Chiang Rai

Wat Phra Kaow

19^th February

Arriving at the airport, there was a sense of serenity. Orchids decorated the centre of the luggage carousel and there was a well organized taxi service, with priced listed on a large sign board.  My driver, who had no English, gave me the names of some of the hills and the wats which are on the hills, and offered a full day tour during my stay – that could be interesting with no English!  I wrote down the names of the places he was suggesting:  some were places I had decided I do not want to visit, and took his mobile phone number, though with little intent of using it.

My accommodation was OK though nothing special (I wasn’t exactly paying a fortune for it). A concrete bungalow, but an aged wooden outside table and chairs looked at an undercover area that has a hundred or so hanging baskets of somewhat dry orchids and provided vies of a green garden with some interesting flowers and generally provided a pleasant place to sit.

The Emerald Buddha (replica)

My first activity was a walk to visit Wat Phrao Kaow (which had housed the original emerald Buddha) and the duplicate Emerald Buddha.  Visiting this temple, unlike visiting its namesake in Bangkok was serene, beautiful, and what I think visiting a temple should be like!  Orchids abounded and I could not resist photographing the fabulous variety of colours.  Too many photos to add to the blog, but see them here if you want to.

An excursion to the night market is listed as a must do for Chiang Rai, so I walked.  

On the way I passed a couple of fabric shops and diverted to enjoy the relatively cheap prices and delightful range available.  I was quite tempted by one piece but my already overweight suitcase suggested this might not be a realty great idea!

Sunset from Chiang Rai

The market seemed limited until I turned the corner, then it went on for ever.  I succumbed to 2 scarves – a silk (hand woven 650Baht) and a pashmina (100 baht) and snacked on a banana pancake then later selected stir fried shrimp and mushroom from the food stalls.  Ok-ish.  Lonely planet describes these food stalls as a bit dire!

I did find a can of tonic from a bar to go with my duty free gin – but paid bar prices for it!

20^th February

The guest house included breakfast in the room rate, and this was adequate – papaya, toast and fried eggs.

Chaing Rai - night market

I decided on a trip to the morning market and again am fascinated by the huge range of produce and various other items for sale.  I am tempted by a traditional design blouse, which I ended up trying on, and while the lady indicted it could be altered, the shoulders are too wide.  I do buy a lovely length of edging at 200 baht per metre. An enterprising vendor offers me a sample of the fried or baked broad beans which make a nice snack, so I purchased a packet of these.

The area is quite well known for its coffee, so I head for a coffee shop and enjoy a latte, which has an interesting flavour – not quite what I would have expected.

I head towards Wat Phra That Chom Thong but arrive at Wat Ngam Muang.  Wat Ngam Muang is a Lana design and has a stupa that contains relics of King Muang Rai and an intricate Naga handrail entrance to the main temple.  The large Buddha statue in the main temple is under maintenance – photos on display show cracks that had developed.   

Attractive clothing at the morning market

Having admired this temple, and made my offerings, I re-ascertain my location and head for Wat Phra That Chomg Thong (avoiding somewhat persistent dogs on the way). I think this is the temple pointed out to me by my taxi driver the previous day.  It is on the site from which King Mengrai first surveyed the site for Chiang Rai and the chedi is more than 500 years old and is suspected to house an even older chedi inside.  The roof of the main temple is under maintenance but I can still enter.  I am quite surprised at how plain the inside is. 

Walking the streets of Chiang Rai can be somewhat hazardous, often there is a lack of footpaths or footpaths are cluttered with vehicles and cars parked too close to fences or walls so as to make it impossible to pass.

Pink Elephant at Wat Ngam Muang

My next destination is the Oub Kham Museum, a private museum, but I distract myself with a

delicious serving of crispy pork on rice on the way.  While Lonely Planet says it is a bit difficult to find, the maps app on my phone gives me excellent directions. If for nothing else, it is worth getting a local SIM to enable use of the maps app – standing on a street corner checking my phone feels much less obvious than pulling out a map which identifies me as a lost tourist!

At the museum I wait for my guide – the museum may only be visited with a museum guide.  I received a very personalized tour, and did not see anyone else for the whole duration.  It took me  a few minutes to get used to her accent, but once I did, there was lots of explanation about the exhibits.  We discuss the conflict in Myanamar that is affecting some of the minority groups. 

The interior of Wat Phra That Chom Thong
is quite plain compared to many temples

My guide also explains the different faces of Buddha and how the artist will make the face of Buddha more like the people of the place – and time – so thin Buddha images are representative of hard times, and fat Buddha images are representative of good harvest times.  She also explained how 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd era Buddhas could be distinguished by the sash on the shoulder. 

The costumes exhibition included Bhutan and I noticed that the wonju sleeve was not folded correctly – I had a strong desire to fix this, but it was behind glass! One length of intricately hand woven Thai silk was on display with a price of 120 000 Baht ($AUD4800), I was not tempted!  After my tour, green tea was served after in an elegant room adjoining the ticket office.

A visit to Tesco supermarket on the way back yielded Schweppes tonic at 1/3 of the price of the previous day.

Drinking tea in the delightful surroundings of
the Oub Kham Museum

It was the evening for the walking street; the mobile market that takes over some of the roads during the evening, and there were lots of stalls. After a while I realized I was walking against the direction of the rest of the crowd but it was a bit late to change without repeating or missing some stalls.  An adjacent park had trees and shrub beautifully lit up with fairy lights and was providing lots of opportunities for selfies for other visitors.

Tea plantations: very neat and aesthetically pleasing

There were plenty of street food stalls and I indulged in deep fried noodle wrapped pork balls, a cup of corn (without the condensed milk and sugar that seemed to be automatically added), a deep fried spiral potato, a fried pastry with condensed milk and a freshly squeezed pomegranate juice before returning to the guest house and settling for a G&T outside.  I had intended to make some notes and sort some photos, but made friends with Judith instead.  Judith is an older lady living in nearby town who was previously teaching English at the university there.

21^st February:  Further Afield

The guest house was offering banana pancakes for breakfast , one of my favourites – the 1^st was

 lovely, as was the second one after it had been back to the kitchen for more cooking.

Unusual displays in the building of Baan Dun

My helpful guesthouse hostess had organized me a driver (“good price – cheaper than normal”) for a day and I had planned my destinations.

Mr Pun, my driver, fronted on time.  A retired school principal and administrator, he supplements his pension with some tour services;  we headed off towards Mae Salong.

Our first stop was the Black House, Baan Dum. It was rather weird and somewhat macabre. There were numerous buildings and many included displays of bones, horns, pelts and other animal remains.  This has been created by a Thai national artist and attracts heaps of tourists.  We arrived just on opening, so it was not too busy but comments from Mr Pun indicates that he does not like Chinese tourists, a sentiment I was to hear repeated by others in other locations.

Wat Santikhiri

It took some time to escape the metropolitan area, Chiang Rai expands into other towns, and the spread is greater than I expected.  Eventually we were winding our way along roads through cultivated areas and forests and gently gaining altitude.  Pineapple plantations, rice paddies, banana trees, and rubber plantations were plentiful.

The winding roads make me feel quite at home (Bhutan home) although the surface was considerably better than most of Bhutan’s roads.

We visit a tea plantation, very beautifully and symmetrically laid out - nice to take photos.  My driver, ever solicitous of my comfort, points out clean toilets at most of our stops. 

There is a lovely pink blossom on some of the trees, from my interpretations possibly cherry blossom.  Plus there are some white flowering trees and some yellow flowering trees.  Flowers for every season, Mr Pun says. The cherry blossom only last 15 days, so I am lucky to have this view.

Stained glass window in
the Chedi above Wat Santikhiri - unusual

I visit Wat Santikhiri and the chedi on a hill above Mae Salong, and then the tomb of a famous general of the Kuomintang.  The Kuomintang fled to Burma from communist rule in China until the Rangoon based government decided they could not stay, so they moved into Northern Thailand and recreated their Yunnan homes.  So Mae Salong has a distinctly Chinese flavour.

We ate lunch at the hotel near the market - noodles and pork with veg and a coffee.  Although Nong, the guesthouse manager, had told me I was not expected to pay for lunch for my driver, it seemed that he expected it.  220Baht probably was not worth worrying about.

We walk in the market.  A lady in traditional Lisu dress, including full silver headdress, tried to sell me her wares but had nothing that is really of interest to me.  I sampled and brought some dried longan.  

By the Chedi above Wat Santikhiri

Dried fruits in Thailand are wonderful.  This added to my supply of dried strawberries and dried pomello.  I suspect I was overcharged, given what I paid for the other dried fruits at a stall in a Bangkok railway station.  An English speaking Swiss gentleman quietly answered one questions about the purchase of the longan, and a brief conversation introduced the topic of his brand new motorbike that he had brought himself as a 60^th birthday present; I told him it looked a bit like a midlife crisis purchase!!  And I need to figure out what my present to me for 60 might look like!  Maybe I am having it right now.

Mae Salong from the Chedi

The market did have some authentic crafts, and I would have liked a bit more time to look but Mr Pun was keen to hurry me along.  I looked at some embroidered backpacks which were claimed to be hand made but I suspect they were machine embroidery.

Mr Pun commented on occasions about motor bike drivers “children” and I had to agree with them, some looked hardly old enough to be in charge of a motorbike; many were in school uniform.

The Chinese influence on Mae Salong's architecture

We travelled on and found Ban Thoet Thai, very prosperous looking for a hill village – which probably fits with its history.  It was the base of Khun Sa, the Shan narcotics war-lord, the “opium king” who managed to corner the market on the world opium trade for a while.  I would have liked a little time to explore but again my driver was keen to find our next destination – Ban Ah Hai.

Finding Ban Ah Hai was interesting… there were many diversions and much going around in circles.   My driver very uncomfortable when we got there and gave me 10 minutes!  He “was worried it was going to rain” – an almost legitimate excuse given that his largish car was not a four wheel drive and the roads were steep, and the one to Ban Ah Hai was also narrow and poorly surfaced.  However, the sky did not look much like rain to me – but I am not familiar with the signs of rain in Northern Thailand, so he may have been correct (it did not rain though).  

Sun protection on a motorbike

I did not find the adobe temple which is mentioned in Lonely Planet.  I did see what I assume to be a Christian church.  I suspect we were not really at the village, as Bah Ah Hai is an Akha village and Akha villages traditionally have a village gate, of which I also saw no evidence.  I think Mr Pun had a slight anxiety attach at the steep descent road (it was about 45 degrees) so he decided he would not go any further, we must be there, as there were houses.  I walked a bit along the road but turned round after 5 minutes, just before a particularly large black dog.

The route to Ban Ah Hai had us winding up through bamboo forests – I found out the next day that there used to be significant forests of giant bamboo in northern Thailand (a bamboo shoot being the height of a person) but this has long since disappeared – hopefully not extinct but humans are having such a devastating effect on the ecology of this planet…

The countryside got more hilly as we progressed

As the road deteriorated I felt really at home and to some extent could not see what his concern was about.  I had driven Zangmo’s tiny car over worse roads in Bhutan, some just as steep (though I had to ride the clutch to get through some sections).  However I had not really driver her car over steep roads in the wet – only in the rain on one occasion. 

Mr Pun definitely seemed happier once we were back down from Ban Ah Hai and even happier when we were out of the real hills.  He even told me I could take as long as I liked at our visit to a second tea plantation.  I’m not totally sure why we visited this place; it did provide a toilet stop and an opportunity for afternoon tea, which I did not bother indulging in, and I had to wonder whether he gets a commission at the gift shop?  I must have disappointed him there, if this was the case.

Ban Thoet Thai - quite prosperous looking

He did provide me with information about “Happy Street”  a Sunday walking market that is not in Lonely Planet’s information about Chiang Rai,  so after a quick look at the guest house garden with Judith, I went there. I rather liked it, it was a nicer atmosphere than the other walking market on Saturday night. It felt more gentle, there was some thing for everyone and slightly more craft.  There were fewer stalls selling the ubiquitous  pashmina/silk scarves

The road to Ban Ah Hai

For dinner I ate steamed buns, followed by noodles with vegetables and mushroom.  I adore the mushrooms, there are so many varieties.  I also indulged in fried Japanese dumplings, then a plate of skinned pomello (breaking travel doctor food hygiene rules again – though peeling and then peeling the sections of my own pomello would be tedious) rather than the ice cream I was looking for.  Then I discovered one of the wonderful food area. What a serious shame I was full.  I tried fried grubs! – had not intended to, but as I looked closely at what was on offer, the lady proffered a sample of two different types – deep fried, they had a slightly nutty flavour.  I admired many other dishes, but the universal signal for full stomach worked well!

Ban Ah Hai - or maybe we were not quite there

I think I may have seen my record number of people on a motorbike, I think the 2 adults had 2 children and a baby in a papoose sling:  total 5!

It was quite a long walk back to guest house after that, but upon arrival I enjoyed sitting and chatting with Judith.

Wat Rhun Khun: the white temple

22^nd February

After the previous evening’s conversation with Judith, I had agreed to join her and her friend for early morning prayers at Wat Phrao Kaow.  Being one of the significant full moon days in the Buddhist calendar, Maghapuja day, apparently this was a good thing to do.

So I set my alarm for 5:30am.

Assuming that I should make an effort with my dress, and cover my arms and legs, I emerged with a cultural blend of formal Bhutanese and Thai Beach.  My choice of my raw silk kira, mixed with a white embroidered cheesecloth shirt, raised comment and demanded a photo session – which I found interesting. If I had added a taego, I could have understood, but I guess the kira is more tailored than a casual long beach skirt!

At Wat Rhun Khu

 The white top was a good choice – white is the colour for the formal prayers and many were dressed totally in white, but there were also ladies who wore white blouses with coloured skirts.  All through the day, people in their white temple clothes were in evidence.

I was quite surprised that prayers are not conducted in the main temple, but in a prayer hall, with normal chairs (for which I am very grateful, as while I can semi maintain a pretence at cross legged on the floor, Bhutanese style, I simply cannot kneel and sit back on my ankles  - that flexibility has completely gone!)  We are located where we can see nothing for a while, but a kind gentleman finds and suitably relocates chairs for us after a short time.

At Wat Rhun Khun

Part of this ceremony is making offerings of rice to the monks, and I had assumed that we would take this with us, but not so.  At one stage during prayers, I was passed a small container of rice, but uncertain, I passed it on, as others seemed to also be doing that.  It was indicated that we should go out to the table outside the prayer hall, where there were lots of offering bowls and baskets filled with food, and it became apparent that small quantities of rice should be placed in each offering bowl.  The gentleman behind me kindly provided me with some of his rice so that I could perform this ritual.

We returned to the guest house for a leisurely breakfast and I said goodbye to Judith, who was returning to her current home that morning.

I walked through the pavement vegetable market to the market place and bus station.  I am intrigued by the vegetable market, these take up the entire footpath and I observed one car stop, in the middle of the road (not that there is much other choice) for someone to purchase their needs.  

At Wat Rhun Khun

All other cars wait patiently; the motorbikes do their usual zipping in and out to get around the larger vehicles.  It never ceases to amaze me how patient the drivers are, there is very little honking of horns.

Once at the bus station, it was assumed that I would be going to the key tourist destination for the blue songthaew, the White Temple – which was correct – and I was directed to an appropriate vehicle.  Establishing that I wanted to pay just the fare for one and not hire the entire vehicle, I got on and waited for a few more passengers.  The gentleman who had directed me to the appropriate vehicle had also identified who would be my “chauffeur” for the trip.  A rather grand, but nice, title for a songthaew driver.

The White Temple, Wat Run Khun, is a stunningly beautiful all white construction that is quite new, with additional new building going on.  

at Wat Rhun Khun

Inside the main temple the murals are different, to say the least!  There are no traditional paintings of the life of Buddha, but instead some odd pictures of current personalities.  The grounds are quite extensive, and there are several buildings, all very elaborate, and even the main toilet building is elaborate!

I visited an on-site art exhibition on one artist’s work.  Many of the pictures were related to Buddhism but there was a series of paintings with Christian influence, which had been painted while the artist was overseas.

I returned to Chiang Rai and waked to a small food shack recommended by Lonely Planet, Lung Ed.  It serves a rather nice dish called Lahp Gai, and the proprietor must know about his publicity, as I was asked if this was what I wanted to order.  Wanting a drink, other than water, to go with it, I chose a bottle of what I though was a lime flavoured softdrink from the fridge.  It was a fairly disgusting sweet green concoction with no particular flavour.

at Wat Rhun Khun

My plan to visit the Hill Tribe Museum was thwarted by its being closed for the holiday.  Instead I redirected myself towards a couple of wats I had on my list of places to visit.  My attention was distracted by some costumed statues in a park, and I diverted into this to enjoy a bit of shade and some stunning plant displays:  walls of orchids, clever walls of potted plants, bedded liliums, begonias and cyclamen were among those that impressed me most.  The costumed statues were also interesting.  It seemed from the way that the costumed were slightly faded that these costumes had been on for a while, and I mentally marvelled at the apparent lack of interference with these.  I wonder if there are many places in the world where such displays could be left without loss or damage.

Costumed statues in the park

I proceeded to Wat Klang Wieng and another Wat, both stunningly beautiful.  At one I was a little concerned to find a busload of tourists descending to share my quiet experience of the place, but I should have had my doubts assuaged by their all-white attire.  They descending en-mass upon the stalls that sell offerings, these stalls grace many wats, and proceeded to perform their 3 circumambulations, complete with offerings of candles and flowers and accompanied by the chanting of prayers.  Unlike the Bhutanese practice of 3 circumambulations of any religious structure at any time, this, in Thailand, is only performed on special religious holidays.

At one wat, one other visitor asked if I am Buddhist.  My reply is no, but after a year of living in a Buddhist culture, I do not feel comfortable to not observe the standard ritual practice of prostration and prayer within a temple.  Besides, recent news from friends at home tells me there are those I know who need as many prayers as possible.

It was a particularly hot day and I decided that I’d had enough of mad dogs and Englishmen behaviour and returned to the coolness of my guest house air conditioner for a couple of hours and to book my accommodation for the border towns. 

I ventured out again to see the clock change colour and to find dinner.  I settled for a takeaway green

papaya salad as the restaurant I chose was full, plus I picked up fried chicken and sticky rice on way and came back to eat at my little outdoor table at the guesthouse. On arrival, I saw Judith’s friend, Wa, and she recommended an evening visit to Wat Phra Kaow and a visit to a particular park for the next day.

The changing colours of the clock

After my meal, I went to the temple and brought offerings of candle and flowers, and joined the throng in circumambulations and made offerings then decided I would go once again to look at the Emerald Buddha.  I was aware of a monk behind the open door, and assumed he was keeping and eye on things as there were so many people, but as I left, he shut and locked the doors. So on this religious holiday, I not only got some time to contemplate the emerald Buddha, effectively on my own, but was also the last person, except for the monk, to do so on that day.  Special.

My later evening activity is to sort my suitcase to determine what might be posted home the next day.  I decide to risk my raincoat.  If I need rain protection, an umbrella will suffice.

23^rd February

Tom Yam with mushrooms

I am quite impressed with the efficiency of the Post office although their idea of packing goods into a box does not quite match Bhutan’s  sellotaping of parcels – in Bhutan, if the entire parcel is not sellotaped round and round, it is not adequately packed.  Having seen the effect of the postal system on parcels that have not had this treatment, it is not such a bad idea…. I requested the commercial level taping in addition to a few centimetres of Sellotape and piece of string that purchasing a packing box included and I had to pay an extra 5 baht for this service.  

I had pressed for a service counter ticket before I went to do the packing and once the packing was done, my number was ready. I chose the SAL service, which should take 3-4 weeks.  Let’s see if the parcel gets to Australia before I do!

Naga handrail at Wat Srikird

My visit to the hill tribe museum, postponed from the previous day, was interesting.  It provided an insight into the history of opium ..  including information about the resistance of the Chinese to early attempts to introduce the smoking of it.  This early resistance contrasted sharply with the later perception of opium dens in the Chinese quarters of Australia and U.S. towns as absolute dens of iniquity.  It was not originally a Chinese habit!

It was also interesting to read about the elephant camps... While I have previously experienced these, I am still in 2 minds about these.  Are they truly a good experience for the elephants which have previously been working elephants and could probably not survive effectively in the wild should they be released, or are the elephants being cruelly exploited.  I do not have the answer to this.

There was also considerable information about the long necked Karen villages – which were described by one writer as "human zoos", created by Thai businessmen as tourist attractions, in which the women are kept as virtual prisoners in the village.  However, this does not quite match with my limited knowledge from my last trip in 2008 when the information I had was that they were effectively refugees from Myanamar, persecuted by troops on that side of the border and only just tolerated by the authorities on the Thai side.  Then, my impression was where the ladies said (via our driver who was not a tourist guide) they moved back and forth to Myanamar to exchange their cash from sales for more goods to sell...albeit that this movement was illegal.

 The Karen, like many of the Thai minorities, are not Thai citizens and do not have the same rights as the majority peoples; access to schooling is one of the areas of inequality.

I watched and talked with a young lady weaving ... her explanation of her use of indigo, cochineal and mango bark as dyes was interesting.  These are fast dyes, they will not run when washed, unlike my experience of some of the natural dyes in Vietnam.  She was charging quite highly for her work but it was nice and her price was probably fair given the amount of work involved.

There was also an article on display about the impact of tourism on hill tribe cultures – how people’s interest in the culture and lifestyle is actually contributing to eroding that culture.  I have not doubt that this is a problem worldwide;  as people are exposed to ideas and goods, it becomes harder to maintain their own culture.  One can only hope they can learn to strike a balance, to take what is useful but discerningly, so that their own values, skills, traditions  and knowledge are not lost.

Buddhism is not the only religion in Thailand

I found a cafe for lunch, a random little backstreet café, and the man at the food cart out front spoke enough English to tell me that one of the pictured dishes was Tom Yam with mushroom, not noodles with mushroom. Yes, good choice, so I ordered and clarified "medium please" in response to the query as to whether I would like it hot.  It was superb.  Relatively expensive though, at 90 baht, which included my water. 

I walked to visit 2 more temples, Wat Chet Tod ATOD and Wat Ming Muang and popped in to a third Wat Srikird that I passed because it was there ( I'd really messed up my navigation) then returned to the guest house to await pick up for the airport.

A different entrance to a temple