Chiang Khong: Old Buddies
Happy to be leaving Chiang Mai, we hopped on a bus early one morning for the six hour trip to the Thai-Laos border. The sleepy village of Chiang Khong on the Thai side was our destination. We’d been there before, when we first came to Southeast Asia a year-and-a-half ago (Damn, where did that time go?!), and were keen to visit the friendliest guesthouse owner in the world; Sayan, at the Easy Restaurant/Guesthouse.
I think for both of us, we didn’t really feel as though we were back on the travel road until we stepped off that bus in the early afternoon, threw ourselves and our bags into a tuk-tuk, and noisily chugged off down the rain-sodden street. The wind in our faces woke us up, and brought to life the fact that we were no longer staying put, that each day would bring some new adventure. It felt great!
We arrived at Sayan’s place, pulled up a seat, and ordered some fruit shakes from his beautiful wife. Sayan was still down at the market buying fruit and vegetables. Mentioning that we’d been here before, she grabbed the customer guestbook out, and we found where we’d written some glowing praise back in January 2006. Soon Sayan arrived.
“I remember you!” you exclaimed, pushing his hand up in front of his mouth in dramatic fashion. We chatted away like old buddies, and he brought us out some free fruit.
There’s not a whole lot to do in Chiang Khong. We’d hired bikes and ridden out to some nearby villages last time we were here. And so on this day we simply chilled out and watched a few movies at Sayan’s place.
We would only stay one night, because across the border in Laos waited one of the greatest adventures we’ve had in our two-and-a-half years overseas. And not only because I planned to propose.
Tags: Chiang Khong, Thailand, Travel
Dave