Our trip to Thailand started with a thud and ended, well, with another thud. Thailand was the first country we visited that failed to meet our expectations. Perhaps, it was because our expectations were too high. Perhaps, it was the stress of the growing health threat out of China (Covid 19). Maybe it was because we had tickets in hand to fly back to the States, and Thailand was the last thing standing between us and seeing our children, other family members and friends. Whatever it was, it has now been over 4 months since we departed Thailand. I had decided that I wasn’t going to write a blog for our visit there. I like the blog posts to be generally light hearted and, because of how our trip ended (along with having to write during the pandemic lockdown), I just wasn’t feeling it. But “time heals all” and I have decided to move forward. I wrote most of the content in Feb and March and decided to complete it over this 4th of July weekend since I had time on my hands (we are still in Covid 19 lockdown here in the States and everything is closed and there is nowhere to go – “sigh”). So, without further ado, we hope you enjoy reading about our time in Thailand.
We departed Luang Prabang, Laos in the late afternoon on Feb 12, 2020. It would be a long day of travel, flying first to Bangkok and then, after a couple hour layover, to Phuket. We wouldn’t land in Phuket until almost 10:00PM and then we would have to find our way to our lodging. We were traveling at the height of the coronavirus hysteria (well, back then I thought it was hysteria). Flights were empty. Chinese tourists that normally come to SE Asia in droves this time of year, the tourist high-season, were MIA. Once we deplaned in Bangkok, we were immediately diverted down a hallway and had to pass by a thermal screening to check if we had a fever – an indication that we might have the coronavirus. OK, that’s fine – we had no problem with that – the safer the better. But then, immediately after the appropriate caution of a thermal scan, we went through immigration where EVERYONE had to place first their right hand, and then their left hand, on a finger print reader and, you guessed it, there was no gel or wipes or soap anywhere to be found. So basically, every single person coming into Thailand is placing their hands on the same exact finger print screens. Unbelievably stupid.
We were pretty excited to head to Thailand. Me, more than Janne, as I had wanted to go there for years – perhaps decades. It seemed to me that Thailand had so much to offer - beaches, jungles, temples, wildlife and one of the premier big city destinations: Bangkok. We were also excited about our house sit in Phuket. We would be taking care of a 10-year old Labradoodle named Bella. We met her on a video call and she seemed so cute and mellow. We were ready for a mellow dog as at our last two house sits we had been looking after puppies. Not only puppies, but puppies that were not completely potty trained. We looked after an Italian Greyhound puppy in Melbourne and then two Dachshund puppies in Ho Chi Minh City. Taking care of the Dachshunds was really trying. We were in a tiny apartment on the 19th floor of a high rise and the owners did not want the puppies to leave the apartment as they had not had all of their shots. This meant that we had to have potty pads in the one and only tiny bathroom in the apartment. Not only that, but these dogs were bad aims. They were good about going on the potty pad, but they didn’t get it, that if their front paws were on the pad, it didn’t necessarily mean that they were relieving themselves on the pad. Our traveling life has not always been as glamorous as you may have been thinking.
Anyway, we had been running hard for the last two weeks after leaving Ho Chi Minh City. In rapid succession we had hit Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in Cambodia, and then Luang Prabang in Laos. We were charging every single day in those cities and they were all quite hot and humid places. We were really looking forward to relaxing in a house, instead of a hotel room or BnB, having cool air conditioning, a pool and a cute dog. I also needed to make some money and do some teaching. So, we arrived in Phuket in the evening, made our way to a small motel for a single night, and we had high hopes for our house sit that would start the next day.
Well, as they say, “The best laid plans…..”. Phuket turned out to be probably the least
enjoyable place that we have traveled to so far. First, it was really, really hot. OK, we knew that would be the case so, get over it. Second, we found out that the house only had A/C
in the bedroom. No A/C in the kitchen or the living area – Noooooooo! The place didn’t even have any ceiling fans – just a couple of portable floor fans. That really sucked. We had confirmed with the house owners that they had A/C before we accepted the sit, of course, and they did, but they also let us know that they would be moving a few houses over in the same neighborhood before we arrived. But “no worries” it will be just as nice and even larger. So, we said “OK” and didn’t give it a thought. Lesson learned – don’t accept a sit unless you see the place you will be staying – period – end of story – no exceptions. There were more issues. I got a cold that knocked me out for a couple days. Janne threw her back out of whack. There was no place for me to teach - there were no decent chairs and the place was really, really dark, so the lighting was insufficient – even with the lights that I travel with for my “classroom”. Oh, and there was no TV. Well, there was a TV, but they had no cable or satellite. One saving grace was the small swimming pool that provided a good place to cool off.
On top of all of the above. The dog had some health issues. We knew the dog had a bad leg due to suffering a broken hok about a year previously, but we had still envisioned taking her to the beach for walks (as we were led to believe would be ok, and even appreciated, by the owners). But upon arrival, it was clear that they really didn’t want us taking her to the beach for fear of “soi” dogs (i.e.- wild dogs). It wouldn’t have been such a big deal that we couldn’t take her to the beach if it weren’t for the fact that the dog had separation anxiety issues. So, basically, not being able to take her to the beach meant that we couldn’t really go to the beach either, as we couldn’t leave her for more than 3 hours or so. And we really couldn’t bring her anywhere with us and leave her in the car because it was just way, way too hot. The dog also had skin issues and we ended up having to go to the vet with her and the owners upon our arrival and give her medication for the length of our stay – oy vey!
Then we got hit with another unfortunate circumstance. Because of the coronavirus, our flights back to the US were cancelled. We had booked the flights back in December when we were in Australia. We booked them with Xiamen Air, a Chinese airline. The flights were from Bangkok to LAX with a short layover in Xiamen, China. You’ve probably never heard of Xiamen, China, but it’s actually a city of over 5 million people! Anyway, we got a really killer deal when we booked the flights in December – Bangkok to LAX for under $200 each. So, as we are sweating our asses off in Phuket, one of us fighting a cold and the other with a sore back, we get word that our flights home have been cancelled. Long story short, we ended up having to book new flights costing $800 bucks each - ouch!
We toughed it out though. Despite her health issues, we fell in love with Bella the dog. She was super cute and super easy to take care of. And we did find time to explore a little bit of Phuket. The highlight of which was visiting the aptly named “Big Buddha”. The Big Buddha sits atop Nakkerd Hill, facing Ao Chalong Bay. The Big Buddha is the 3rd largest Buddha statue in Thailand. It is 150 feet (45m) tall and 83 feet (25m) wide. It is built of cement but covered with Burmese white tiles. It was a really cool place to visit. You can stand, dumbfounded, facing the statue, and then turn around and be wowed by the beautiful view of the bay and the ocean. Plus, it’s quite breezy up on the hill so the heat is not quite as oppressive – especially if you visit in the morning.
Sweet Bella The "Big Buddha" Ao Chalong Bay
After 9 days, we were more than ready to get out of Phuket and we hopped aboard a plane to Bangkok. Bangkok was just as hot, if not hotter than Phuket. Bangkok’s average high temperature YEAR-ROUND is between 90-96f (32-35c) with high humidity – brutal. We had three full days in Bangkok, not counting the days we arrived and departed. We spent them by going out in the morning and then retreating from the heat in the early afternoon. We saw some absolutely fantastic sights in Bangkok, some really old and some really new. The really old places we visited were the incredible wats (temples) that are spread throughout the city. The really new places we visited were shopping malls – yes, shopping malls. I generally hate “getting malled” and avoid going to the mall whenever I can, but we visited two really amazing malls.
Our first full day in Bangkok was a good one. We started off by having a Thai breakfast at our bed and Breakfast. It started off with a generous serving of watermelon and dragon fruit. Then we had a bowl of stir-fried beef with vegetables and rice noodles. The people in Asia don’t really have a long list of meals that are specifically for breakfast like we do in the West - they eat the same foods at all times of the day. It was a good and substantial meal to fuel us through a day of the old and the new.
Our first stop was at one of, not just Bangkok’s but, Thailand’s most famous landmarks: Wat Arun. It is best known as a lovely place to visit at sunset or in the evening when it is lit up. The temple has beautiful architectural lines and sits on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, the major river running through Bangkok. The main structure of the temple includes a large central spire surrounded by 4 smaller spires.
Next, we headed to Wat Saket and the Golden Mount. The Golden Mount is the main attraction here. You climb a circular path around a hill. Along the walk, you will see old growth trees, bells and gongs (that you are free to ring and gong, if you like), water pools
and statues of Buddha. After some 350 steps or so, you arrive at the peak and are treated to a 360-degree view of Bangkok. It is kind of an odd place – a mixture of history and a hodge podge of human construction.
The hill itself is not natural. It was created when a large stupa, under construction in the early 1800’s, collapsed because the soft Bangkok soil could not support it. The resulting mound of mud and bricks was left in a pile for decades until overgrowth made it look like a natural hill. A small stupa was built on the hill and then, years later in the early 19th century, a larger stupa was constructed to house a Buddha relic given to King Rama V by the British Government. Concrete walls were added all around the base of the hill during WWII to prevent the hill from eroding. At the bottom of the hill, we heard some music coming out of the entrance to a fake cave. We went in to investigate and found a cool looking, but entirely out of place, Buddha statue that was made to look as if it were carved out of a stone wall (remember, there are no stone walls here – the hill is basically a reclaimed pile of construction debris). Images were displayed on each side of the Buddha by projectors. It looked pretty cool to us, and it was a nice place to catch a respite from the heat, but it really did seem out of place.
Our third temple of the morning was Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen (Wat Paknam for short). The attraction here was not the Wat or even the 260 foot (80m) tall white stupa. The attraction here, for us, was the Buddha that is under construction and currently slated to be completed later this year. When construction is finished, it will be the tallest Buddha in Bangkok at over 226 feet (69m). It will really be something to see when it is completed. The official name of the statue is Buddha Dhammakaya Dhepmongkol, or “The Great Buddha” in short.
The site of Wat Paknam is pretty large. The temple complex holds a large number of buildings and covers 7.9 acres (32,000 square meters). We explored the grounds and visited some of the buildings. We found many temples and Buddha images (statues). We saw people praying. Monks were strolling through the grounds in their saffron colored robes. We saw some other people, both male and female, dressed in all white. We were unsure who they were – more on this later. We decided to venture inside the large white stupa without having any idea what was inside. We entered the ground floor and it initially seemed like a museum to us. There were statues of previous abbots of the Wat. There were sculptures, old boats, horse drawn carriages. There was a pocket watch collection, porcelain collection and a clock collection. There was no English explaining what any of it was or how it got there. We were on our way out when we noticed there was a small elevator along with a sign that said it only ran on the weekend. We were in luck! It was a Sunday. We decided to explore and took it up to the top – the 5th floor. We stepped out of the elevator, walked around the corner and said “wow”. We were greeted with a site we certainly didn’t expect. I think it was some sort of a green stupa but I’m really not sure exactly what it was and it would take a long time to try and write a meaningful description to you, so I won’t try. Instead, as they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words”…..
While still on the 5th floor, after we checked out the green stupa (housed within the larger white stupa (confused yet?), we were able to walk outside for a view of the city. There was a deck, or terrace, that circled the building. While there, we noticed some interesting statues across a canal. While we had the high ground, we tried to figure out if we would be able to walk there when we left the stupa. All we could see was a Buddha statue mounted on top of four elephants next to a statue of a reclining Buddha, but we could tell there was more there and it was worth a trip to try and find it. After putting a rough plan together, we found stairs to go down to check out the 4th, 3rd and 2nd floors. The 4th floor was filled with literally thousands of Buddha statues. From an inch high to life size. 3rd floor seemed to be a place to pray to ex-abbots of the Wat (again, there was no English anywhere to explain). There was a large room with glass walls and inside were gold-plated life-size statues of ex-abbots. There were a few people there praying. The 2nd floor was virtually empty except for some images of the recently deceased King Rama IX and the current King Rama X, along with some other royal family members.
It was a weird place. I learned later that Wat Paknam is considered the birthplace of the Dhammakaya sect of Buddhism. The men and women dressed in white, that I mentioned we had seen earlier, were members of this sect. This group is an outlying sect of Buddhism that is popular among the wealthy and politicians. Without getting into too much detail, the sect, which believes in the purity of the body’s soul, has drawn criticism in recent years and has been somewhat controversial for its alleged emphasis on earthly riches. In fact, its former head abbot, a 75-year-old monk, is currently charged with embezzlement and money laundering and has been on the run from Thai authorities for around 3 years - “sigh”.
After we exited the large white stupa, we started our search for the promising looking area that we had spocked out earlier from the 5th floor. We walked through a narrow ally with several street vendors, made a couple lefts and there it was. We could see the foot bridge crossing the canal and leading to the statues we had seen earlier from above. As we walked into the main courtyard we were greeted with all kind of visually interesting structures. Some seemed to be legitimate old temples, while others seemed to be tacky items that were more recently made and you might expect to see at a county fair in a rural area of the States.
Our fourth, and final, temple stop for the day was Wat Traimit. The draw at Wat Traimit is The Golden Buddha. There is a really interesting story behind this Buddha. The Buddha statue is about 10 feet (3m) tall. In 1955, the plaster statue, covered in colored glass, was being relocated. A crane was being used. The straps holding the Buddha snapped, and the statue fell to the ground. The plaster cracked, revealing an amazing secret – the Buddha was actually made of pure gold!
The origin of the Buddha is unknown. Apparently, the Buddha was made back in the 13th or 14th century in India. Over time, it made its way to different temples throughout SE Asia. At some point, likely in the 13th or 14th century, it made its way to Ayutthaya, located about 50 miles (80km) north of present-day Bangkok. It is theorized that the plastering over took place in the 17th or 18th century in order to avoid it being looted by invaders. After Ayutthaya fell to Burmese conquerors in 1767, the statue remained in the ruins of Ayutthaya for decades without attracting much attention.
In 1801, after King Rama I moved the capital to Bangkok, he ordered the construction of several temples. As part of the process of filling these temples, he ordered that Buddha images from ruined or dilapidated temples from all over the country be brought to be put in the new temples in Bangkok. Sometime during the reign of King Rama III (1824-1851), the Buddha, still covered in plaster and glass, was placed at Wat Chotanaram in Bangkok. When Wat Chotanaram fell into disrepair, the Buddha was moved to Wat Traimit in 1935. Then, in 1955, they tried to relocate it again, the straps broke, and the rest is history.
It is no wonder the straps broke. The Buddha is solid gold and weighs in at 5.5 tons! Kind of makes you wonder why it took so long for anyone to figure out that it wasn’t really made of plaster. The gold is easily worth over $250 million. After it was discovered that the Buddha was actually made of gold, all the plaster and glass were carefully removed. When all the plaster was removed, it was found that the gold statue actually consisted of nine parts that fit smoothly together. A key was also found, encased in plaster at its base, which could be used to disassemble the statue, allowing for easier transportation. At the time the Buddha was discovered to be gold, it was very near the commemoration of the twenty-fifth Buddhist Era (2500 years since Gautama Buddha's passing). The Thai news media was buzzing and many Buddhists regarded the occurrence as miraculous.
By the time we finished checking out the Golden Buddha, it was early afternoon and blazing hot. We decided to head to the mall for A/C and lunch. We decided to go check out a mall called Terminal 21. You may have heard of this mall as, unfortunately, it was in the news recently due to a mass shooting. A Thai soldier stole automatic weapons, ammo and a Humvee and went on a shooting spree. He ended up killing around 30 people. There are actually 3 different Terminal 21 malls in Thailand. The one that we went to in Bangkok is not the one where the shooting happened.
The reason we wanted to check out this mall is because it has an “international tourist theme”. Each level of the mall is decorated in a theme after a famous city. This mall had
floors decorated after Paris, Istanbul, Tokyo, London and the top two floors were decorated after San Francisco – one for the streets of San Francisco (retail shops) and one for the wharf (food/restaurants). At this point, we had been on the road for well over a year and we were really craving Mexican food. We found a Mexican restaurant at the mall and decided to check it out. We looked at the menu and were impressed in the breadth of their menu. It had all of the usual items you would expect but it also had some things you wouldn’t expect to find in a mall in Thailand – like Baja fish tacos, carnitas tacos, chorizo tacos and even horchata. So, we decided to give them a test run and ordered chips and guacamole. While we were waiting for our chips and guac to show up, a lady and her two children sat next to us. I noticed she was alternating between English and Spanish with her children. I asked her if she had been to the restaurant before and if it was any good. She said, yes it was good, so we went ahead and ordered up some carnitas tacos and Baja fish tacos along with rice and beans. It wasn’t the best we ever had, but it hit the spot and satiated our craving.
We spent the next day exploring Wat Pho, also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. Wat Pho is another immense complex that covers 80,000 square meters. It is full of many picturesque temples and statues. The main draw is the absolutely gigantic reclining Buddha. The Buddha lays inside a building that is really just too small. I would estimate that the Buddha took up about 70% of the building from floor to ceiling. The Buddha measures over 150 feet (46m) long and at its head it is 50 feet (15m) tall. It fills the entire building except for a narrow pathway that surrounds it.
Besides housing the huge reclining Buddha, there is a lot of history at Wat Pho. Construction of the Wat was begun in the late 1700’s by King Rama I, after he decided to move the capital of the country from Thonburi, across the Chao Phraya River, to Bangkok. Not only does the wat house the reclining Buddha, it also houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand (and that’s saying something – believe me – there are a LOT of Buddha images in Thailand!). The temple is considered the earliest center for public education in Thailand. The marble illustrations and inscriptions placed in the temple for public instruction, have been recognized by UNESCO in its Memory of the World Program. The temple compound is also the national headquarters for the teaching and preservation of traditional Thai medicine, including Thai massage. King Rama III, who ruled from 1824-1851, mandated, by royal decree, for the headquarters to be set up when the tradition of Thai massage was in decline and in danger of disappearing.
By the time we were done exploring Wat Pho, the mercury was soaring again so we decided to head to the ICONSIAM Mall for air conditioning and lunch. Our BnB had given us a list of suggested restaurants and there were two Thai restaurants on the list that were located in ICONSIAM. We decided to go and try one of them out. Well, we got more than we bargained for. ICONSIAM is much more than your ordinary mall. It was the most amazing mall we have ever been to.
We entered through the lower level which was composed partly of places to eat and partly of street type vendors. It is hard to explain to you. It was like a high-end mall (very high-end, we would learn later) that had made room for street vendors inside. There were even stands with women sitting on the floor and cooking with pots and pans over a propane tank fueled fire. We had never seen anything like it – and it was huge. For example, there was an area called “Sook Siam” which was an indoor floating market on a fake lake. After taking around a half-hour to wander around the ground floor, we decided to head up to the 5th floor where the restaurants that our BnB had suggested were located.
As we entered the 2nd floor, we could tell we were in a very expensive and luxury driven mall. The entire place was immaculate and beautifully designed. All of the stores we could see were very high-end; Cartier, Versace, Coach, Louis Vuitton, etc. As we continued our way up and passed through the 3rd and 4th floors, we realized there were car dealerships in the mall. We passed both a BMW and a Porsche dealer. We passed the most beautiful Apple Store we had ever seen. It was an enormous store. The entire front of the store was all glass windows as was the back of the store. The view out the back looked over the Chao Phraya River and offered a commanding view of Bangkok’s skyline. Truly impressive.
By this time, we were starting to think that any restaurants in this place would be way outside our budget. But we were happy to find that they offered plates at around $10-$15ea US. This was way more than we would normally pay for a lunch in SE Asia, but we decided to go for it. We were rewarded with a delicious and authentic Thai meal along with a view similar to the one that the previously mentioned Apple Store offered. We were able to enjoy our lunch while watching boats travel up and down the river. It was well worth the price.
As we left the restaurant, we were getting ready to leave the mall when we noticed a waterfall on the 6th floor. So, we headed up to check it out. We were not disappointed. The water fell like rain from a circular pattern in the roof. The water fell down about 50 yards (50m), and as the water was released from the ceiling, it was manipulated by lighting and by, what I can only assume is, a computer system that times the release of the water. The result is that as the water falls, its colors change and the water falls in shapes or designs. Here is a short video so you can see what I am trying to convey…….
Our last day in Bangkok we visited, arguably the largest tourist draw (not counting beaches) in all of Thailand, the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (aka: Temple of the Emerald Buddha). We headed out to the Grand Palace early to try and avoid getting roasted in the afternoon heat. The Grand Palace is a huge 235-acre (95 hectare) fairy-tail like compound filled with more shimmering golden structures and statues than you can shake a stick at.
The ground was consecrated in 1782 and is Bangkok’s biggest tourist attraction as well as a pilgrimage destination for devout Buddhists. The grounds hold more than 100 buildings and have served as the official residence of the King since back in 1782 when Thailand was still known as Siam. The main draw at the Grand Place, however, is not the King’s residence. The main draw is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.
The Temple of the Emerald Buddha is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in all of Thailand. According to legend (and Wikipedia), the Emerald Buddha
“…originated in India where the sage Nagasena prophesied that the Emerald Buddha would bring "prosperity and pre-eminence to each country in which it resides". The Emerald Buddha deified in the Wat Phra Kaew is, therefore, deeply revered and venerated in Thailand as the protector of the country.”
We were not allowed to take any photos of the Emerald Buddha. I can tell you that it is housed in a fantastically decorated temple. The opulence is overwhelming. The Emerald Buddha itself sits elevated above all of the decorations inside a glass case. The Emerald Buddha wears one of three different “costumes” that are made of gold and are changed 3-times a year based on the seasons: Summer, Rainy and Winter. When the changing of the costumes occurs, it is quite an event including participation of the King.
There are many other impressive buildings and Buddha images to see at the Grand Palace. It really is just one of those places that you have to see yourself and you can’t capture in a photo. But we tried……
At 500 baht each, entrance to the Grand Palace was pretty expensive by Thai standards. That equates to a little over $16 USD each. We were pleasantly surprised to find out later that our ticket included a free shuttle bus to the Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre where we could catch a free “Khon” dance performance. It was a very enjoyable show that lasted for about 45 minutes and included live music. We didn’t take any photos of the performance but I pulled one off of the website…
We enjoyed checking out the temples and malls of Bangkok. We did find the temperatures way too hot. We did not check out a lot of the things that most people do when they go to Bangkok. Bangkok is well known for its night life. That’s just not our thing anymore. It’s also well known for its night market, but we really had no interest. We felt we had already seen most of the touristy stuff that would be available. We had no room in our suitcases for any clothes and we had no home to put any home décor that we may have wanted to buy. We were also on a tight budget, so we passed on day trips to destinations outside of the city. We had planned to visit the Ayutthaya ruins, located about 2 hours north of Bangkok, but we decided, after having just experienced the magnificence of Angkor Wat in Cambodia just 2 or 3 weeks prior, that it would not be as impressive to us as it otherwise may have been. All in all, 3 days in Bangkok was plenty and we were ready to head north. We were looking forward to a slower pace and cooler temps in the northern cities of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai.
We arrived in Chiang Rai in the early afternoon which allowed us a little time to explore. Chiang Rai is considered the most norther city in Thailand of any size. It is a relatively small city of only around 70,000. The good thing about that, is that many of the things you want to see are within walking distance or a short and inexpensive tuk-tuk ride away. We dumped our bags in our room, and headed out on foot to find a place to get some lunch. A coffee shop caught our eye by virtue of its name: Coffee & Condoms. We ventured inside to find that there was also a restaurant called “Cabbage & Condoms”. We ordered up some Pad Thai and washed it down with some Leo beers. It was pretty good. We learned that profits from the restaurant were used to teach safe sex and provide support to victims of HIV/AIDS. That night we decided to go lite for dinner and ordered room service. We ordered a couple appetizers and more Leo beers. We ordered some chicken satay with a peanut sauce and egg rolls. The egg rolls were unlike any eggrolls we had ever had before. The insides of the egg rolls were pretty standard, but the outside of the rolls were actually made of egg.
Our first full day in Chiang Rai started with breakfast at our hotel and then walking to check out the local street market. It was similar to markets we had seen elsewhere in SE Asia, but still interesting. Just taking it all in - from the hustle and bustle of the people - to the myriad of items for sale, from bras to pig heads - to all of the different smells from sewers to incense to flowers – always makes it an interesting way to burn 30-60 minutes, or even longer if you choose to buy something.
After checking out the day market, we set out to visit, you guessed it, more temples. By this time, we were starting to get “templed out”. As “Westerners” that had never been to Asia before (except for limited time in Japan) we found even the simplest of temples unique and inspiring since our initial arrival in SE Asia, back in early January. But now it was late February, we were visiting our 5th country in SE Asia and we had visited more temples than we could count. It was taking more and more to impress us. None the less, we soldiered on in Chiang Rai.
The first temple we visited in Chiang Rai was Wat Phra Kaew. For a while, the revered Emerald Buddha that is now located in Bangkok (that I wrote about previously) was housed here and, since its departure, they have a new emerald Buddha in its place. We
rolled into the Wat’s parking lot in our tuk-tuk, hopped out, and were greeted by a group of young Thai women. This was a new experience. A middle-aged Thai woman approached us and explained that the girls/women were students at a school for those that wanted to work in the tourist industry. She asked us if we would like to have them give us a free tour so that they could work on their tour guide and English skills. We said “sure”.
We thought we would get partnered with a single student, but we were set up with three girls. We learned in speaking with them that two of them were 20 and one of them was 21. At first, they were quite “giggly” and nervous, but after a bit they settled down and did their best to show us around the wat and explain different items. Frankly, their English was pretty bad, their pronunciation even worse and they really didn’t seem to know very much about the temple. But they were sweet young women and we enjoyed their company.
It was at this point, that our time in Chiang Rai became a little “Monty Pythonesque”. I couldn’t escape the voice in the back of my mind speaking in a British accent: “And now for something completely different…….”.
The next 3 temples we visited (and I use the term “temples” loosely here), were unique and bazaar places that I think Salvador Dali or Antoni Gaudi would have been proud to have associated with their names. The first of these was “The Blue Temple”. It was different from any of the temples we had seen previously anywhere in Asia. It was completely blue. The main temple was all blue (inside and out) and all of the surrounding buildings and statues were blue as well. The Blue Temple is relatively new. It was completed in 2016. The first photo below, I pulled off the internet. The other ones we took ourselves.
“And now for something completely different……….”
The next place we visited was “The Black Temple”. The Black Temple is actually named “Baan Dam” which translates to “Black House” in Thai. It’s really more of a museum than a temple, although some do go there to meditate. The Black Temple was built by the renowned and controversial Thai artist, Thawan Duchanee. It is really a complex of buildings. Most of them are very dark in color and have the feel of a Viking settlement. This feeling is enhanced by the A-frame architectural style as well as roof decorations at the apex of the roof line. Adding to this ancient/old-world ambiance is the fact that most of the furniture is constructed using animal bones and there are skulls and skins distributed liberally throughout the buildings. There were also more modern structures spread out throughout the complex. Finally, it seems the artist was quite into genitals and especially, phallic symbols as, these too, were featured prominently throughout the buildings and the complex.
“And now for something completely different…..”
OK, we’ve seen the “Blue Temple” with its overwhelmingly “blueness” and we’ve seen the “Black Temple” with its ominous darkly themed architecture complete with bones, skulls, skins and penises throughout. What’s next? Ah, now it was time for Chiang Rai’s crown jewel: Wat Rong Khun, also known as “The White Temple”.
The “White Temple” is the number one tourist attraction in the Chiang Rai area. It sits about 30 minutes outside of town, but it is easily the temple that receives the most visitors and is often REALLY crowded. We were fortunate that the crowds were only about 1/4 to 1/3 of their normal size when we visited due to the ever-growing pandemic.
The White Temple was completed in 1997 by Thai artist Chalerchai Kositpipat. The White Temple is really a stunning piece of work. If you ever get to visit, be sure to bring your sun glasses. The temple gleams and sparkles in the never-ending Thai sunshine due to its construction of bright white plaster with pieces of mirrored glass mixed in. The white color signifies the purity of the Buddha and the glass symbolizes the wisdom of the Buddha and the Buddhist teachings (i.e.- The Dhamma). The main structure that draws the most tourists is composed of 3 sections:
THE BRIDGE OF “THE CYCLE OF REBIRTH:: The main building at the white temple, the ubosot, is reached by crossing a bridge over a small lake. Before you get to the bridge, you must pass through hundreds of outreaching arms and hands that symbolize unrestrained desire. The bridge represents the way to happiness by foregoing temptation, greed, and desire.
THE “GATE OF HEAVEN”: After crossing the bridge, you arrive at the "gate of heaven", guarded by two creatures representing death and Rahu, a Hindu deity, of sorts, that decides the fate of the dead. In front of the ubosot are several meditative Buddha images.
THE UBOSOT: The principal building, the ubosot is an all-white building with fragments of mirrored glass embedded in the building's exterior. The ubosot embodies design elements from classic Thai architecture, such as a three-tiered roof and the presence of Naga serpents. Inside the temple, the decor swiftly moves from pristine to WTF?
On the walls when you first walk in, there is a huge mural of a space/cosmic scene interspersed with shooting stars, planets, galaxies, rocket ships, flying saucers and ….. Elvis, Michael Jackson, E.T., Darth Vader, Marylin Monroe, Homer Simpson, Freddy Krueger, Terminator, Neo from the Matrix and other “pop icon” type stuff (sorry, no photos to share as photography was forbidden inside – cause, you know, it’s a very sacred place?). I found it to be overwhelmingly incongruent and a bit disappointing. I mean, how would a tourist from Asia coming to Texas or Arizona to see the “real west” feel if they went in to a western themed saloon, saddled up to the bar to order a whiskey or a sarsaparilla and saw pictures of Buddha, Bruce Lee, Hello Kitty and the latest K-pop boy band sensation on the wall? Despite the annoyance of the western pop art, it was a beautiful place.
After we left the White Temple, we drove further out of the city and did a couple hour hike. The hike went through mountainous jungle with old growth trees and lots of bamboo - huge bamboo. The promise at the end of the trail was a beautiful waterfall. At the beginning of the trail there was a warning sign for green pit vipers. Not exactly the sign we wanted to see, given the footwear we had on. It was great to be enjoying the outdoors and getting some cardio in. At some point along the hike we paused to take stock of where we were and how fortunate we were. We were in a jungle in northern Thailand hiking to a waterfall – pretty cool.
We really liked our hotel in Chiang Rai. It was centrally located so we could walk to most places. There was a good restaurant on site and they had a beautiful pool. One other thing we really liked about the hotel was the free cooking class they offered. One afternoon, we made our own pad thai and it came out pretty tasty if I say so myself. We hope to be able to cook it often in the future. The staff at the hotel was super friendly and super helpful in providing advice on what to see, when to see it and how best to get there. They also assisted us in finding a driver to take us to our next stop: the city of Chiang Mai.
Cooking Pad Thai "I made this!!" Hotel pool with serpents
The drive from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai is around 3 hours. It took us closer to 7 hours. There are two reasons for this. The first is that there was a lot of road construction on the way that slowed traffic to a crawl. The other reason it took us so long is that we made 3 stops on the way, two of which I already wrote about: The White Temple and the waterfall hike. We probably spent an hour or so at the White Temple and 2 hours at the waterfall (since it was a good hike). The third stop we made on the way to Chiang Mai was to visit some hot springs. The hot springs would probably be impressive if you had never seen hot springs before, but we’ve been to Yellowstone and these springs really didn’t do much for us. It was a very quick stop.
Everything we read about Chiang Mai was that it was a very “chill” area and a good place to really relax. We had purposely planned to make this our last stop in Thailand and our last stop in Asia before heading back to the States and, possibly, to the end of our current traveling lifestyle. We rolled into Chiang Mai around 5:00PM. Dumped our bags in our room and headed out for some dinner. We found a charming place on a corner with outside open-air seating. We ordered a couple beers and an appetizer plate of fried avocado. We just kicked back and watched the scene of Thai life buzzing before us. A great evening with really good food and perfect weather. A good start to our relaxing 5-day stay in Chiang Mai. It was February 29, 2020.
The next morning, on what we thought would be our first full day in Chiang Mai (insert ominous theatrical music here), we started off by visiting a temple we stumbled across while looking for somewhere to eat breakfast. We don’t even know what temple it was, but we liked it. The structures were beautiful and the Buddha image inside was pretty neat.
After visiting the unknown temple, we caught breakfast and then headed to another temple (I know , I know - another temple – sheesh!). It was super close to where we had breakfast, so we thought, why not? This temple was called Wat Chiang Man. From what we had read, we didn’t really expect much. We got to the wat and entered the grounds. It looked pretty standard. We peaked in the front door and decided we didn’t even want to bother to remove our shoes to go inside. We had learned, during our many previous temple visits, to always take the time to walk to the back of the temple to see what interesting things may be waiting for us there. We decided to walk around behind the main temple and we were rewarded. There we found a decent sized stupa. It had sculptured elephants ringing the base. We thought it was pretty cool and, although we didn’t know it at the time, it would be the last temple we visited.
After we left Wat Chaing Man and the “elephant stupa”, I got a long overdue haircut. Best we could remember, I hadn’t had a haircut since early December in Mackay, Australia and it was now March 1st! We had a leisurely walk from the barber to a restaurant where we had a good Thai lunch and then walked back to our hotel to escape the heat before going back out in the evening. Even though we were in northern Thailand and the lows would get into the low 60’s f (16/17c), the highs were in the mid 90’s f (33/34c).
We got back to our hotel around noon/12:30 feeling relaxed and looking forward to exploring all that Chiang Mai had to offer over the next several days. And that’s it. That’s pretty much the end of our time in Thailand. About 15 minutes after reaching our room, our relaxation was immediately shattered, and by 3:20 we were on the first of a series of flights bound for Bangkok then Tokyo and then Los Angeles. Why? To find that out, you’ll have to wait until our next blog posting.
As always, you can find more pictures, along with brief commentary, in the “Gallery” section of this website.
Comments