The End of the Road Trip + Wats, Stupas & Buddhas

The road trip ended with a bit of fanfare and a celebration that we returned unscathed thanks to some expert driving and maneuvering (Yay Chuck!).   We spent our last day and night of the road trip in  Lampang, where we stayed in a very old teak house that was divided into several units and was also on a river bank albeit a very shallow one!  It was the night of the Lampang walking street, so there was lots of music, things to buy, things to look at and things to eat.  The next day, it was back to Chiang Mai where we hung out for a few days, got massages, ate some great food, made a new friend and visited lots of wats!  There are so many in Chiang Mai that you can easily spend a whole day doing a "wat walk".  They're all beautiful and each one is different.  I've included just a few as well as Buddha statues in many different poses.
After a flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, one night in a hotel at the airport, a (very) early flight to Ranong, and a two hour boat ride on the funkiest ferry ever, we have arrived in Koh Phayam - an amazing island very near Myanmar with hornbills, but more about that later.
Along the way . . .

Lampang Walking Street

View from Room in Lampang & Below is the Room

Fisherman in Lampang in a Very Shallow River

Turning the Car In in Chiang Mai - A Happy Ending!

Chiang Mai - Wats, Stupas, Monks & Buddhas

The Road Trip or Adventures in Northern Thailand

After two great days in Chiang Dao, we headed North to Chiang Khong with a stop high in the mountains in a town called Mae Salang  which is, as I said, in Northern Thailand but was settled by Chinese immigrants and where we ate at a Halal restaurant (it was really good too). 
Chiang Khong is on the Mekong River directly across from Lao.  There are two photos below from my $20 room looking toward Lao, the second is at sunrise. After having an amazing breakfast at a local café which is known for its Mexican food (yes), we headed to Phu Chi Fa, a town in the mountains which has a peak with amazing views (we were told), but after trying three different places with obvious vacancies we could not find a place to stay.  All said "Full" when asked for accommodation.  Perplexing!  We have come up with many theories as to why we were not welcomed here, but in any case, we left somewhat dejected.  At our last lodging rejection, Paulette pointed out a little boy no more than 1 1/2 who was chopping something with a machete almost as large as he was!  Really!  I'm not kidding!  We were so amazed/shocked/in awe of this that I didn't think to take a picture - none of us did!  I needed to record it and so there is a poor rendition in watercolor of the aforementioned incident.  Due to my ineptitude as an artist who can draw from memory, the boy looks more like 4 than the toddler he was.  You'll have to use your imagination.  We then drove back down the mountain and on to the next stop, Phayao, which is referred to as the Vienna of Thailand and has a lake in the middle.  I say 'we' but Chuck is the master driver who has gotten us from point A to point B repeatedly despite setbacks, road construction, crazy drivers and motorcycles as well as some bad directions from the navigation system.
We are now in Nan where we have spent two nights in a home stay on the Nan River owned and run by Norman (from England) and his lovely wife.  The grounds are beautiful and Nan is a nice town with a LOT of wats!  We visited Wat Phumin which is world renowned for the art frescoes inside.  The wat is also unique in how it sits on top of two snakes (or nagas).
We were impressed with how clean the town and the air are around here.  Many farmers in the North burn their fields to prepare for next year's crop, but in Nan province it is prohibited hence the clean air and clear blue skies.  Way to go, Nan!

Mae Salang

Along the Way - Pineapples in Lower Right

A Roadside Attraction

Chiang Khong and Lao Across the River

The Mountain & the Baby
4 photos from Phayao



 

 

 

Below is a view from my room in Nan, followed by Wat photos.

 

 

 

Chiang Dao -- A Beautiful Place

It's evening and the sun has set behind this huge mountain range that I stare at from the porch of the round house in which I am temporarily staying.  This place is heaven.  Our host, Maggie, has fulfilled her dream to make this place and it is really special.  The houses are made of cob (a combination of rice hulls and hay mixed with lime and other things to make a sort of mortar I think).  I'm still working on that, but look it up.  In any case the buildings are very cool and the village, Chiang Dao Cave Village is also lovely.  Oh, the cave!  The cave goes deep into one of the huge mountains and is also a temple with  Buddhas and statues throughout the part with lights along with the requisite stalactites and stalagmites. If you want to go further than the (approximate) 1/4 mile into the cave, it's not lit and you have to have a guide and crawl through some small spaces.  Needless to say, I didn't do that, but went as far as I could. 
Maggie lives here with her three dogs and two cats and brought me along on her dog walking expedition the day we arrived here.  So Cloey, Moomoo, and Lucy piled into the back of Maggie's truck and we rode to a place down a dirt road and then hiked past orchards, fields and forests for an amazing view as the sun was setting.  This place is very special and on my list of places that I'd like to visit again . . . and maybe again! 

inside the cave

Inside the cave

Temple in the Cave

Around the Cave

At the Market - Something you Ingest?

A Little Helper

And Some T-shirts




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