"Welcome to the Jungle" - Chiang Dao, Thailand

Day 10

We woke up early this morning in preparation for our plane flight to Chiang Mai. First, down to the lobby for our complimentary breakfast at the hotel (we didn't wake up in time yesterday). Again, another fantastic spread - spaghetti bolognese, minced pork and basil, bacon, hashed browns, sausage, fried rice, pancakes, french toasts, pound cake, fresh fruit, juice and coffee, and eggs made to order. For about $55/night, this hotel was a great deal! They even allowed us to store a bag for the next 6 days while we head to northern Thailand.

They got us a taxi. Cost us 330 baht (which was 170 baht LESS than what we paid coming in, clearly, we got ripped off when we first arrived - note to self - don't let the taxi guy go unmetered even when he tells you it's a good deal).

We checked in with Bangkok Air and realized we were 2 hours too early. At first, we were wondering what to do, and then we happened upon the Bangkok Air lounge which is open to all passengers. Again, complimentary spread consisting of finger sandwiches, cookies, fresh pineapple, sticky rice with banana and coconut, popcorn, juice, cappuccinos, and free internet!

Our flight was an hour long, and again, we got another free meal of Thai chicken wraps on the plane. So, by 1pm, we had eaten three free meals. We're learning that you can easily get several free meals a day in Thailand!

We landed in Chiang Mai and took a metered taxi to the Chiang Phuak bus station to take the local bus up to Chiang Dao, which is where we are staying for the next three nights. We were the only tourists on the bus. It was an interesting ride up to Chiang Dao. There is no air condition on the bus, but luckily we had a fan overhead and it was a breezy day. It was actually a pleasant drive. There is a guy that hangs out the back door of the bus and the bus barely stops long enough to pick up and drop people off. The guy literally hangs out of the bus and pulls people into the bus right as it zooms off to the next location. It was really nice getting the "local" experience. It was also 960 bahts cheaper to take the bus (40 bahts/person - $1.20/person) vs. a taxi to Chiang Dao.

Chiang Dao is a rural city about 1.5 hours north of Chiang Mai. We are staying in a remote resort called Chiang Dao Nest (http://nest.chiangdao.com/) in a cute little bungalow out in what seems like the middle of the jungle. To get there from the Chiang Dao bus stop we had to take a Songthaew, which is a pick-up truck with two rows of seats in the back. The driver has a monopoly on the area as the 3 mile ride cost 150 baht.

Once we arrived, we were greeted with a basket of freshly washed fruit and shown to our bungalow. We're right next to the "western" restaurant (there is a Thai restaurant about a half mile down the road) and the internet station. We quickly changed and headed out to see some of the local sites. We appear to be at the base of a beautiful mountain and definitely in "the wild". Lots of insects surrounding us. We took a walk to the nearby monastery and discovered this trail of ants that went on for about 100 feet. We're definitely not in Bangkok anymore!

Although we slathered ourselves in insect repellant, we were quick to learn that the mosquitos here are aggressive and they're HUGE suckers! I think we're realizing that we're not really outdoorsy people. Hahha. Let's see if we can survive the next three days!

Currently, someone is playing a string instrument outside our room as they are getting ready for an all-you-can-eat BBQ. mmm.....

Will write more after our dinner!

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Dinner was really nice. They had a display of cold and hot food - all you can eat. We pigged out on baked pasta, BBQ beef, lamb, pork, chicken, salmon, shrimp and grilled fruits and vegetables. We also had live music to accompany our dinner on the outdoor patio under a thatch-roofed hut. Surprisingly, the bugs were minimal although we did get bitten a few times by mosquitos and there were these weird cricket-looking flying things.

The excitement came AFTER dinner when we returned to our bungalow. Eric turned on the lights and low and behold found two HUGE roaches in the bathroom. I didn't see, but he claims one was bigger than the size of a thumb - HIS thumb. This does not make me happy because I absolutely HATE roaches. Especially the big fat juicy ones. One of the benefits of CA over FL is that I no longer have to encounter those suckers. At least these don't fly. Eric managed to get one of them, but the other is still lurking. Now he's fast asleep and I'm afraid to use the bathroom to shower or anything else.

On top of that, there are holes in our window screens so little bugs get in if we leave the windows open...so now we're trapped in a bungalow with no A/C. Can we last for three nights? We shall see....I've already booked our next hotel - Le Meridien in Chiang Mai :) After this experience, I think we need the pampering. We now acknowledge that we are not outdoorsy type people. We prefer the generic enclosure of four white walls with a/c and NO roaches! So, for future reference, you can count us OUT for any outdoorsy, woodsy camping-type excursions. NO THANK YOU!

Tomorrow we signed up for a tour that takes us to a waterfall, the hot springs and a visit to a tribal village near Burma. Hopefully that makes up for tonight, else, we may be checking out early.
Wish us luck! OK, now wish me luck as I attempt to use the bathroom without encountering Mr. Roach.

Update: Still haven't showered but Eric just woke up and now he's running around killing all the bugs in our bungalow. He's an insect-killing MACHINE! He's now gone back into the bathroom to see if he can seek out Mr. Roach....to be continued.....

No roach to be found. I think we're in the clear - we *hopefully* can sleep soundly tonight - even with all these strange noises outside our window.

To see the rest of our pictures of the day, go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=theresang1977&target=ALBUM&id=5387655867788758897&authkey=Gv1sRgCKOu7PHL7tu5sAE&feat=email