Purple nuts!

On the road again, I checked out of the Lamphu Tree Hotel and am headed to Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. I opted for the bus to see a bit of the landscape and am the only non-Thai on the bus. Actually, I was the only foreigner in the bus terminal. Flying from place to place is seen as pretty cheap here for foreigners, in particular.

So, on the VIP busses here, you have a hostess. A female bus attendant offers you snacks and such throughout the ride and selects the entertainment. At the start of the trip, we each got a box with rice, spicy chicken and a fried egg. On our third stop, I hopped out and picked up peanuts, one cup for 10 Bhat (just under 30 cents). They are soft on the inside like boiled peanuts, tasty and purple!

A few hours from Chiang Mai, I think I've realized the real reason people prefer other means than the bus. There ain't much of a view. Some huge gorgeous lily pads spotting puddles just outside of Bangkok, palm trees in the distant green. And that's about it. And the on-bus entertainment, well. It's a cross between Yu-gi-oh! and Thai School Musical. Wherever I'm headed next, I'm hoping to fly.