Chiangrai, here we come!!! It’s time to head to Chiangrai for the much anticipated White Temple. Anyone going to Chiangrai from Chiangmai on a day trip must allocate 1 full day for the trip as all the attractions in Chiangrai are located rather far from each other.
The first destination was the Thaweesin Hotspring. At first, I thought that it would look like a big pond of hot water. But it’s actually streams of hot water flowing along man-made drains. So all we need to do was to put our feet into the hot water for about 5-10 minutes (if you could stand the heat). It’s really hot, boiling hot I would say. 10 seconds is too long for me!
Preparing to dip in our sexy legs…
You can actually buy natural boiled eggs here
This is in fact the highest hotspring in Thailand! Hot water fountain keeps spraying out from the land…
Look at this majestic White Temple also know as Wat Rong Khun. I just love the pure white and its structure. Look how fine and detailed each structure was made…
(Note : Due to earthquake, the temple got severely damaged and is now closed for visitation. Visitors can still admire the building from far. But no one can enter the temple itself until further notice. Such a sad news).
According to our guide, the temple was built to remind the people about hell and heaven. The replicas which show struggling and suffering expressions represent the torturous ambience in hell. Alcoholic drinks will bring you to hell (according to the temple).
The representation of heaven is the inside of the temple. However, no photos allowed. All I can say is the drawing on its wall is really different from other temples. They include cartoon and movie characters like Doraemon, Minions, the Matrix, Star Wars and etc. hoping to attract children to come to the temple more often.
(Note : The wall painting was damaged due to the latest earthquake and needs to be repaired which may take up to 2-3 years time)
Hands crying for help…
A statue of a God protecting the temple from evil
This is a wishing well. Visitors make their wishes and throw coins into the well.
This is a toilet/washroom. YES! A golden toilet…
Heads of demons and villains from various movies are hung around. Interesting.
Beside the golden toilet, is the souvenir shop and in front of the shop, visitors can take a postcard to write down their names and details, and even keep it as a souvenir for free.
The laughing man on the card above is the artiste and founder of this temple. He is the mastermind behind the building structure.
Have you heard of the Golden Triangle of Thailand – Myanmar – Laos? We took a boat ride along the Mekong River. It’s really interesting to know that 3 different countries being so closed to each other, but yet so far apart. China is also somewhat near the Golden Triangle, but further away.
This golden statue of the Buddha is locate on the Thailand river bank…
The golden dome above is a casino located on the Laos river bank…
Another casino on Laos side…
Upon reaching Donsao, Laos, we disembarked and went to the market place. We had to pay a small amount of tax at a little booth before entering.
Different kinds of wine… they’ve got lizard, tortoise, ginseng, tiger’s penis and snake… You wanna try? 😛
Poor turtle…
You can get an LV, Guess, Chanel and even Gucci and Coach here… Just name it!
A small tent for drinks and cooling down…
We are at Laos
The many stalls in Donsao
Beautiful wind chimes
Refreshing coconuts… slurrppp!!!
We also went to the most northern part of Thailand. It was separated by a small river and across is Myanmar.
Beautiful hair pins found in the market at this area. Mein got herself two of these.
We also paid a visit to the Thailand hilltribe village. The wooden idols are believed to protect the village from evil and bad energy. And yes, that’s a man’s…
She is an Akha tribe.
This is the Meo tribe. We bought two of the bamboo cups. Very creative and natural! Planning to drink our wine with these.
This old lady is a Lahu. She is 90 plus years old, and chewing betel leaves (daun sirih) and tobacco…
She is a Mien (Yao) tribe. Their ancestors are from Yunnan.
A very simple village. We didn’t visit the long-neck Karen tribe because we think that it would be better if we do not disturb them.
Another picture with the ‘men and women’ of the village.
I must say that it was a long day. After all the visiting to the different attractions, we had to get back to Chiang Mai and the journey took us 3 hours. It was indeed taxing and exhausting… But it was really eye-opening!
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Unwind and Relax @ Chiang Mai (Day 1)
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