Chiang Mai, Thailand

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April 18th 2015

Published: April 22nd 2015

Songkran is Thailand's 3 day New Year' festival. We speak of it towards the end of our trip. Check out this video clip to see how much fun they have. China Southern Airline delivered us to the airport 5:30AM on Tuesday, April 7th. Linda encountered a young acquaintance in the airport in Guangzhou.... in China, of all places. It's a small world! We landed in Chiang Mai Thailand around noon and ... Read Full Entry

Photos are below

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Adding Spices and Vegetables

Once the water was boiling, they added spices, then vegetables. They put a lid created out of leaves on the pots and left them to simmer.

Fine Dining

They added noodles, and we ate out of the bowls they had fabricated out of leaves.

Clean Fresh Water

We refilled our water bottles from the springs located in the rocks. That's how clean the water was.

Buildings Perched

The main center and the bungalows all lined the edge of the only road. All the roads in the area were similar to this one.

Elephant Riding

We rode the elephants one afternoon. Kwan's family own 4 elephants that are kept at the bottom of their valley, and they are used for tourist purposes providing employment and income for the locals

Bathing the Elephants

The elephants were anxious to get to the water. Linda enjoyed scrubbing hers, and the elephant enjoyed it too!

Karen Tribe

The Karen people are most famous for this tradition. There are now fewer long-necked women as the practice is discouraged.

Our Rental Car

After 3 days at Spicy Villa, we descended to Chiang Mai and rented this Nissan for our final 5 days in the CM area.

La Mango Cafe

La Mango is situated in the heart of the historical center of Chiang Mai. We had to stop and have a mango smoothie.

Controlled Burns

They control burn a lot of the mountain sides in northern Thailand in order to control the undergrowth. It creates a lot of smoke, and here, crews are making sure it stays controlled.

Highway to Mae Hong Son

We had no idea the highway was like this. Mae Hong Son is located in the mountains near Myanmar. They are not kidding when they say 1,864 curves. It took us 5 1/2 hours to cover the 310 kms.

Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu

Wat Phra That Doi Wu, built n 1860, overlooks the city of Mae Hong Son.

Spectacular View

Luckily, the Wat is on the edge of town so the drive up didn't take long.

Highlight of Chiang Mai

Songkran is the 3 day New Year's Festival in Thailand, and the best celebrations are in Chiang Mai.

Traditional Water Festival

Originally, the festival involved the washing of the Buddha statues, and sprinkling water on each other to ward off evil spirits, to bless, and to bring great prosperity.

You Must Have a Water Gun!

Everyone has either a bucket or a water gun. They sell them everywhere on the streets along with special plastic bags to protect cell phones and wallets. YOU WILL get soaked!

We're Ready!

Celebrations in the City Center

It was quite an experience to watch. There was water everywhere, music was blaring and all were having a blast!

Where Next Boss?

The two guys on either side of the girls would look to them for direction on where to shoot water.

Even the City Sprays Water

Hoses run above the bridge and soak the traffic. The guys in the pickup are having a great time.

Buckets of Water

People in the back of pickups would have a barrel full of water, and the fight would be on when they passed. The kids won this one!

23rd April 2015

Mallory and Warren
non-member comment

Thailand
Awesome trip!! We were also in Thailand for the New Years water activities! It was crazy!! I also remember the white temple, pretty spectacular!

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