On Feb 21st we will cross the border from Laos into Thailand at Chong Mek and continue on to Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubon_Ratchathani_Province where we will catch a late flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_Mai. In Chiang Mai, we will be staying at this hotel for 3-4 days http://www.maninarakorn.com/ while making the best of our short time there.
On around February 24th, we plan to rent a car with GPS(yes, it's available) and travel to the area of Chiang Rai, Thailand http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/7153/crai.htm. If we arrive there safely after driving ourselves in a right sided car on the left side of the road, our schedule is extremely fluid but do plan to spend a night at Phu chi fa so that we may get up early in the morning to see this http://www.flickr.com/photos/atomdocs/3181609643/ spectacle. We have also learned that there are some more relatives in a nearby city called Wiang Kaen that we may go see or meet in Chiang Rai. We will spend 2-3 days in the Chiang Rai region.
On Approx Feb 27th, we plan to drive south to the city of Sukhothai, Thailand http://travelhappy.info/thailand/sukhothai-thailand/, the 1st capital of Siam and spend a day taking in the historical park there.
On February 28th, we will catch a plane from the nearby city of Phitsanulok and fly to Bangkok where we will enjoy our last four days while staying at this hotel http://navalairiverresort.com/ on the river.
On March 4th we'll begin the LONG journey back and will arrive in Charlotte on the 5th. Many will notice that we have omitted the BEAUTIFUL southern Thailand islands and beaches from our itinerary. As tempting as it is, we cannot justify at this time, going halfway around the world to lay on a beach but are jealous of those that have done so! We are finding that there is SO much to do in these countries that 6 months or even a year wouldn't be enough but we hope to make the best of the 3 and a half weeks we are so fortunate to have!
