hours, and when the sky brightens a bit we decide to risk it. We get as far as the next bus shelter. Here again we wait out the rain. Our next attempt gets us as far as Kurt and Mon's Restaurant two kilometers down the road.
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This story is getting repetitive. The upshot is that after leaving Kurt and Mon's we again don't get very far. We decode the first place will be the best place and follow signs to a place called Rim Doi Resort.
This resort is incredible and almost paradise - except for one flaw. The extensive grounds give the impression you are in an elegant park. There are two lakes, several antique wooden buildings set in different parts of gardens, the garden and patio furniture is ornately carved. The whole set-up has a colonial flare, you feel you have been transported into another era.
And what's the flaw? It's not the price because our large room costs 7 Euros, a price that doesn't make sense. Was this estate built a century ago by a teak-wood tycoon for entertaining his friends? It is still maintained with care, the buildings are in a good state of repair and the gardens are well tended. Who pays for the upkeep? Obviously it isn't covered by the guests who take rooms here. We are intrigued.
And the flaw? In the pavilion overlooking the lake, not too far from our room, an ear-splitting karaoke party is taking place. It's 2 p.m. and it's in full swing. We are reassured that they will soon stop. Which isn't the case. At 6 we are told they will stop at 7 and finally at 9 the party is over. The next morning we look at the pavilion where the party was held: they must have been having a blast in there, drinking beer and whisky at giant tables made from gnarled tree trunks and branches and crooning or shouting, as the case may be, their favorite songs into the mike.
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