Too Steep Terrain

We arrived Chang Rai town past mid night. We stopped for dinner before meeting up with the other cousin who came down to meet us somewhere along the way to lead us to his house. The meeting point is at the front entrance of a Buddhist Temple along the way. Surprisingly, there are so many large Buddhist Temples all along.

My first plan was to stay at my cousin's house for a few days in Chang Rai. But looking at it, the road which lead to his house is a few kilometers away from the main road. I have doubts about the availability of public transport to get in and out from his place. I was told that the only way is to ride his motorbikes when my elder cousin and the family is back to Bangkok. That does not deter me. After about 5 kilometers from the main road and with many turnings to left and right, we came to the end road. Now we have to go through dirt road. For a short distance we reached a very steep terrain. That's where the 4x4 is useful. The terrain was so steep almost 75 degree, and that worries me. However after changing gear, with his driving skill, we make it after many bumps.

We reached the top of the mountain where my cousin's house is located. It's a small farm house-like uncompleted. The weather is cold during the night, as I was told. WE didn't get to see much at the surrounding as it was dark. We chatted for about an hour before going to sleep.

I woke up early to explore the surrounding. We were at the peak of a mountain which I don't even know where. I was told that we are close to Myanmar and there are a few Myanmar settlers and villages nearby. Surrounding us are mostly fruit farms such as lychee's, oranges, pamelos and mangoes and tea plantations although some have converted to rubber trees as they fetch better prices. The panorama from his house was great and I anticipate a lot of adventuring activities to take place for us after the elder cousin is back to Bangkok with his SUV 4x4 Toyota Fortuna.

Great views, fresh air, cool weather, variety of fruits and lots of interesting places to explore by tracking and motor bike .