We stopped on the way to see some hot springs, which was more a tourist 'trip' for people to sell their wares. There were two small geyser-like hot springs surrounded by a large, basic complex. I got breakfast (50 BHT) of a pork and greens stir fry with rice. It turned out to be spicy and really good.
 |
| What to say?? |
 |
| the "big" hot springs |
The drive was a little over 2.5 hours to the White Temple, Wat Rong Khun.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Rong_Khun
To say it was incredibly beautiful and impressive is an understatement, but words are tough to find that seem appropriate enough. It was built around 20 years ago and opened tot he public. More than 2000 visitors a day view it, and there were at least that many when we went. You walk over a bridge to heaven and only should go one way over the bridge. Inside the temple is a wax replica of the Dalai Lama that was impressively life-like.
I will load pictures when I return home as that is truly what is needed! Wait no longer... (note: tried to organize it a bit to take less space and it's a hot mess.. so will not be doing that further below!)
We then visited the Blue Temple, or Tiger Dancing Temple. Tigers used to be in the area and this temple was to represent their playing and dancing. It was stunning as well with its gorgeous cobalt color and intricate design.
Last was the Black house, which represents hell. It was the oldest and built 40 years ago. The artist recently passed. The grounds were quite large and it was something around 40 different structures.
We then we to visit the long-neck Karen tribe, which were refugees from Burma (now Myanmar) that came to Thailand 40 years ago. They used to use gold for their neck rings however now use brass due to the threat of someone trying to cut off a woman's head for the rings.
Girls start at age 5 and every 2-3 years a ring is added. The most any woman has is 34, and they are heavy! They make the body shorter by pushing down the collar bone, giving the appearance of extending the neck. The women who wear them commit to a lifetime- they will die if they are removed. They were worn originally both to protect from tigers and to make a woman beautiful. Girls now have a choice if they wish to wear them.
Next we drove another hour or so to the Golden Triangle. This area, and Chaing Rai, was known for the opium trade. Around 30-40 years ago it was changed and now the local farmers grow coffee, which is prevalent in the shops.
The Golden Triangle is where the three countries of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar join. The Mekong River flows through the area creating a 'no man's land' of islands. We did a short cruise over to Laos (thank you, tour guide for telling me I needed my passport!! Thankfully my license was enough for this.) This also was essentially a tourist trap, as the area we were left in was to sell goods.
I noticed a rather nasty smell just after getting off the boat, and turned out they were selling some kind of liquor with snakes, spiders, and the like in it, offering samples. No, thank you!
I did buy a knock-off pair of Ray Ban sunglasses ($11).
We went back across, took a few pictures of the statues there, grabbed a bite for dinner (rotee- crepe with banana) and headed back for the four-hour ride. It was definitely a good day and worth seeing.
My first 'buddy'. I was told not to pet the dogs as I didn't get rabies shots. Well, this dog came up to me and rubbed up on my leg! I was so excited to get to pet a dog, and to be pet by one.
Again, this guy came right up to me and jumped up on me. This is a regular stop for tours to the Golden Triangle and he scored quite a bit. He apparently thought I was a sucker and singled me out but when he saw I had no food, he went elsewhere. Crushed. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment