Lek House

The Lek House was where I wanted to stay and fortunately the tuk tuk driver I met at the bus station was also offering to take me there. It's only a 10-15 minute walk from the bus stop but it's worth getting a tuk tuk. It cost me 20 Baht. The owner Daeng was there to greet me when I arrived in the dark and showed me to my room.

There was an older Italian guy in a private room and he and Daeng spent two hours my first night discussing how he would cope on a 2 day slow boat ride to Luang Prabang in Laos. I had just come on the same journey so they asked me what I thought. He took some convincing but I had nothing else to do. He was worried about the comfort level of the journey, being an older person and rather tall.

There was also another German guy I had breakfast with in the morning at a sunny table next to the Lek House by a little canal. He had been there for 10 days. There's not a great deal to do in Chiang Rai, so a 10 day stay is saying something. You can hike, trek, see a few temples but it's not really a touristy town. But Daeng really makes it a friendly atmosphere and I could see why this guy had chosen it as a longer stop just to relax before he journeyed on.

Daeng is quite a character. He must be in his 40s because he has some teenage kids. He calls everyone "boss" and brings the coffee himself to you from the kitchen and sits to chat while you eat which is really nice if you're travelling alone. It's clear he likes talking with people and just makes himself available all the time. He genuinely seemed sad when I left and drove me to the boat station himself on his motorbike, asking several times when I planned to return to Chiang Rai. He's been operating for 20 years so he knows a lot about Nothern Thailand, running tours and organising all onward travel if you need help. He also drove the Italian guy to the bus station when he decided to risk it in Laos! Daeng has also travelled to other countries so he knows a bit about life on the road.

For specifics on rooms, the dorm was spacious with just 2 bunk beds and 1 single. There was a second room which was a good place to put bags, that adjoined the bathroom so it's far from cramped with 3 rooms to use. There's also plenty of common sitting areas, including a bar and a TV lounge but I think they only had Thai TV. In the November-January period it can fill up early in the day so turn up early or you'll be turned away!

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