This is the Mae Gohk River heading downstream towards the Mekong, the main river in south east Asia. There is a perfectly good road to Chiang Rai,  our destination, but we chose the river mostly for the fun of it. While water travel is an important means of transport in the region, this particular section of river is primarily monopolized by the tourists. In this case, I can't really pretend not to be one, since while I am here for work--and have been the whole time (no, really)--this morning's destination was elephant riding.