Back In Chiang Mai after Lampang and Phrae
I'm back in Chiang Mai today and I feel about twenty pounds lighter-- that's what it feels like to be sans passport, which is getting mailed off to Bangkok for my Laos visa. It's a sensation that Kundera might call the "unbearable lightness of being"-- nothing official to identify me except a driver's license, a photocopy, and a receipt. I'll be getting back my passport next Wednesday.
I'm also in the process of planning a new wrinkle in my travels-- to Kengtung, Myanmar. That is, if the border isn't closed and/or being shelled due to ongoing tensions between Thailand and Myanmar. Chances are I will be traveling with one or two other people. I have lots more to say about this, but it will have to wait until a future post. Originally, I wasn't planning on going to Myanmar for political reasons, but I've since learned that a trip can be planned with minimal revenue going to the government, and also that locals want travelers to bring in their income and ideas. Anyway, more on that later...
Today the sun peeked out for the first time in five days. Two days drizzle in Nan, cloudiness and rain in the evening in Phrae, a sudden noontime rainstorm in Lampang. I saw a grand total of about ten farang in those three cities. Phrae and Lampang were both nice for their quiet alleys, riverine passageways, and old teak houses. And of course plenty of ancient wats, which are more commonplace than 7-11's here. Now that I'm back in Chiang Mai, I plan to get out of town as soon as possible-- today or tomorrow, most likely heading to Soppong by way of Pai.
I'm also in the process of planning a new wrinkle in my travels-- to Kengtung, Myanmar. That is, if the border isn't closed and/or being shelled due to ongoing tensions between Thailand and Myanmar. Chances are I will be traveling with one or two other people. I have lots more to say about this, but it will have to wait until a future post. Originally, I wasn't planning on going to Myanmar for political reasons, but I've since learned that a trip can be planned with minimal revenue going to the government, and also that locals want travelers to bring in their income and ideas. Anyway, more on that later...
Today the sun peeked out for the first time in five days. Two days drizzle in Nan, cloudiness and rain in the evening in Phrae, a sudden noontime rainstorm in Lampang. I saw a grand total of about ten farang in those three cities. Phrae and Lampang were both nice for their quiet alleys, riverine passageways, and old teak houses. And of course plenty of ancient wats, which are more commonplace than 7-11's here. Now that I'm back in Chiang Mai, I plan to get out of town as soon as possible-- today or tomorrow, most likely heading to Soppong by way of Pai.
posted by Franz K at 12:52 AM
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