It was bye-bye Bangkok this morning as we went off to the airport for our 13th flight on this south-east Asian expeditionary mission. Chiang Rai is in the Golden Triangle area, surrounded by Laos and Burma. We are at about 580 metres altitude and it's cool at nights, down to about 13 degrees. Chiang Rai is a lovely little city, clean air and relatively unpolluted, compared to the smoke and fumes of Bangkok and the cities in Vietnam. Most of the signs are not given an English translation, which is so common in tourist areas, and I've not yet seen a sign advertising a school at which you can learn English. The internet site, however, says the native-English-speaking teachers earn about 1/3 as much as if they were in Bangkok, and that's not saying much. Thailand is the place so many wish to live in SEA as it is relatively stable with a patchy but high degree of sophistication (just take a day to wander around Siam Center with your mouth open at the luxury!). Also, the Thais are just wonderfully warm people, quite the contrast to Saigon, in our experience.

We've had our ride around town in a tuk-tuk, 250 Baht for half-an-hour. Although there are open fields in the built-up area, there's not the piles of rubbish we've seen elsewhere. The roads are quite good and lots of work is in progress. The native area of town, where the tourists do not go, is well-kept and relatively prosperous. But the centre of town seems to have massage shops every second doorway or, strangely, opticians. A strange combination but something must be sending the population blind.

Tomorrow, Janet says we must explore the river. Not the exploring done by the dozens of younger people intent on trekking, but something sedate. Or maybe the food festival which commences in the morning at the old airport. New places are always fun and Chiang Rai does not have attitude, but, where's the excitement?