Shhhh...Charlotte

Quick early August trip to the east coast of the South for a bit of fiddlers' convention and steamy heat temperatures.

Charlotte

Westin downtown, 601 South College Street, Charlotte,  NC 28202. Lovely hotel. Great rooms. Booked on Priceline for $113 (+ taxes). Stayed on high floor. Parking was $18 per night and had we known th area or came in during the day, we could have parked right on the side street of the hotel...

Dinner: Halcyon Flavors, http://www.halcyonflavors.com/, GREAT place located 2 blocks from hotel on Tryon street in the museum section of downtown. Beautiful space on second floor of building with massive outdoor patio with views. Fresh, local and well prepared food. Good wine list, cocktails and local beers. For two if us, $100.

Fancy Gap, VA

Drove up from Charlotte on back roads and via Mt Airy, Andy Griffith Show country. Nice back roads, and the town of Mt Airy made for a good stop to amble the two-3 block high street, chocka with wholesome small town USA. Dearth of restaurants if you want more than fried or diner style food in that part of town. I saw a wine cafe (closed by te time we got into town) and I read of good Mexican place but not in that localized section.

Mt Airy

Drove up Highway 52 to VA border. road dotted with small roadside fruit (peaches, apples) stands, and LOTS of flea markets, especially at the border between NC & VA. 52 Climbs up and up to the Blue Ridge Parkway at Fancy Gap, where we headed east about 4 miles to the Inn at Orchard Gap.

view from Angel Room

2 nights stay ($126-ish per night, inc great generous breakfast cooked by Sherry or Don Foster, the hosts.)  Our room was the Angel room on top right of second floor. Nice seating area on the porch from which to see over the hills and Blue Ridge parkway.

Saturday auction at cana

Great location from which to base yourself for taking the BRP east to places like Don's Meadow, the watermill, and Floyd to the east, or towards Galax up 52 then west on 221.  Lots of flea markets and good chance there's an auction happening somewhere.

who says we cant get along? 

August 5-10 is the Galax Fiddlers Convention; the reason for our trip. Amazing event. you haven't experienced America until you've gone to a mountain music or genuine bluegrass music event. this must be the grand dame of them. 

 Asheville, NC

Fourth and last night was in Asheville, the Berkeley of the South, I have been told. And it delivered, but probably nicer: people of all ages walked around, enjoying art galleries, the shops, old art-deco buildings restored to old arcades, street artisans, public fountain for swimming, loads of restaurants, outdoor eaing and breweries. Great town for exploring and ambling.

Drove from Galax direction on 221 mostly, stopping at towns like Sparta, West Jefferson, Boone through mountains and farmland and approached Ashevill from from 19E & 25.  Nice drive.

Stayed at Downtown Inn: Patton Ave at Ashland Street, cheapest place for a decent place and well located for a god price. AAA rate for our dates $72.  She put us on top floor and mountain view (room 517). Hotel has seen nicer days for sure and can do with an updating. but it was clean and the staff nice.  All rooms open to the motel walkway, so big window, while not private, gives you great views.

See: Grove Arcade, downtown, Walk Street, Pack Square park, and galelreis on Biltmore Ave.

Eat: Blackbird. Local fresh produce, clean nicely understated space on Biltmore Ave. Local brews. 

Drink: Asheville Brewing. large covered open driveway space to enjoy outisde temos, as well as indoors. Good beers; food more standar bar food (fried, pizza, burgers etc). Great vibe-all ages and colours.

Day 4: en route to Charlotte.

If we got up earleir, we would have had time to go hike you Chimney Rock on 74A. leave time for that-views must be fab.  74A wends past lake Lure that if you didnt know any better youd think you are in a mounain lake in Europe. 

Quest for BBQ lunch before flight took us into South carolina, Gaffney, Stephen Colbert hometown, outlets, cheapest gas ($3.09) and BBQ at Daddy Joes (1400 W Floyd baker Blvd), where they include in their vegetarian 'menu' grilled zucchini, the potatoe salad and the BBQ sauce. Not the best, but the sweetest hospitality makes up for the medoicre food.

Noted too the relief of knowing that the last exit before the adult store is well signposted by billboards for miles. Whew.

Pacific NW roadtrip

June 9-15 roadtrip- ideal time of year before schools are out and places, roads and hotels WILL get jammed. Good weather too.

Stopped in fave town Winters for a coffee at the only pure coffee shop in town(forgot name-some guys name. I reckon it is the only pure coffee shop in town, so you'll find it.) It's in the wood building that has a deck across from the gazebo and main town park.

Dunsmuir, old times railroad town. Quaint, cute Victorians, and Shasta as the playground in nature. Great spot for a weekend or vacation home. Pizza at Pizza Factory on Main Street. So-so but a locals spot so nice to eavesdrop on the gossip and see two kids no older than 12 ( one chubby one with thick spectacles. So Stand By Me) have lunch together in front of the baseball game. $7.75 for a mini pizza. Enjoyed it at the rest area overlooking the river at the Oregon border.

Ashville: Shakespeare tourist theatre town, but not overdone. Would make for a nice place to stay for a night. Good restaurants, Smithfields looked FAB.
Jacksonville OR nice preserved old western town. Twee shops etc. expensive B&Bs so best to stay in Medford 6 miles closer to I-5

Hotel: Homewood Suites in Medford. $129 on Booking.com. Great place- clean comfy and decent breakfast included. Nice staff. Top floor nice views.

Eat: elements on Main Street. Tapas. Well, their idea of it but even if not authentic Spanish, it was tasty and reasonably priced. Good wine list. Ribs and faves bean dishes, glass of wine $30 with tip.

Day 2

Lunch in Eugene's public market area on 5th. Marche Provisions. Excellent.  Charcuterie plate and glass of white, approx $22. Nice outdoor eating patio.

• Dinner Portland in Monte Villa neighborhood, Ya hala, 8005 SE Stark St

Portland, OR 97215, Neighborhoods: Southeast Portland, Montavilla. SW but close to Burnside at 79. Lebanese superb. Lamb shank, fish, foule, two wines $55 for 3 adults and 1 kid.

• Morning coffee: Case Study Coffee, 5347 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR 97213, Neighborhoods: Northeast Portland, Rose City Parkgreat space. Lovely scone and coffee. $5

Monte villa is a cool diverse neighborhood, a gem in the making

Seattle

Olympic Spa in Lakewood. GREAT place to spend a ladies evening if soaking, sauna, hot rooms, and lounging in a robe. $35 for unfettered soaking in diff pools. I house restaurant healthy good food. No alcohol. Pork sizzle plate $13

Lunch. Ballard. Oaxaca Cart. Fab western neighborhood. Good Mexican food, space and hood. Asada tacos $7 for three. Unlimited salsa bar.

Dinner: Pairseattle north of university district on 55th. Super nice neighborhood bistro. Lots if plates to share and menu changes. Lamb, leek and potato gratin, chicken, lobster risotto, pot de creme, etc. 5 people $32 each.

Fremont: Uneedaburger. Bravo! Burger joint, fab.

Dinner: near symphony. Name:    Pizza, asparagus, two wines each, and some other dish. Vast open space, must've been a bank or large lobby of office building. $100 for two.

Lake City. Toyoda Japanese. Superb tiny family run place. Spinach salad with a sesame topping, fried tofu, pork Katsu, seared tune with onions amazing. Rolls, croquette, all good. For 5 of us $131.

• Javasti- NW 35 TG at 79. Coffee shop
• Grateful Bread- fresh bagels!!! NW 35 ave at 72-ish.
• Mama Melina... Lunch at Y Village, 5101 25th Ave NE  Seattle, WA 98105

Cle elum. off I90 Bakerty at top end of town. Lovely old brick building, old biddies working there. Homemade unrefined donuts and baked goods.  Brill. Donuts and latte $4

Madras. Mi Casa. Mexican restaurant where long distance buses between Tijuana, michoacan, and Phoenix stop! 24 hrs from there to Tijuana. For Mexicans by Mexicans. Great food. My two carnitas tacos were $3!!! Glad I stopped as down home as it was.

One road very well taking the extra 20 minutes to drive is Canyon Road from Ellenburg to Yakima. Hugs the river at the bottom of the canyon. Gorgeous.

Route to Klamath Falls from Seattle was uplifting. Snow capped mountains, alpine to high desert and driving past endless number of volcanoes: hood, ranier, Baxter, St. Helens, and others I don't know the names of.  Town if Shanklin looked cool and old west. Tiny.

Rocked up to Klamath at 5:30. Lots of nice stops at the bakery and lunch at Mi Casa. What a gem. I just missed the inbound bus of peeps too; she was prepping for 25 people to spill off the bus. I took a wee side road from ellenburg to Yakima, Canyon Road. 22 miles in the canyon along the river. Gorgeous. 

Enjoying a dinner at the Crramery brew Pub and 'Grill'- code for all typical TGI Fridays type of fried food, but managed to find a baked eggplant and tomatoe dish washed down with Crystal Springs IPA sitting at bar watching local lads and lasses do their small town flirting and banter. Nice to eavesdrop and grateful I'm not a blue-collar small town gal!

Carrizo plain-not so plain after all!

Did a two day one night road trip to Carrizoplain after reading about it in the Viaa magazine.  Tucked in a hard to get to valley from San Luis Obispo and Highway 5, it made for  a great two-day getaway on Easter Sunday.

Took off early and went down  5, cutting into Highway 46 west (Paso Robles Road) and then South again on Hwy 33 through miles and miles of almond orchards, which Moose duly noted for next Persian New Year when green almkinds are all the rage. Of course, for quality control purposes, he made me pull over while he picked a good few Monterey Market produce bags full of.

Directly south of these orchards were 26 miles of oil fields. never imagined this exited in california. the land was sparse, blighted and ugly.The 'town' of McKittrik was bleak and dead.

West on 58 from McKittrick the road rises then gently wends down to Carrizo Plain.

http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/bakersfield/Programs/carrizo.html

Steinbeck country.  Nice to take picnic lunch on the overlook and walk the raised trail to the salt flats.

Wended west on 58 to 101 where we hopped north a bit to Atascadero for ou hotel stay at the Carlton (booking.com$119 + tax a night). Oldest hotel in the town, that once was an old persons home. Huge, brick and well renovated with a fab bistro next to the lobby that served solid and generous breakfasts as part of the hotel charge.

Morro Bay is only 20-30 minutes away and makes for a nice afternoon stroll, even when foggy and espite the touristy shops. it was quiet on Easter Sunday, so the full brunt of a tourism destination wasnt so bad. A few streets off the watefront are other locals shops and cafes, so worth checking out.

Passed in through Paso Robles just to see how they do 'wine town' in this part of California compared to Napa and Sonoma. Very low-key. A few posse of hippies hanging out at the Amsterdam coffee shop on 13th.  the central city park is green, tree-covered and with a band stand gazebo-so charmign and probably full of life in the summer vs. a Monday morning.

heading back north on 101, you pass lettuce country. miles and miles of massive farms and lettce fields. the salinas valleey & california feeds America.  Too bad they dont eat more salad.

Sao Paolo

Hear so many things of this place and despite having been here before for LP years ago, i don't really recall much of it, or really spent time to enjoy it.  Getting here earlier than work mates allowed for time to scope places and get a feel for the place.

Staying
George V casa Branca in Jardins. Apartment building turn hotel. Great service and location with blocks of shops, cafes, restaurants and safe walking.  booked through Expedia, I think $250 a night (inc breakfast). On a high floor, room 901, with balcony, one bedroom, two loos, kichenette. Couldn't ask for more.

Eats

• Santo Grao: Oscar Freire in jardins. great vibe, coffee place  but also full menu of praca do dia, salads and snacks. Filet and duchess potatoes (53R), glass of Argie pinot 18R, so not cheap either.
• Deleiite Gourmet: coffee/chocolate cake shop on Oscar Freire, 125. Small coffee 6R, nice front deck to sit on.
• Lebanese place in ground floor level of apartment building so set back from sidewalk on R Lorena (@ Rocha Azevedo). fouldammas and a kibe 21R. Very nice, did the trick for a take away eat in the room.
• Shintori, Alameda Campinas, just down from Ave paulista. Japanese 'house" with large garden. had the shabu shabu and it was good. Nice sake cocktails too. Spendy.
• Bar des arts-in Itaim Bibi neighborhood by the river. Gorgeous gardens and grounds with several buildings housing tables and a large green house annex where the generous and amazing lunch buffet is set up. Apparently it is being torn down to make way for a huge office building, so go there quick!
• Jardieneira Grill, ave dos bandeirantes, 1001, Vila Olimpia. The mecca to meat and all things grilled, buffet. Amazing spread, come hungry. Good caipirnhas, good meat, good cold buffet.
• Capim Santo, Roha Azevedo & Itu, outdoor garden and tables, rustic and beautfiully prpared Brazilian food from the other provinces and coast. 
• La Figuera, haddock Lobo & estados unidos, massive fig tree around which sit the tables as well as in surrounding buildings. Expensive, but lovely place and food is good.
• Chop Opcao-off ave paulista & Caneca. OUtdoor beer garden. Food typical mediocre bar food.
• Corner of Lorena and campinas is a great neighborhood restauramt with a massive outdoor area, serving a fab Salad Nicoise and draft beers
• All up Campinas to Ave Paulista from Lorena has lots of lovely looking restaurants.

Shopping

• Oscar Freire has a lot of shops and boutiques. some with more dolled up shop girls than customers. one  place i loved was Vista Sao Paolo (Rua Augusto, 2800) where the designer gets photo images and screen prints them on great cut T-shirts and dresses. He was having a 40% sale so a 68R shirt was $40.
• in the business lowerl levels shops of the Lorena and campinas apartment building, where there is also a great restaurant (lonchenete) and draft beer spot is a lady who sells hawaianas and bejewels the soles for an extra few bucks. Nice lady and store and cheaper than other shops for the flip flops.

Neighborhoods
Hotel assured me walking during the day is safe, so i wended through Primavera to Itaim Bibi, Tabapua street where I had lunch at a 2.99R a 100kg food place along with the other office workers. then up Faria Lima, to Europe and walked all up (saw the Electrolux boutique!) back to jardins on Augusta Street.

kampot

one of my fave spots in entire trip. Chill slow moving river town. Small so easy to navigate and walk around just exploring.

Stayed
Le soleil d'or. booked on booking.com...$45 a night breakfast included and served at La Java Bleue a half block away. nice sidewalk seating and sheltered by potted plants, run by french couple, Louise, the hubby a nutty gregarious guy who just loves cooking and the romance of the sounds of the fisherman's boat engines as they come in from the night of fishing at 6 am.

we stayed in top floor room-huge, two beds and private bath..very nice. comfy, fridge.

Le java Bleue
owned by French couple of Soleil D'or. FABULOUS meal of fish Lousie bought that day and hrew his whole self into cooking (en papillotte with garlic, clams, shrimps etc). Beautiful presentatin and passion. best meal of trip.

Three Sisters bakery-owner was an orphan when younger and learned brownie baking and apple pie baking from a USA woman at her orphange. today shes married and has a bakery and proceeds go to orphanage where her husband works. On same street half a block from Le java Bleue.

drinks-lots of laid back and small bars along the promenade. we liked wunder Bar because it was quiet but wit a nice buzz. The rusty keyhole was the poplar place.

on other side of the salt workers monument there is a small street with guest houses (magic Sponge) and restaurants. we ate at kampot GH restaurant which was on second level of a bamboo house. Nice guys, good food and decent prices (5-7 each)

Do:

walk. walk to market and across the bridge to the other side which has a peppercorn farm shop and dryign location, wats and relaxed neighborhood.
watch the boats coem in after a night of fishign on the river bank by the old governor's residecne and post offcie. Very special and unique sites an sounds of kampt. one day word will get out such that this daily delivery of fish will be a top tourist attraction...pity
market-where the Muslim women sell the fish you cans see the fishermen bring earleir that morning on the river bank
Kep: tuk tuk to kep  $12, about 30 km along coast. we asked him to go to Kep, wait till we had lunch and also go through the islam areas.  Very nice guy and well put together. Stopped to buy face masks because of very dusty road to Kep, which was a noted and nice touch.
Crab market. lots to choose from but we settled on Srey Phan overlooking crab nets, crabs sold at market price. had them with the faous kampot pepper sauce ($5) which was divine. Grilled shrimp ($4) and two large beers ($4). Bliss lunch. lovely.

getting there-Ibis bus company, $8 each between PP and Kampot. fast, airconditioned with one bathroom stop, a small water and free wi-fi on bus. Great service.

Phnom Penh

First night stayed at Indochine 2 on 110 street (or thereabouts). very simple spartan in the thick of the busy dense streets of backpackers, prostitutes, tuk-tuks, bars= noise. $30 the night.

second stint was at Kabiki, 264 street, former residence of president's wife, and on same road as prime minsitr residence. and ot showed, the street had a barrier to it and guards where only hotel guests and security were allowed. $80 a night, great breakfast served poolside in a very densely treed garden. rooms fabuluosly comfy though bathrooms could do with an update for the price; little things like soap dish by sink, modern sinks and countertops. neighborhood quiet and safe and easy to walk to Royal palace, river front and sihanouk ave. I'd stay here again.

other noted places to stay were south of sihanouk in streets behind Ngon inclusing Hotel Nine, Skyline, willow,

also between the 51-57 ave and 278, 294 and Samdach Louis streets loads of cafes, restaurants and hotels, nail spas

Tips & Toes 

#17 Beo, Street 278, Phnom Penh 12302, Cambodia

+855 92 148 033 

to do's

• walk the streets and explore all the markets from Rusian to central to the open air veggie/food market near Indochine on about 136 streets.
• tual Sleng prison
• Killing fields-from Tual Sleng was about $14 return. negotiate hard.  dont miss this paert of tragic history.
• neighborhood south of sihanouk and west of pasteur streets very posh and lots of embassies and servcied business apartments, cafes, leafy streets etc.

eat

• friends n stuff-well known ple, on 13th and 172 street. good cause, inconsistent service depending on stage of training, bit overpriced, bt knwoing it helps train otherwide street kids, you dont mind s much
• ngon restaurant on 60 Sihanouk. SUPERB-fresh food, open air, great servcie, clean, fab decor and vibe. Locals (with some scratch) and great location.  $10 per eprson with beer roughly. Ate here two days running it was so good. they also have places in Ho Chi Minh and Ha Noi
• bakery-fab cakes and coffee and outdoor front garden area. on 240 at 19th, perhaps called Chocolate? 
• The Vegetarian on 19 Ave and 264 street. simple fare, nice walled in outdoor eating area, cheap, clean. By kabiki hotel.
• Watch the rich kids hangout and buy coffee that is overpriced by wetsern standards, let alone Cambodia...Costa on 57 and 288 street area. aswell as swanky looking Brown Coffee and bakery by the English school.

No. 13, St. 57, corner of Rue Oknha Chrun Youhak (St. 294), 12302 Phnom Penh

transport

• to Kampot-Ibis bus $8. Hostels sell tickets but also at main station on 106 by Psar ratrey one block form river.  In Kampot it is behind the gast station where the pineapple statue is.
• to airport-tuk tuk was $6-8 dependign on how you negotiate. can w are told is about $20-25

Siem Reap-meh

Flew in on Lao Airlines from LP..about $145 each with a stop in Pakse.

Hotel
pre-booked on Agoda.com, Villa Siem Reap, away from the busy noise of the Pub street triangle, on Taphul Street off sam dech tep Rd a block away from the park Hyatt being built.  Great location. Included breakfast and $30 a night. Lovely friendly staff.

Angkor wat
Took a hotel arranged tuk tuk. Whole day was $15 for the short route. Mistake was to ask driver to take us to a lunch place as he ended up taking us to a place where he most likely got commisison, and it was the most expensive meal in Cambodia for us (OK, still only $25), but word of warning, donlt ask to be taken somewhere if you want an authentic place.

entry fee: $20 for a day pass. Keep pass with you at all times. onme day pass was enough for us frankly.

Food
Khemer kitchen-open facing restaurant along the Street 9 side of the psar. Shrimp pancake and stir fry veggies and a few beers about $10 or less.
cant recall name, but on Sivatha road one block south of the intersection of the Park Hyatt. Open facing restaurant with massive grill outside and lovely dining area both outside and 'covered'. (Blue wave?)  Clean, good quality and not too bad in price about $10 per head.
supermarket in a mall where Pizza company and ice cream parlor. get any pepepr or spcies here as they are nicely packaged and much cheaper than the psar here or anywhere else kin cambodia we found.

Transport
bus to phnoem penh was a 10 seater mini-van (VIP?) where an office is locagted kin same block as the nice grill restaurant. per person $8-10???  About 6 or so per day. 4hrs.

Luang Prabang-sublime

Truly a magical "city", very tranquil and relaxed place that sits atop two rivers that converge.  The bus station is on the east side of the Nam Khan river by the airport. tuk tuk cost about 10,000 kip each.

We stayed at the wonderful Apsara on Kingkitsarath Road which is on the peninsula part and overlooked the Nam Khan river. Booked through Booking.com and paid about $80 a night for a fab room (room #8) that had a private balcony overlooking the road and river, form where we sat and drank beers and watched monks and people stroll by. One of the more expensive places we stayed, but it was holidays and peak travel time, and a hotel that would cost easily 4180 or so a night, it was a good deal in my view.  Note, no TV in case it matters and wi-fi spotty. I had to go to the main hotel building to get faster wi-fi (free).  Lovely breakfast included which we ate on the main building verandah.

Meals

• Night market: buffet style stalls set up in an alley at the night market. Chocka and all seem to be vegetarian with a few meat BBQ stands that are a separate charge to the otherwise, pile your plate as high as you can for $K10,000.
• no shortage of Chinese and lao places that cooked in open air kitchens overlooking the sidewalk.
• dinner at Apsara hotel in patio section across the street right overlooking river. delicious cold mushroom salad with cilantro, mint and spring onion. Delicious.  With beers (several) abotu $30 for two.
• Coffee at Mekong riverview hotel cafe across the street from their hotel and also overlooking the convergence of the river. Nice place to stop and have a breather

To do

• WALK!!!! Go down all laneways and streets. lots to see and absorb. the temples of course,  but meandering through streets off the main peninsula part is also a must. of note to us was the streets that led to the Chao Anouvong monument and the UXO missile museum ( Bhounkhong street). The hotel de la paix used to be an old prison and is now a luxury hotel. so lux they don't even bother putting the hotel name out front; out curiosity of this high walled space and open gate drew us in.
• Alms giving: overrated and wrought with appalling tourist behaviours shoving into the flow of the monks to take a flash photo or pretend it is a meaningful gesture to them to give alms, when really, its a lame attempt to have a 'local' namaste experience. I had strong feelings about what a Disney tragedy it all is. Food vendors would be better positioned to sell coffee at 5am rather than low quality insulting rice packets.
• we kept walking down the side roads to the Craft Center and the main market which sits about 2m west of the main drag.
• cross the Mekong river on the car 'ferry' and walk through the little village on the bank of the Mekong where there are more temples and brick path, that eventually peters out to a track to quite temples. i see this side of the river getting more traction for hotels and hostels being touted as the "quiet' side as Luang Prabang gets more popular and crowded.

Udomxai

I don't think even pictures would have prepared us for this stunning bus ride from Luang Namtha to Udomxai!  only 180 odd kilometres that took 6 hours to cover because of the amazing altitude and curved roads the poor struggling bus took. Spectacular vistas peppered with traditional stilt housevillages and the color of their woven fabrics. the 40,000Kip was worth very penny and every hour, even when the bus had to stop to get repaired!  magic.

Udomxai is a cross roads of trade between laos, vietnam and china. Lots of mandarin heard, written and spoken. the market was chocka with plastic and other mass wares from China too. not much to see here but pleasant for an overnighter.  the market is actually pretty lively and vibrant-we saw more unidentified charred critters on skewers for sale.  i also found a stall that sold lovely Lao rice baskets for 10,000K, turns out the cheapest I was able to find in the country as clearly other tourists found them as endearing as me in other towns and they were 40,000 and up!

Lots of hostels, but we went for the Villa Keoseumsack which wasnt far from the bus station (we wanted to get the 8am bus to Luang Prabang) and clean, central etc. on the Main road along the stairs/footpath that climbs up to the main temple.  Rooms large, clean, fridge, back newer  building. Cost 60,000K???

Food picking seemed slim; a lot of Chinese places, so we opted for a Lao place near the hotel, worked by two very petulant daughters who clearly wold much rather be somewhere else! Food OK, beer cheap.

Bus tricks

the 8 am bus to Luang Prabang is a popular one with the tourists, so need to get there early to lock in a ticket then get on bus to stake a seat, as the locals do the same and start piling bags of rice and their other stuff. the ticket stand opens at 7am, so get ready to queue.  if with another person, divide and conquer for one to get the tickets and the other to get breakfast. i went to the Siso bakery   next to the roundabout up near the bus station selling good egg baguette sandwiches and coffee. the coffee ladies at the bus station are also good too.  It's another fab bus trip with lots to see on both sides of the bus so make sure your camera battery is charged and get a window seat!

Mekong, me coming!

The bus from the central bus station in Chiang Rai to the border town of Chiang Khong on the Mekong river is easy and straightforward.  They usually leave from bay #4 or 7 and have many peppered throughout the day. When we were there in Jan 2, no advance ticket purchase was available, you had to buy on the day.



Keep in mind the border closes in the late afternoon, so allow for a bus of about 2-2.5 hours, a tuk tuk from the bus station in the town to the actual border post a few kilometres away, exit border processing, small long boat to cross, and then Laos Huay Xai border process.  Longer if you dont have a passport photo! We got the 8 am bus and cleared all of the above by 11-ish. there was a noon bus to Luang Namtha (6 hours), so we had plenty of time to get another tuk tuk from Huay Xai boat area to the bus station about 10 kilometres away.

The bus ticket was 55,000 kip (approx $8). Nice thing about "communism' is that prices are all posted, so risk of being cheated in fares.  Note the bus station for Luang namtha is also about 10km away from the actual town. the tuk tuk from the stain is pretty standard at about 5,000kip.



Phou-lu III (or is it II?) Bungalows

From the bus station/tuk tuk drop off, turn right to the main road and walk a 50yrd slight incline to the main drag where there are many hostels.  I caught wind of bungalows about an 8 minute walk away from the main area and night market towards the river and thankfully too far for most backpackers to want to walk to.



This place was a gem of a find!  http://www.phou-lu-bungalows.com/. we paid $20 for a gorgeous, clean, simple entire bungalow with own front porch, fridge, and breakfast included. the family that run this are very savvy with tourism, self taught entrepreneurs. i wish them all the success they deserve, and only hope it doesn't get overrun by backpackers or travelers.

Luang Namtha is a great place to get introduced to Lao life and people. A very chill town with a growing outdoor hiking and adventure hub, I expect it will change quickly.   Ambling around is easy in the grid system of the streets. the night market had great roast duck (15,000kip) and som  tam salads (10,000K), and the morning market on the other side (about 10 blocks away) is well worth the wander. Lucky me, they speak a lot of Mandarin here, so it was easy to get by.  i spotted a few mini-buses that connected Luang Namtha with village sin China, so one to remember as a possible route to southern china from this part of Laos.

I'd go back to Luang Namtha and stay longer for some hill tribe homestay hikes.  One spot that seemed to be doing good things with training the locals and offering good experiences (and coffee) is the Forest Retreat on the main road. they make a solid cup of coffee (Kiwi style!)

Chiang Rai-ra ra!

Second time in this lovely time (I refer to it Chiang Rai because it is less trammeled, though I think travelers are increasingly catching on. Western travelers that is, seems the Korean and Chinese group tours have long caught on.





Bus from Chiang Mai was on Green Bus, a modern, new and very efficient bus line that "gets" the travel space and provided an on board steward(ess) who handed out moist towlettes, water and a snack!  Boy can US bus compnaies learn alot from these smaller operations who understand customers and service, even wit the smallest of gestures such as a bottled water and a smile.  Note: there are two bus stations in Chiang Rai, a new modern one about 7 km south of town and old bus station that is in the center. make sure to ask if the bus stops at both.  i saw many falangs get off at the first stop thinking it was the end of the line, but it wasn't. saves haggling with a tuk tuk driver to get into the center.

This go round I booked via Booking.com a room at the new Baan Siam, 111/36 M.19 Banrai Rd.
Bann Siam Google map street view


When i booked back in May I think  it was only open a week, and so there were no reviews at all to go on. i chanced it, it was 600 BHT a night ($20) and figured if it was absolute hell, we can find a place for the second night. It was FAB!  Turns out it must have been a promo price as when i did a price check through Booking.com again for the same dates, it was %60 a night. The owner came out upon payment as i think he too couldn't believe the price. Thank god for printed out copies and Booking.com to back up the confirmed price!  I wouldn't stay there for $60, but at $20 it was a deal...perhaps it is more a $30-440 a night place.  Then I learned from the owner that he also owns the GORGEOUS Ratchamanka Hotel in Chiang Mai managed by his son, it made sense all the modern and subtle touches.

Clean, modern, tucked in a quiet side street on the western side of the city near to the Mekong and towards the far more cush Meridien where the rest of New Year falangs were staying.  Right next door is a self-serve laundry spot.

The main road near the hotel is Hwy 1-Phahon Rothin which comes from CR center over the Mekong. By the hotel end of it, there was a restaurat that was jamming with locals and looked quite good with lots of outdoor seating and a grill. Sor Lung Kam.  Turn right out of the hotel and about 50 yards from the hotel is the Halal Muslim place-brand spanking new, or if not, spanking clean: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=baan+siam+hotel+chiang+rai&ie=UTF-8&ei=3RL7ULuTJsbg2QXG-oHwCA&ved=0CAsQ_AUoAA.   (lots of Muslims in Thailand!)

Not central to the night market, so a 15 minute pleasant stroll to the bus station and market area. but nice and close to the temples and Mekong areas. Nothing is ever really far in Chiang Rai.

End of december until early January is the International Flower show. this year at the fair grounds along the mekong on the northern side a bit west of the center. Great way to interact and be with the throngs of locals who rock up with families to snap endless photos in front of displays made of flowers and browse through the stalls and exhibits. Great fun, and Free!  We hopped a small boat for $1 each to go up river to the central part of Chiang Rai.

Chiang Mai...again

Tried avoiding going to Chiang Mai on this third trip to Thailand, but given all the buses were sold out for Sokhathai and Phrae, no choice but to take the overnighter to Chiang Mai.  Great bus line called 999 and costing BHT876 for both us (less than $30)  Comfy seats, blankies (very cold airconditioning) and water provided.  Rocked up to the bus terminal early next morning.




Because of last minute plans, hotel options were slim on Booking.com and booked at Mercure hotel outside north gate by Elephant Statue, about 10 minutes to the Northgate on foot. Safe area, super friendly and helpful staff, but the room was dreadfully dated: 70's tatty furniture, sheets seemed threadbare, windows janky, in dire need of a remodel, which I think since Mercure took over the hotel they must be working on (a new pool apparently).  Definitely not worth the 35 a night we paid (or was it 60?)...

Great city to walk arund, visit the night markets, temples and wander in the street where there are no tourists (as small as CM is, there are many streets tourists, thankfully, don't bother going down)  Walk to the river area and market, and outside on the west gate, keep walking past the very modern hospital and wend into the side streets on the opposite side where there to an old overgrown run down temple.

Christmas in Bangkok

Well, not really. We left Christmas day and landed in BKK Thursday Dec 27th at 1:30am, spent 3 hrs in  an immigration line before haggling with a cab driver to take us to the Courtyard Marriot in Ratchadamri (Rajdamri)  using the meter. Very important as they often quote a flat rate when the meter (especially at 3am when the roads are quiet) is cheaper. I think we paid around 250 and the mandatory 50bht they add on to the fares from the airport.  if you go by the highway, you pay the tolls.

Is that a durian in your pocket or you just happy to see me?

The hotel is in great location, set in a Soi and loads of back lane-ways in a smart neighborhood. 5 mins from the Siam sq shopping malls, skyline train, and 10 mins from the night market, Rama IV etc areas, making for loads of options for eating and public transport to Chao Praya points of interest.

Hotel is clean, modern and staff are fab. Nice pool area.  I booked through the site and paid $100 all-in with taxes.  Breakfast was apprx $15 per person, which we skipped the first day but when we saw it was an amazing varied buffet, it set us up for the day until dinner so well worth it.

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&q=courtyard+marriott+bangkok&fb=1&gl=us&hq=courtyard+marriott&hnear=0x311d6032280d61f3:0x36458563858b0fc7,Bangkok,+Thailand&cid=0,0,2888004464305966492&ll=13.741365,100.540566&spn=0.010547,0.018475&t=m&z=16&vpsrc=6&ei=mzj2UKaKKIqXiAKC0IBA&pw=2

Booked dinner at Nahm, in the Metrpolitan Hotel in the trendy Sathorn district.  Great meal and intro to thai food if you only know it as phad thai. Spendy meal, but beautiful food, even of the dining room is a it uber-trendy stiff.  http://www.comohotels.com/metropolitanbangkok/dining/nahm

Massages & Happy Endings
Lots to choose from, but we went legit at the Montra in the Central World Plaza mall (B2-12), Zone B. $350BHT for one hour neck, shoulder head massage (approx $12). Clean, pleasant and walk ins welcomed.

Getting out of Dodge
it being NYE, seems everyone in Bangkok leaves in masses to the provinces, whuch meant all the buses for three days were booked to Sukhotthai, thus thwarting our two days wend to Chiang rai. the only thing available was a night bus to Chiang Mai. Sold!