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<\/a>Window decorations at breakfast.<\/p>\nOur guide, Puma, (she\u2019s also the driver) met us at 7:00am and we started north.\u00a0 She did the best job of establishing the tour specifics of any of our guides the last 5 weeks.\u00a0 It only took her a couple of minutes to tell us exactly where we were headed, what we would see, and how long each segment would take.\u00a0 It seems simple, but too many times, we would have appreciated more information, and less guesswork.<\/p>\n
Chiang Mai has a population of 1.6 million, and Chiang Rai has 1.3 million.\u00a0 Out of town just a few miles, the road began to climb into the hills and mountains, and became two lanes, with an occasional passing lane added on short uphill segments.\u00a0 A long segment of the winding mountain roads was undergoing heavy improvement to straighten it out, requiring lots of dirt movement and bridges.\u00a0 If you could imagine a two-lane road between DFW & Austin, and the traffic struggles that would involve.\u00a0 Lots of trucks and tour buses made it even more grinding.<\/p>\n
The halfway stop (90 minutes) was a hot springs area with a market and washrooms.\u00a0 I was able to dangle my feet for a few minutes in one section.\u00a0 The locals were boiling eggs in some of the other pools.\u00a0 In the flatland areas we passed they were growing rice, corn, and many other crops.\u00a0 40 years ago, Northern Thailand was the center of the poppy\/opium market.\u00a0 The King of Thailand, Rama the 9th<\/sup>, banned poppies as a crop, and began training the local farmers how to grow coffee.\u00a0It\u2019s now the biggest crop in Northern Thailand.<\/p>\n When we reached Chiang Rai shortly after 10am, our first stop was the \u201cWhite Temple\u201d.\u00a0 Twenty-two years ago a wealthy businessman began the process of renovating a small ancient temple into a tourist attraction.\u00a0 He wanted to bring tourism and jobs to the area.\u00a0The sculptures and designs around the temple try to reflect on the horrors of hell, and people trying to get to heaven.\u00a0 Inside the temple were painted contemporary pictures of world events while it was being built, including a mural depicting the 9\/11 twin towers destruction.\u00a0 There were two huge eyes painted on the walls, one with the reflection of George W Bush, and the other containing Bin Laden.\u00a0This isn\u2019t your average Buddhist temple.\u00a0Since the project began, it has expanded and building is still continuing as the property grows.<\/p>\n Our next stop was the \u201cBlue Temple\u201d.\u00a0 It was designed and built by one of the team members who helped with the White Temple.\u00a0It\u2019s not as large as the White Temple\u2026\u2026yet\u2026\u2026 but it\u2019s expanding as well.<\/p>\n To fill out the rainbow, our next visit was the Chinese \u201cRed Temple\u201d.\u00a0 The color motif red wasn\u2019t obvious.\u00a0 It seemed to be more a nickname as a nod to \u201cRed China\u201d.\u00a0 A huge Buddha sat high on hill overlooking the area, and a beautiful temple as well on the property.\u00a0 These temples have been a wholly different experience from the temples we visited in Bangkok.\u00a0 They\u2019re much more tourist centric.\u00a0 Of course with every temple, shoes are left at the door, and women\u2019s pants must come below the knees.\u00a0 Shoulders cannot be bare.<\/p>\n We ate lunch in a large river resort hotel.\u00a0 There was a huge buffet with all types of foods, including western.\u00a0 It was empty as we arrived, but tour group after tour group kept walking in, and it was full before we left.\u00a0 There was a singer with a beautiful voice, but lacking a sense of pitch.\u00a0 Ouch.\u00a0 She had to be related to the owner.<\/p>\n We left Chiang Rai around 1:30 for the drive back to Chiang Mai.\u00a0 An hour out of town, we exited the main road for a short jaunt to the \u201cGrand Palace\u201d.\u00a0 It\u2019s another attempt to turn an old temple into a new and shiny place for travelers to stop between the two cities.\u00a0 It had it\u2019s own modern updates.\u00a0 One of the sculptures displayed a figure wearing Converse high top shoes.\u00a0 Another had a cell phone stuffed into his pants.\u00a0This temple was geared for a younger, hip crowd.\u00a0 There were bells everywhere, and everyone seemed to be ringing them.\u00a0 It had something to do with respecting Buddha.<\/p>\n We arrived back at our hotel at 5:30, after a very slow trip through the mountains.\u00a0 We made it back in time to pick up the laundry we left yesterday, saving us a trip tomorrow morning to get it.<\/p>\n After freshening up, we went back out for another visit to the night market.\u00a0 It\u2019s been fun renewing my bargaining skills.\u00a0 We made a longer tour tonight.\u00a0 The street on both sides is full of booths, two and three deep.\u00a0There are some open pavilions with rows and rows of stuff to buy, and places to eat.\u00a0 In the morning, the pavilions become \u201cfresh markets\u201d with vegetables and fruits and locals purchasing groceries.<\/p>\n Chiang Mai has been everything I hoped it would be.\u00a0 It\u2019s calmer than Bangkok, and much different than the southern beach areas of Phuket and Koh Samui we\u2019ve visited previously.\u00a0 Which do we like the best?\u00a0 None are better than the other, just different in their own way, and unique destinations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I wasn\u2019t sure when I began planning the Thai segment of our trip if we wanted to even travel to Chiang Rai.\u00a0It seemed that half of the tours\/attractions listed for Chiang Mai involved travel to Chiang Rai for different activities.\u00a0 … Continue reading <\/a>\u00a0Construction issues<\/a>\u00a0Rice paddies<\/a>\u00a0The better section of the road<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0Hot Springs<\/a>\u00a0Boiling some eggs.<\/a>Boiling some legs!<\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0It looks like it snowed<\/a>\u00a0Arms reaching up from Hell!<\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a>\u00a0These are not your usual tree decorations!<\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0Working on part of the Blue Temple expansion<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0Picture taken thru a globe near the entrance of the Blue Temple.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0They know how to carry out a theme.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0No shoes allowed.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0Even the gong is blue.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0Check out the cellphone in the waistband of the closest sculpted figure.<\/p>\n<\/a>Every “hip” temple figure needs a pair of Converse Hi-Tops.<\/p>\n<\/a> Friday evening rush hour.<\/p>\n