Last year, we enjoyed taking a quick cruise down the local river. It isn’t the most scenic river cruise to be found, but it is serene and includes a delicious lunch, so we opted to to it again! Did I also mention that is is inexpensive? For less than $20, you are picked up (and dropped off) at your accommodations, given a boat ride, and best of all, tasty chow.

I must admit that we did not spend much time looking at the scenery because we met a couple from Canada that we really hit it off with, so we spent the entire cruise chatting away. They were just starting a trip around SE Asia to celebrate his retirement so we shared some tips that we had picked up on our travels. I hope I didn’t talk their ears off; I do have a tendency to go on and on when travel is the topic!

The boat dropped us off at the lunch spot (they call it a farm, but it really isn’t) and the boat operator gave us a brief description of the plants and herbs growing there. Since I had heard the talk last year, I spent my time reading the placards that described each. Let me tell you, those were some might entertaining facts being presented! Obviously, there were some translation errors. Anyone want to use diarrhea for an antibiotic? There’s a plant for that!

Before we knew it, time for lunch was over and we headed back. Once again, we spent the entire time chatting rather than looking at the scenery! One thing to note – the others on our boat did not have lunch included in the price of their ticket. We bought the tour through Viator; they bought it from a street vendor. They were given fresh fruit and juice to drink. We were given the same, but also were given a bowl of Khao Soi, a traditional northern Thai dish that is well worth trying when you visit.