To Chiang Rai

http://picasaweb.google.com/kyotesue/Day6ChiangRai#

We called our dog sitter, Bobbie, to check on Abby and then went down for our last breakfast at the hotel, where we both decided to have American style omelets and bacon.

After breakfast I bought silk and cashmere pashiminas for my daughters for 20 each and a truly lovely beaded one for myself for 40 american. I later learned that these were not from Thailand at all, but were marketed by middle eastern merchants to unsuspecting naive tourists like myself. They were still lovely, though.


We then finished packing and got the bags out and identified and went walking downtown a last time for some coffee overlooking the street while we waitied for our airport transfer.

The Bangkok International Airport (Suvarnabhumi) is huge but doesn’t have enough bathrooms, at least according to Ray. Check-in was uneventful and while we waited for our flight our co-traveler Terry, a nurse from Southern California, entertained us with her massage stories. They are probably a bit too risque for this blog, but suffice it to say that when having a massage in Thailand, it is important to be VERY specific about the kind of massage you want, even if you are a woman.

The flight was beautiful and Thai Airways is gorgeous, with great service, and interesting, un-named food. We even had window seats for the one hour flight. We arrived at the Chiang Rai airport and were whisked off to our hotel on the Kok River. It’s a truly lovely hotel with a view of the hills to the west and a light down comfortor in a cotton duvet on a very comfy bed.



As we arrived on our bus, there was a group of Thai girls from a private school visiting as well at the hotel and they were a delight to watch, giggling and sweet in their very proper uniforms. We are looking forward to new adventures in a new town after a good night's rest.