We arrived in Phayao with no expectations. It borders a huge lake transformed from a lowland swamp back in 1941. The city is trying to develop a tourist industry and has worked hard to make the lakeside promenade attractive.
We take advantage of the last light and take a long boat over to a little island Buddhist shrine.
Our fare of $1.25 includes flowers, incense, and a candle to place on the altar.
The sunset on the way back is beautiful. I have been rueing the smoke from ag burning that has marred the air during our days in Thailand, but it does make for a dramatic sunset.
The next morning we are still debating how to get from Phayao to Chiang Khong. John would rather rent a minivan to take us the scenic long way. A direct bus through Chiang Rai would take about 3 1/2 hours and cost about $7 each. However, John is determined that it would be better to hire a van and driver as we would see more of the rural countryside and have an interpreter. Lisa consults the front desk clerk, who is on the phone with a friend, and finally sets it down so he can answer her questions.
He says he can book a van, but an English-speaking driver would be difficult to find. We are still debating what to do and decide to walk down the promenade in search of a tour office. We get to a group of workers replacing dead flowering plants with new ones. The back of the truck is full of old plant material. A guy who appears to be in charge suddenly approaches us and says, "Hello there, are you the Americans looking for a driver?" It turns out that One was the friend on the phone with the clerk and heard the whole conversation about needing a driver.
One says he is not a professional guide, but he volunteers with a Tourism Club and he speaks English well. He is also friendly and funny. Before you know it, One takes on arranging a van and driver and offers to go with us as our guide. He says "Pay me what you want, or even nothing is ok." We settle on 1000 Baht ($30) for the whole round trip (for him) excursion.
We tell him we want to see the museum first, but he says no taxis come by that way. He offers to drive us there in the work truck, if Ben and John don't mind riding in the back. Lisa and I squeeze in the cab and he takes us on our way.
Waiting at the hotel for us is a huge new Toyota tourist van, a driver and One. He and the desk clerk above have a good laugh over the coincidence of this arrangement.
We have agreed to pay 3400 Baht ($115) for van, driver and gas. They have to drive all the way back after delivering us to Chiang Khong. We depart at noon.
The driver takes us on several detours through the day. First stop is a good lunch spot. The only problem is the efficient waitress keeps topping off our beer glasses until Lisa realizes the girl has just opened the fourth large beer bottle. We are all now a little drunk.
We stop to visit a weavers workshop and the ladies are making intricate, wide cloths with great precision. We each buy one. A few minutes later the driver pulls into another workshop. I stay in the van for fear of another impulse purchase. I have little control where fabric is concerned. Lisa buys a lovely fabric and bag.
After a few miles he takes us to this interesting wat, built entirely of wood. Very unusual here. The teak floor planks inside are 20" wide. You don't see that anymore.
About 4 pm we detour to see a bit of a National Park which has this beautiful waterfall and hot springs. We take a short hiking break and do a loop on a boardwalk through the forest.
Ben is impressed with this huge tree.
As we leave the park, the late afternoon light is illuminating the bright blue roof on a hilltop wat in the distance. We get a picture with our bubbly amateur guide, businessman, artist, and educator. We have learned a lot about One and his takes on Thai life and politics.
We arrive in Chiang Khong about 6:30 pm. We have doubled our travel time, increased our costs times 5, but we have had One Special day.
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