Karl and I fly to Chiang Mai in Thailand and grab our hotel. We drop laundry off to be done and call Prayong. Prayong is a friend of mine that I have not seen for three years. Prayong comes over to the hotel that I stayed at a few years ago and we sit in the lobby and talk and then we go walking for a bit before we decide to find te bicycle rental place. So Karl, Prayong, and I all get on Prayong's small 110cc motorbike and ride to the rental shop. We figure out which bicycles we want and decide to come back in the morning since the rental is per ray rather than per hour. The owner, Mr Sak, is a very friendly older man with a great smile and I tell him "kuhn na rahk" (I like your smile or you have a cute face, however it can be interpreted.) and he appreciates it. The three of us get back on the motorbike and ride to the hotel near Pizza Hut where we meet up with Mew. We are sitting in the lobby for a second time when I tell Prayong, "We're not staying at this hotel". I cannot describe the look on his face of shock. (I stayed at this specific hotel a few years ago but this time we are at a different one.) Mew is Prayong's friend who I also met briefly three years ago. Mew used to be very shy with limited Englsh skills, bt now he is very outgoing and his English is veryy good. Mew's partner, Nicolet, cannot join us, but we have a nice dinne talking about many things. I've brought t-shirts for everyone on this entire trip, so Prayong and Mew and Nicolet get Los Angeles or California themed t-shirts (along with many of the Pakistani people that we worked with). (My suitcase is finally getting some room in it.) After dinner Prayong and Mew leave while Karl and I walk around Chiang Mai and along the river and then call it a night before 10pm.
The price of the motorbike rental, which actually made sense financially because we can get around cheaper without paying for tuk-tuks and cabs, is worth the it just to see the look on Peang and Tree's faces when we pull up to the airport to pick them up. After dropping off luggage we ride the motorbikes out to the pretty lake that Karl and I rode bicycles to yesterday and sit and relax and enjoy the beauty. Then we take the motorbikes up the steep climb of Doi Suthep to a Buddhist temple that sits on top of the mountain and overlooks Chiang Mai. It is good to enjoy the sights of the temple and to observe people - both natives and visitors - as they enjoy the intricate decorations and features of the temple. Finally we ride back home and grab dinner. Peang and Tree are tired so they go to sleep as Karl and I start walking. We walk past a number of places and finally go to the new location of a couple of "stand-up" bars that I used to go to. We grab seats and there are a couple of people that I remember from a few years ago and we greet each other and try to catch up on what's been going on in Chiang Mai and other places. By midnight both Karl and i are tired so we walk on back to the hotel.
I go with Tree to negotiate the rental of three motorbikes for the four of us. It costs us about $30 for two days of three motorbike rentals. But we will probably come out ahead on taxi and tuk-tuk savings. We pick up the third motorbike and have lunch and now we're headed out towards the White Temple. This Buddhist temple is all white and was servely damaged in the (rare) earthquake a few months ago. When we get to the temple you can see some of the spires hanging off at crooked angles, cracked tile and stucco, and damaged artwork. For a while they considered closing the temple permanently, but fortunately it is open and being repaired. After the temple visit we start towards the largest waterfall near Chiang Rai. It starts to rain and we consider turning back, but I say to keep pushing on. The rain starts and stops and dries and starts again for the next two hours as we get to the waterfall and find it is closed for three months. We then start heading towards home but take a single lane road up the side of the hill towards hillside tribe land and have a fun (if bumpy) ride among trees and green meadows and beautfiul views. When we get near the top we stop and a man who owns the land there invites us onto his property for camera shots and to relax. The family offers us food and drink but we decline because we already have our own supplies. After a while we start back down the single lane road and the prepared roads for home.
On Wednesday Peang leaves for her home in Buri Ram. It is a slow start to the day as we grab lunch. After lunch we find a place that rents us decent bicycles for $5 per day, so we turn in the motorbikes and start out on a timed ride. (One hour out and one hour back since the shop closes in three hours.) We get outside the small city of Chian Rai and eventually find oursleves off road in drt and mud and water puddles. At the one hour mark we are all muddy and we strategize on a plan on how to return the bicycles. The ride up and down the dirt and mud is a good one and the run back towards the city is also fun. We stop in at the hotel and find a garden hose unattended. So we are able to clean off the bicycles before we rturn them to the shop. Since we are all sweaty and dirty, we find cold drinks and start walking the 2 kilometers back to the hotel. We make quite a sight: two foreigners cmpletedly wet and covered in dirt and mud. When we get back to the hotel I excuse myself in Thai (khor tot krup) to each person/attendant that I pass and try to explain that we were mountain biking. But the people understand and just smile with/at us.
Karl, Tree, and I go to the small Chiang Rai airport on Thursday morning. Karl will continue on to Nagoya, Japan to meet up with his family. Tree will return to his home in Bangkok and go to work this afternoon. And I will continue on to Cambodia to meet up with Person Ti_Ca.