We booked a tour to Chiang Rai for today. Originally I wanted to do a private tour but the tour guides were all busy, so we chose the small group tour closest to what we wanted to see.
At 6:50 am we are waiting in the lobby of our condo building for our 7-7:30 pickup. That gives William enough time to visit our small coffee shop for an Americano. Several vans arrive and depart then finally a guide comes in holding a sign with our name scrawled in blue. We join two people already in the van and the driver pulls out into the light traffic. He navigates through the streets of Chiang Mai, skirting along Wararot market and further north into the fruit market area until we stop at We Briza Hotel and eight people from China pile into the van. All are wearing face masks.
At 6:50 am we are waiting in the lobby of our condo building for our 7-7:30 pickup. That gives William enough time to visit our small coffee shop for an Americano. Several vans arrive and depart then finally a guide comes in holding a sign with our name scrawled in blue. We join two people already in the van and the driver pulls out into the light traffic. He navigates through the streets of Chiang Mai, skirting along Wararot market and further north into the fruit market area until we stop at We Briza Hotel and eight people from China pile into the van. All are wearing face masks.
Our guide is Tim. He explains things in English for us and then repeats everything in Chinese. Our first stop is at a hot springs, about an hour’s drive through heavy-duty road construction. Thailand does not have volcanos, but it does experience earthquakes and there is a correlation. We grab a tea and coffee from one of the many vendors and walk around the area, which has some bubbling fountains of hot water and some pools where people are soaking their feet.
Then it is back in the van for another 1.5 hours. Out the window we see mostly farmland and small towns. Our first destination in Chiang Rai is Wat Rung Khun, the White Temple. The White Temple is the project of a local artist, Chalermchai Kositpipat, who has privately funded the project. The Ubosot is the main building, which is reached by walking over a bridge with outreached hands below... perhaps representing hell or perhaps symbolizing desires which must be foregone to reach happiness. No photos are allowed inside the Ubosot, which is the main temple.
There are six or seven other buildings in the project and we walk around enjoying their beauty. The gold buildings contain the toilets. It’s told that Chalermchai Kositpipat did not make them white because they are not considered pure. Hanging in a tree near one of the gold buildings are face masks of Hollywood characters. I don’t know why.
Lunch is next at a local buffet-style restaurant just five minutes away and is included in the price of the tour. There’s a variety of mostly carb-based entrees, as might be expected. However, they do have a decent assortment of fresh local fruit, a highlight for me.
The Wat Rong Sues Ten, or the Blue Temple is our next stop. The Wat is still under construction, however the main temple was completed in 2016. The interior is an amazing blue containing a large white Buddha. Other sculptures on the grounds are mostly in blue.
The Wat Rong Sues Ten, or the Blue Temple is our next stop. The Wat is still under construction, however the main temple was completed in 2016. The interior is an amazing blue containing a large white Buddha. Other sculptures on the grounds are mostly in blue.
Tim suggests that one of the highlights of the Blue Temple is the home made coconut ice creams sold by the vendors. I stop by a stall that has a sign containing a variety of flavors. But it seems that the Thai woman mis-understands my request and the next thing I know I have a small waffle cup of coconut ice cream. Well, for 20 bhat (70¢ US) I accept it - thinking about my Cousin Randy who always teases his wife that he’s going to get a coconut ice cream cone so that she won’t try to share. I try the ice cream and it really doesn’t have much of a coconut flavor - soon I realize the waffle cup is empty.
Our last “temple” isn’t one at all. Baan Dam Museum, or the Black House Museum is the studio/home of the artist Thawan Duchanee, who died a few years ago. There are about 35 structures in the Lanna style of architecture as well as a few odd white orb-like buildings. The artist was fond of crocodile skins, antlers, buffalo horns and animal skins. He also collected drums and other musical instruments.
Some of the more risqué things we see are the statues in front of the gift shop and the signs designating the men’s and women’s side of the toilets. We won’t include them here in the blog, but if you are easily offended beware - they are in our photo site.
Some of the more risqué things we see are the statues in front of the gift shop and the signs designating the men’s and women’s side of the toilets. We won’t include them here in the blog, but if you are easily offended beware - they are in our photo site.
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