A Week of Movement but not by Bicycle - Day 2 - To Begin Again

December 27, 2022

A Week of Movement but not by Bicycle - Day 2

Day 2 Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai by bus

The Baramee Guest House in Chiang Rai offered a set breakfast for only 60 Baht ($1.70) which is much cheaper than most set breakfasts we see so we took them up on it. It was delicious and convenient. Then we were off to the bus station.

Baramee Guest House in Chiang Rai. I really recommend this guest house. It was very reasonably priced for how nice it was. The person working the front counter was very helpful and spoke English to boot.

When we arrived last night we had inquired about buses to Chiang Mai. We were told at the Green Bus Company window that there were many many buses all morning and afternoon and there would be no problem purchasing tickets in the morning. Well, there must have been quite a crush of people while we were eating our cheap set breakfasts because by the time we got to the bus station, 8:30!, the first available bus was the 3PM bus! It kind of pissed me off that I hadn't bought our tickets the night before because, like yesterday, it meant we had to kill time most of the day.

Instead of sitting in a coffee house we found our favorite Cafe Boulan (old-style Thai coffee) on the street for next to nothing, Bahtwise, and then we went to a nice little temple, Wat Ming Muang, and hung out.

It's kind of strange to me that the Green Bus Company is the only one plying between Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai. It doesn't seem like a government bus company but maybe it is. We returned to the bus station early because of our bikes and it's always a good idea to make certain the bikes are situated on buses correctly. Always good to have some sort of good repport with the guy dealing with the panniers and bikes. I make sure they see my concern for the bike's safety and I thank them profusely when they do things correctly. Most of the guys respond quite nicely. Most Thais are very considerate, even the ones who initially come across as surly, in the end are sweet.

By the way, our bus ticket was 196 Baht ($5.60) per person and 100 Baht ($2.85) per bike.

Tuk tuks waiting for customers at the Chiang Rai bus station.

After I felt comfortable with all of that, I stood and took photos of the fleet of old buses that go between Chiang Rai and Chiang Khong every day. I love those old things but I wonder how long they are going to be operable. They must have a million miles on them.

These buses are getting so old! But they still run.

We didn't want to get to Chiang Mai after dark, but, my main concern was getting to one of my all-time favorite restaurants before they closed. The restaurant has many trays of food and is not far from the Chiang Mai bus station right next to McCormick Hospital.

We got to Chiang Mai a little ahead of time and it was still plenty light out. But......my favorite restaurant was closed! I couldn't believe it. I don't think I've ever seen it closed. But, the restaurant right next door to it, and almost identical, was open. They had scrumptious looking tray food and I quickly ordered. One of the beauties of tray food is that it is the fastest food served imaginable. Like, within a minute of ordering, it was in front of me with my spoon going to my mouth. They actually had an indoor area that was air conditioned which I had never known in the past. And, I must say, the food was possibly even better than my favorite place next door. So, moral of the story is.....don't ever close. They have possibly lost me as a customer and the place next door gained me. As if it would ever make a difference to either of them, some guy who comes once or twice every few years! But I'm happy to brush off the place next door because the owner always scared me. She was so strict about everything and way in the past she had chastised me for not being fluent in Thai! What was that all about?! I'm glad to shift my patronage but now I'm already wondering what that woman would do to me if she sees me eating next door! There are always so many things to worry about.

The new tray food restaurant not right next to McCormick Hospital but right next to the restaurant that is.

Food photos never do the food justice. This was great old-style Thai food, the way I love it, a little bit spicy. 50 Baht ($1.42). Set on your table within a minute of pointing at it.

After being surprised by the great food and gaining a new restaurant, we put our lights on and rolled through the dusk and familiar streets to the rather down-at-the-heels guest house we have been to maybe too many times. It's overpriced for what it is - a very basic hotel that hasn't changed a whole lot since the 1970's. It's especially overpriced this particular week between Christmas and New Year's - 650 Baht ($18.57). It's in a great location in the old part of Chiang Mai but that's about all it has going for it. It also has a horrible name - The Shire! What?!

In the night a party scene with a stage that had sprung up just on the other side of the soi from our guest house, was incredibly noisy late into the night. When we had been at that guest house just two or three weeks earlier there had been wilderness over there on the other side of the soi. It had been bulldozed, leaving a few of the biggest trees and crushed rock spread and lots of stalls to sell food and other stuff. It's crazy how quickly things can change in SE Asia. We never get over the speed of change here. So, thinking about changing on a dime, we thought about finding a new hotel.

lovebruce

Today's ride: 5 miles (8 km)
Total: 767 miles (1,234 km)

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