Lonely Planet Lies!

Our decision to head into Laos was a bit spontaneous and planning to get across the border left us with a night stay in Chiang Rai. We hadn't heard much of Chiang Rai and we decided to let our lonely planet guidebook, well, guide us. We arrived in Chiang Rai at sunset and decided to get into an accommodation fast so we went down the trusty guide's listings- most were full or awful so we had to settle on "Easy House" and oh boy was it easy...

Lonely Planet Says:

"simple, but clean rooms. The shared bathrooms are spotless and the staff are friendly and helpful with a convivial restaurant/pub."

The guidebook of A&B says: 

"If you are looking for a whore house, with a convivial meeting spot below- then this is your place! Reception is non-existent, but the bar tenders will show you up to your cell (cleaned annually), where the rooms are unlock-able so that your mistress can leave whenever she pleases. Don't expect clean sheets here, because we rent rooms by the hour."

Anyways- we survived without getting bitten from bed bugs or receiving any other infections- HOORAY!

So from now on, lesson learned- lonely planet "Southeast Asia on a Shoestring" likes to bend the truth!

All in all, we didn't care for Chiang Rai, so we took a bus to the border of Thailand and Laos (at Huay Xai) and then a boat into Laos across Mekong River. From there we boarded an overnight bus onto Luang Prabang- but that journey is another story!