Following two 3 hour non-air conditioned bus rides, a crossing of the Friendship Bridge and the quietest customs-border crossing we’ve seen, as well as a series of short tuk tuk rides, and we arrived in the northern Thai city of Chiang Rai.  This was our fifth border crossing in the last 10 days, so we were looking forward to staying put in Chiang Rai for a few days. The temperature the last two weeks has been hovering between 95 and 105 with lots of humidity, so we were also looking forward to fine tuning two of our current favorite hobbies, shade seeking and air conditioned reclining.

We rented a moped beginning our second day in Chiang Rai. Although there was very little traffic, driving on the left side of the road took some getting used to (good practice in preparation for Bali). In hopes of escaping the heat, we headed out of town, past scenic Singha Park and lots of tea fields, to Khun Kon Waterfall. It was a 45 minute drive and we ended up driving on the right side of the road only twice, so all-in-all a successful drive.

Important tip when renting a motor bike: always check the fuel gauge before heading for the country. For the third consecutive time, we rented a motor bike that was near empty. Fortunately, we found a stand alone, no one around, pay-at-the-pump gas dispenser nearby, that also played some catchy tunes while fueling. Following our gas purchase, we continued our drive toward the waterfall, stopping to buy some mystery meat-on-a-stick from a parking lot street vendor.

The 45 minute hike up to the waterfall from the parking lot was crowded with locals also trying to escape the heat, but it was a beautiful trek through a thick bamboo forest. In the end, we were rewarded with 200 foot Khun Kon Waterfall, and fresh cold water.

We managed to stay on the left side of the road the entire drive back to Chiang Rai, and enjoyed a nice subset as we passed Singha Park and its Golden Lion Statue.