I am currently in Chiang Khong near the border with Laos, right on the river.
Spent 500 Bhat for a hotel, about $16. This is twice what I have been paying, and I know that I am paying too much because at the end of the day I just don’t have the energy to quibble over a couple of dollars. It is a nice room though, with A/C and should be very quiet.
DEAD GUYS
I mentioned I saw a couple of dead men the other day. The first one was about 15 miles into my ride. If I read the arm waiving or of the truck driver correctly, the bike passed someone just as the truck was moving away from some side of the road workers. The bike hit the truck FAST in the right corner. (Remember, they drive on the left here). The bike went under the truck’s wheels, the biker smashed into the truck and hit the road hard. He was wearing a helmet which is unusual around here, but it was one of the really cheap ones that are often seen. It split into many pieces. The helmet helped keep the head intact, but that was about it. He was resting peacefuly when I went by, but there was no doubt that he was gone already. You can see the pic of his bike in my slideshow.
The second dead guy was on the same trip, a couple of hours later. I was walking to see some falls. They were really not worth the walk unless you planned to swim, as many people were. I saw the EMT’s running down the path, and later saw them carrying the guy away. He was a young white man, maybe late 20′s, but he was obviously dead as well. I spoke with a couple that had talked to witnesses. We could not determine what caused him to drown, but none of the locals knew what to do, no one had CPR training. His girlfriend was there with him on the way out, but I don’t know if she was there when he died. Another tourist had come upon the scene and went in and pulled him out. Like I said, no one there knew what to do.
ELEPHANTS
The elephants were happened upon by accident. I passed a small bed and breakfast that looked like it might have great coffee. It was closed, but I saw an elephant out in the field. I rode down the driveway and saw a bunch of them. I spoke with a man that was running it, or at least a part of it, I could not understand everything he said. He told me that his king wants there to be more wild elephants in Thailand. Their flag used to have an elephant on it, and they would like to bring them back. I think he said there were 1,500 wild ones now, and he thinks it should be more than double that. This place raises them. You can see one that is pregnant here:
http://whereisbobl.com/pics/index.php?album=2010-11-thailand-all&image=img_0104.jpg
She is due in about a month and is HUGE. I saw the baby move from back where I was standing. If you look closely, you can see what is probably the biggest natural breasts in Thailand. 8^)
If you want to ride an elephant to some falls that are near by, you have to clean the animal so that you don’t agravate their skin. If there is anything between the blanket you are riding on and the animal, it causes problems. They do not put any seats on them, only a blanket.
THEIR KING
While at the elephant farm, the guy told me that His King was so smart. They always refer to him that way as in “My King is so smart” and never refer to him as… Him. Well, his king was so smart because he figured out that if you put Poo from teh animals (including elephants) on the fields it would help the plants grow. Poo was the guys word, I don’t know what his king called it. I think Poo was the only nice word to describe it that he knew. Crap would not have worked as Krhap or something like it is a word that is used at the end of many sentances. If their king says let there be elephants, the people make elephants. Their king says Poo, there is poo. There is something to be said for a beloved monarchy who has good ideas. Sure makes it easy to get the populace to do the right thing.
LIGHTS
The colored lights that you saw is part of a weeklong celebration. The ones in the sky are small hot air balloons that you buy from a vendor, light the wax and cardboard fire puck, and release when it gets hot enough. If you are adventurous, you can attach fireworks. These things are released all over the country. They go up (usually), then cool and float to earth. I don’t know why the country doesn’t just burn up. I saw some burning in trees (one pic at least). My pics were done at the moat. If I walked down to the river I would have seen thousands. I saw some pics from another traveller. He said, and his pics confirmed, that they let them go in waves. The first wave especially they try to let go at once. The whole sky is lit up with a blanket of these. As it was, the pics don’t do them justice. There were times when the entire sky was littered with these things, both burning and ones that were falling from the sky.
They also do a similar thing with candles in the river. I have both read and been told contradictory reasons for why they do this. Good luck, to honor the dead, to honor the river and the sky…… Whatever the reason, it sure was fun to watch. The people sure do enjoy it.
ROADS
These are some of the best motorcycle roads I have ever been on. There was one section today that I was told had 1,100 curves in it. I believe it. It is like just one big curvy road. These roads in the mountains are VERY narrow though. Fortunately there is very little traffic, and most of that is mopeds and motor scooters. The trucks that are occasionally on the road are small as well. Most of the time my bike is by FAR the fastest thing on the road. Helps with passing when needed, but speeds are kept down for safety. There are occasional surprises, such as sand and snakes. Speaking of snakes, I don’t know if the snake I saw was a cobra or not. It was long and dark brown, and resembled a cobra, or a thousand other snakes. It took up one whole lane and part of another. Not very big in diameter though. I would have gotten a picture, but it was a blind corner and no safe place to pull off or even to stand.
I would have to say that these are some of the best drivers I have ever seen for such a rule-less style of driving. Well, OK, that rule-less, just fewer rules than I am used to.
Rule #1 – Might makes Right – The biggest vehicle has the right of way. ALWAYS.
Rule # 2 – If it fits, you can put it there - Sure makes getting around in the city during rush hour easy on a bike. In many places bikes are not even expected to stop at lights. We get to use the bike lane. The one cop I have seen on this trip so far yelled at me (well, as close as a Thai can get to yelling) for stopping at a red light. I guess I was not supposed to. No one else was.
Rule #3 – Vehicles drive on the left. Most of the time – And when they don’t, see rule #1
Rule #4 – Vehicles pass in blind corners. It’s a matter of pride. – If this seems dangerous, re-read Rule # 1.
Rule #5 – No one really WANTS to damage their vehicle. – Which means that even if you do something really stupid, people will almost always avoid you. But, for when they don’t, see rule #1.
Rule # 6 – Bikes filter to the Front of the Que, it’s just the natural order of things. - That’s front of the line for you Americans.
All in all, I really like the way they drive. They (and I) do things that in the US would guaruntee a crash and lawsuit. Since everyone drives this way, no one is surprised. If you decide to drive the wrong way on a one way street because you missed your stop, No Problem. People make way. You need to pull into traffic? Just go. As long as you stay to the left, they will avoid you. (just remember #1)
There are NO cops. I did find a military guy today. I came to a fork in the road. I should have just taken it. Instead, while I was looking at my map, a guy comes up to me (it was an inactive checkpoint) and asks if he can help. No english of course. Fewer people speak it out here in the more isolated regions. I show him the map, it has route numbers on it, and town names, just not the ones on the signs. This is a fork remember. I pointed to the route number I wanted. He pointed in three directions, and waved his arm in circles….. Then went into a detailed disertation of his recomended route. It was like asking a Texan for directions. Even though he doesn’t know the place you are looking for, and even though you don’t understand a word of the Texan drawl, you get detailed directions. Anyway, I went in the direction he last pointed. It was the wrong way. I had remembered that I was finally back on my more detailed map, which had more town names on it so I was able to figure it out for myself.
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