Drove up the 101 and arrived in Chiang Rai - actually saw an elephant being used for logging, high up in the hills. Passed a famous white temple, Wat Rong Khun, still under construction by Thailand’s most famous artist (can’t remember his name) - should be finished around 2008. Originally glanced the temple out the corner of my eye from the car whilst heading into Chiang Rai. Did a quick U-turn in the car to have a look. Thai temples are normally ornate and very coloured in Gold, orange, green, red etc. I thought that this temple was just covered in [View Full Entry]

---

---

Drove through most of the day to Sukhothai and stayed in the Ananda Gallery & Museum Hotel. Took an early evening drive around the historical park. Lots of Wats and Chedis. Looked very Anghor looking architecture. Frustratingly, all the Buddha images were facing East so early evening photography was useless pointing the camera straight into the sunlight all the time. Made a mental note to try and photograph Buddha statues at dawn or AM only if I can get out of bed in time in future! [View Full Entry]

---

---

27/06/06 We hired a Jeep and headed East for Loei, after seeing a photo in an in-flight magazine of the Phi Ta Kohn festival. Drove for 10 hours, through winding forest hills with one eye on the fuel gauge and one on the winding turns ahead. Had to stop at one roadside police station for directions to a resort. The police asked me - the obvious driver - to join them for a quick beer. I couldn’t get my UK head off and my Thai head on quick enough to accept a beer from Police whilst driving so declined their generous [View Full Entry]

---

---

Late June 2006... The plane drops through the clouds, revealing a thousand shades of green - Northern Thailand. After months of life diving and island hopping around Phuket, now the real travelling begins, and hence the start of this journal. Explorers of old had their journals and expedition artists, as they discovered fauna and flora and ancient civilisations of continents new. Now with a digital SLR, keyboard and cyber cafes, it's same same - but different era. I'll share the Good, the Bad and definately the Ugly as it befalls me. Enjoy! [View Full Entry]

---

---