Chiang Mai part 2

It's my last day in Chiang Mai today. I haven't really done a great deal since I came back from Pai. I've just been hanging out with Kristian and my second-cousin Jez. It's been a nice, relaxing week which is good because I've got a lot of long and possibly arduous journeys ahead over the next few weeks.

I leave for Laos tomorrow which I think is going to be just such a journey. I'll be getting on the bus to a border town called Chiang Khong, 5 hours away. I'll stay there overnight and cross the border over the Mekong river in the morning. Once on the Laos side I'll board a slow boat which will take me to Luang Prabang in 2 days, stopping overnight in Pak Beng. I'll post more about this journey once it's completed.

As I said, this week I've mostly just been hanging out. I've met Kristian's son Bus a couple of times. He never, ever sits still and is always looking for things to poke, prod, throw, bend or break! It's quite amusing to spend time with a 4 year old, but I have to say I couldn't do it full time as Kris is about to do.

The one thing I've actually done this week which is actually worthy of a write up is visit Doi Suthep, a big temple up in the mountains. I've been meaning to go for ages but it's been raining a lot in the last few days so I only got round to it yesterday. I rented a bike for the drive up there and the 18km ride was worth the price of the rental by itself. The scenery was beautiful and the constantly curving road was like a race track. I felt like Valentino Rossi, except that I don't think his bikes usually come with a basket on the front!

Once I got up to the temple there was still a bit to go under my own steam. There are 306 steps to climb before you reach the gates! Legend has it the reason the temple is in that place is that in the 14th century a king was transporting a holy Buddah relic on the back of a sacred white Elephant. The Elephant climbed the mountain and then died of exhaustion. The king thought this meant that the relic wanted to remain in this spot so the temple of Doi Suthep was built to house it. After climbing 306 steps I thought I knew how the elephant felt!

It was definitely worth the climb though, the temple is very colourful, if perhaps a little too touristy. Being a tourist I can't really complain about that though! One of the best things about the place is not the temple buildings and statues, but the view. I could see the whole of Chiang Mai below me, looking like nothing more than the little roll out road mat I used to play with as a kid.

I'll let the pictures do the talking on this one I think. Now it's off to pack for the journey to Laos, and possibly discard a few clothes as I have way too many!