Returning to tradition, I arrived in the northern city of Chiang Rai under the cover of night.  For us Chiang Rai is really just a stopover, before crossing the Laos border tomorrow.  A late dinner in the open air market area accompanied by an ice-cold Singha beer was just the thing needed in the steamy evening weather.  The air was filled by a repertoire of Beatles songs, played well by a couple of local guitarists.  A strange interlude by a lip-syncing stripper left us both giggling and offering opinions on gender – we never did reach a conclusion on that one!