Chiang Rai

Last weekend we had a 3 day weekend come out of nowhere! So I had to think fast and make sure I didn't waste it. Considered going to Koh Chang or one of the other islands, but decided I didn't want to go to the beach if it was likely to rain. Beach becomes mud. So Chiang Rai it was. All the trains were booked up for the trip there, so I booked a flight for Saturday afternoon with Nok Air and booked my return train ticket for Monday.

Landed in Chiang Rai at 4:30pm Saturday right in the middle of the monsoon. Scurried into a taxi to my guesthouse, and after dropping off my bag in my room grabbed my map and took to the streets to explore my surroundings and find some dinner. The rain had stopped for a bit, and I wandered through one of the evening markets and had a strawberry smoothie and some delicious egg rolls. Also bought an umbrella as the rain started to pick up again, and sought shelter from a corner cafe where I sipped a cappuccino while reading my book for a few hours.




Sunday morning I woke up at about 7, had some free coffee in the "lobby", and booked a taxi for the day from the front desk. 2200B($65) seemed a bit steep, but sometimes it comes down to either sitting around saving money, or just sucking it up and forking over the cash to explore the world. I sucked it up. The first taxi driver was this young guy named Petch, and we chatted a bit on our way to the first place, but about 20 minutes out we started having engine trouble.

I sat in the car and read my book while he called for backup, and within about 10 minutes another car showed up to take me, and Petch told me that I'd be dropped off at the first stop and a different driver would come to take me for the rest of the day. So I bid him farewell and went off to explore the White Temple.








This picture(well, it's a very crude sketch by me, but "no cameras allowed" so I had to improvise) was on the inside wall of the White Temple's main building. It's a rendering of the World Trade Centers with a two-headed snake(I only drew one head) with a dripping gas pump nozzle at the other end; a plane flying towards the towers, and..far off to the left there..a red Angry Bird. I didn't really understand why that would be painted on the inside of such a beautiful temple(or any temple for that matter), and it rather disturbed me.

My next driver, M, was waiting for me when I was done looking around, and we headed off to the next stop, Black House. M's English was pretty good, and we enjoyed good conversation along the drive.













Next stop was the Karen Hilltribes. Unfortunately, like most things in Thailand, this has become such a popular place for tourists to visit that there is a 300B admission fee charged at the beginning of the path, and two girls skipped along in front of me as my guides. The first two villages performed a song and dance for me, and I got a beautiful elephant necklace and two jade bracelets from their shops.
M, my driver, and the sign for the Hilltribes





The third village was the long-neck Karen tribe, and as anxious as I was to see them in person and meet them, I hated being the "tourist"; I took a few pictures, but made sure I bought something from each person I photographed so I wasn't just flashing my camera and making a dash for it.




After the hilltribes, M suggested we get some lunch, and it was a good thing we did because the rain had started.

It was still raining when we were finished eating, so we headed on to the next spot anyway. We were right near the Thai/Burma border, and drove up the hill through a market to see the Scorpion Temple.



That dirty river down there? That's the Thai/Burma border.

Next stop was the Golden Triangle! The Golden Triangle is the place where the borders of Myanmar(Burma), Thailand, and Laos all meet and are divided by rivers.











Had a walk through of the Opium Museum before leaving the Triangle, and M tells me, "If you pay extra 5B, you can smoke some." Lol. No thanks, M. haha

Last stop before heading back to my guesthouse was Wat Chedi Luang Wiang.


Had curry for dinner back in Chiang Rai, packed up my bags, and the next morning checked out to start my journey home. Took the 11am bus from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai, and then caught my 4pm sleeper train back to Bangkok. Arrived back Tuesday morning in Don Muang around 7:20am, took a taxi to my apt to change and drop my bag, and was at work by 9:00. :)