And then

The beginning of the trip started with us deserting my dad because of immigration issues.
Flew straight to Chiang Mai, a place infested with expats and mat sallehs/farang (I think white girls have a sort of interesting characteristic. It's just a general statement though).
Stay for a night and moved on to good 'ol familiar life that has been detached from me since a long time ago. 3 of us got there with some surprises. Some things changed, many remained the same.



One of the many surprises.

My cousin's daughter got older. 6 years old! Just like the pup. House got even in a less desirable condition, bed bugs. It was in April, so it was really hot.



But at night time, the sky is as clear as it can be, with the Songkran festival just around the corner. This hut built in front of our place by our cousin should be able to accomodate Northern Thai kuoy teow namm lovers.
The next day, my dad and my very good friend joined us, while I hung out with this old friend of mine, a 27-year old single mother. Pretty scandalous, some would say.
Of course nothing happened though.
We experienced the worst rain ever. Our supper was ruined. With fish half barbequed on the charcoal stove (outdoor that is) and the ever raging, merciless rain pouring like there is no end, the stall owner gave up.



7km from la maison, is the Golden Triangle. Burma to the left, Laos to the right, across the Mekong River - the longest river in Southeast Asia. It flows from China. There are a lot of Chinese goods here too.

Life here is great, running at a comfortable pace for once, city life has been killing a lot of people, denying them of joy and monopoly money.
And everyone points to the advancement of American capitalism, lacking in social responsibility, pitting everyone against each other for competition and shortcuts that justify bribery and corruption.



Anyway,

Chiang Mai is pretty in its own way. This was at Doi Inthanon. At 2800m, It was one of the nicest and coolest place around. Rumour has it, that it could go up to -5 degrees celscius during winter time, although technically it is not achievable in countries surrounding the equator with an average of summer temperature all year round.
It was one of the prettiest place. With beautifully constructed Wats, an astronomical observatory, gardens, eco huts with really nice Thai food.