Friday, July 18, 2008

Chiang Rai

Chiang Rai is a city that puts me at ease, not too crowded and not too quiet. The night bazaar has some great bargains and my guest house, Baan Bua is cozy enough to make me stay for the next 3 nights. Even when I arrived and found out that the strap of my bagpack is about to torn, I still know that I’ll love Chiang Rai. For one good thing, my bag was fixed the next day by a kind old man within 1 hour. The highlights of my itinerary should be the intriguing Thamtupu Buddha cave and impressive Wat Rong Khun (White Temple) as you can see from the pictures.

At the 2nd day in Chiang Rai, I bumped into some of the guests from my guest house on my bus to the cave. So I asked if there are going to the same cave but it turns out they are actually visiting a friend in Mae Chan as she was previously teaching English in Thailand. I’ve got on the wrong bus leading me to believe that’s the way to Thamtupu cave but instead the bus is heading to Mae Sai for one and a half hour. Since I’ve traveled all the way to Mae Sai, I figure I should stop for my lunch before making my way back for one and a half hour to Chiang Rai.

After a disappointing day, I return to my guest house and saw the guests I’ve met in the bus. They asked me to join them for a drink at our guest house garden. That’s where I get to know Lucille (Leo), Alice (Gemini), Matt (Taurus), and Alex (Pisces) from England. They are amicable young folks with a strong curiosity in life. We chat about Music, Buddhism and as it go on they ask if I want to patron a nearby bar, Cat Bar as they offer karaoke for anyone who likes to sing on the stage. I was a bit apprehensive as I’m not a night person but then what the hell since it’s not far away from my guest house, I can leave anytime if I want to.

The bar has a nice ambience along the road. An old lady which they call Grandma was singing We’ll Rock You at the background. Then, they ask me if I want to sing since they heard a snippet of my rendition of Madonna, Like a prayer earlier from our conversation so I make a fool of myself and shamelessly, I sing three songs : ) Apparently, they love it and ask me to do a last number so I did hey Jude by the Beatles and one girl from the audiences actually give me flowers. As I’ve to wake up early for a daytrip in Chiang Sean, I left them for a good rest. The night unexpectedly ends up with a high note.

1 comment:

  1. You have spread your 'LOVE' (singing)to Thailand....impressive. Tsk Tsk. ALL THE WAY!

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