I start Tuesday with a decent ride. I'm a bit tired during parts of the ride and feeling good at other parts. I make it out almost to Banthi before I turn around. Today I buy chips and Coke and water and that serves as my lunch since I was craving salt after the ride. I catch up on a few other tasks in my hotel room during the hottest part of the day. When the day cools I walk over to my favorite restaurant and the waiter and waitress (i.e., the owners) see me coming and smile. I have a spicy yellow curry which is very good, but not spicy enough. Later I hang out and watch life go by and then go back to my hotel for sleep.
I get out for a two hour bicycle ride on Wednesday. Today is cooler but after riding the last three days, two hours is enough for today. After a shower I take the bicycle back to the rental place and owner is there. He remembers me from last year and we have a good discussion about his business and places to ride. I tell him I'll see him sometime next year. And then I go off and do a load of laundry at the coin laundry near my hotel. Near 7 pm I walk back to my favorite restaurant and order a spicy curry again but tell them I want more heat. But I don't get much spiciness as I want.
Thursday is a transit day as I catch a bus from CHaing Mai to Chiang Rai. Today it takes more than four hours due to a lot of road construction. After checking into the hotel I get out to a restaurant and have some stir-fried vegetables and a Sprite. And later I walk around the night bazaar and continue to notice how many less tourists there are this year.
After breakfast on Friday I walk to the bicycle store and get a mountain bicycle to ride. I stop back at the hotel to change clothes where they are fixing my air conditioning for the second time in less than a day. But now it seems to work. I start riding out to the White Temple and cntinue to notice less traffic and less tourists. I continue past the White Temple and start the climb to the waterfalls though I don't intend to ride to the top today. I go up a couple of kilometers up and then turn around for home. Halfway home the rear tire is slowly going flat. I manage to stop and pump it up a couple of times and get back to the bicycle store for a repair. It turns out it was a tiny metal wire that punctured the tube and tire (similar to my last flat). And this also makes three flats in a few months - it should be the last as flats come in threes. Late in the afternoon I have pizza and relax in the hotel. And later I walking aroind the night bazaar again.
I start Saturday with a windy bicycle ride. This bikes tends to jump cogs at times so it is not good for climbing. But I get out and ride and have some fun though it is a bit shorter than all of the other rides. I spend the afternoon in the hotel because I don't have motivation to do anything else. Late in the afternoon I go have dinner and then walk around the crowded night market. It's good to mingle with the local people and see what they have on offer.
I have good sleep on Saturday night into Sunday morning. The ear plugs were in since a club nearby was audible from my room. I get out fora good ride past the White Temple and a few kilometers up to the waterfalls before turning back for home. In the afternoon I just relax with some television and I make my plans and hotel/flight reservations for the second half of this trip. Late in the afternoon I find dinner and then walk two kilometers to an area of Chaing Rai that I have never been to before for the the Sunday night market. Whereas the Saturday night market is bigger with more items, the Sunday night market is more for the locals to buy the necessities such as food, kitchenware, and other such items. But is's still good to get out and mingle with the locals. And then I walk the two kilometers back to my hotel.
I start Monday a bit slow, but get out for a good bicycle ride. I get off the beaten track and get the strange looks and wide smiles from the locals. I'm rewarded on this ride with a bright orange temple well outside the city. I stop and take a few pictures because I love the bright, vivid orange. And later in the ride I find another temple but cannot stop becasue I get chased off the property by a couple of barking dogs. But its a great ride and maybe I will take tomorrow off riding after four good rides in four days. I do some final demographic work and send the results to the city council candidate indicating that I've gone as far as I can and we'll have to talk to see what else I can contribute. I've certainly afrmed her with plenty of data and comparisons with other city council districts that she can use. Late in the day I go walk around aimlessly at the night bazaar.
I again start Tuesday a bit slow - expecting to have an easy day riding. I start out spinning and stop off at the new Blue Temple. This goes well with the Whte Temple, Black House, and yesterday's orange temple surrounding Chiang Rai. After taking photos I start riding in a direction I've never been before and end up (somewhat) getting lost. I'm way out in the sticks and stop for a bit and can't hear a thing. I love the silence! I turn back for home and rely on Google maps to get me back to familiar territory. It turns out to be one of the longer rides. I relax with a movie for a bit and then go have a veggie burger at a vegetarian/vegan restaurant near the Clock Tower. And then I walk around a bit more and get back to the hotel.
On Tuesday night into Wednesday morning I wake up at about 3 am and cannot sleep - this is the first night that I had trouble sleeping on this trip. I eventaully fall back asleep and then start my day. After breakfast I check out of this hotel and walk my luggage over to another hotel for a two night stay. I stop in at the bus station to buy a bus ticket to Chiang Mai for Friday. As I'm buying the ticket a young white guy compliments me on my Thai language. And then he proceeds to buy his ticket with flawless Thai. Past the purchase, I stop the guys and it turns out that they are Mormom missionaries spreading their word. We have a nice little discussion and talk about the Thai culture and some of the similarities between Buddhism and Christianity (including Mormon). Then I go back to the original hotel to pick up the rented bicycle and get out for a 90 minute ride. After a shower I grab some junk snacks for lunch and then get back to the Python/mySQL coding that I let drop for the last week or so.
Thursday starts with breakfast and a final bicycle ride in Chiang Rai out to the White Temple and up towards the waterfall. It's a good way to end the riding. After a shower I return the bicycle and stop in at a cafe for lunch. I work on the Python/mySQL utilities during lunch (since the hotel's WiFi is not working well, if at all, in my room). And later walk around the nighat bazaar for a last time.
Friday the 13th is a transfer day as I take the bus back from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai. When I get to my hotel I gather my dirty clothes and go to the coin operated laundry to wash and dry clothes. Later I get out for dinner and walk around a bit. I'm a bit tired and just waiting for when Person Be_T gets off at work at 11pm to hang out.
Person Be_T and I have breakfast and then make a plan for the day. We get a driver and go to Doi Suthep and to Bhuping Palace. I've been to Doi Suthep a couple of times before and I don't realize I've been to Bhuping Palace until we get there. Nonetheless we have a good time walking around and viewing the flowers, grounds, and temples. Later we go back to the hotel and take a nap and then have dinner. After dinner I walk Person Be_T halfway back to his home since he has to start work tonight at 11pm. And then I walk back to my hotel and relax with a movie.
After breakfast on Sunday I go for a two hour long walk. I walk along the Ping river past the flower market and along a narrow road. I've walked here before but it must have been 10 years ago or so. But it feels good to re-live the old days and walk. I'll get a bicycle to ride tomorrow. Person Be_T comes to visit near 2pm. We go walking and end up near the Thapae gate again. There's the Chiang Mai Sunday market, so we go into it (where the streets are closed off) and walk around. We eventually find a wooden ox statue to buy. Along the walk I see an asian man with long blonde hair and tell person Be_T, "I saw that guy twice at the Chiang Rai night bazaar. I remember him from his long blonde hair and his facial features - I don't know if he's Thai or maybe Japanese". What a coincidence! Later we stop and have dinner and then sleep because it has been a long day.
Person Be_T wakes up at 5am to get to work. I get up later, have breakfast, and rent a hybrid bicycle. Today I head north of Chiang Mai along the Ping river. I ride to a convenient stopping point and turn around for home. I'm supposed to meet Person Ta_T in the afternoon, but he cancels and we aim for a Tuesday afternoon meeting. Near 6pm Person Be_T and I go have dinner and then walk around a bit and then go relax at the hotel. Person Be_T has been awake since 5 am and working a full shift, so we just relax.