Last stop in Thailand (for now)

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First full day in Chiang Rai. As we hadn't done our homework on the area (guide books left on the truck :-( ) we thought the best way to explore was to take a mini-bus tour. It was well worth it. We started at a tea plantation owned by the man who also owns Singha beer. It was in a beautiful setting with fields of cosmos growing alongside the tea bushes. Next on to the Monkey Caves where we were armed with sticks when we arrived to fend off any aggressive monkeys, but we managed to feed them unscathed. Off to the White Temple which sparkles in the sun with millions of mirror fragments set into the building. While we were there some monks were chanting which added atmosphere. They also had the most OTT toilet block I have ever seen. From there we visited the Black House where the 23 buildings varying from wood to concrete housed a local artist's collection of the most bizarre items, from anaconda skin to wooden boats and animal skulls. After lunch we were taken to the Golden Triangle viewpoint where you could see the countries of Laos, Myanmar and Thailand divided only by rivers, and which was the centre for the opium trade in years gone by before it was made illegal. They also had a small opium museum (but you couldn't try it). A really interesting day - and we were out for about 12 hours - back exhausted.

The next day I walked to a new temple about an hour from the hostel. It is called the Blue Temple (and it is very blue) and was only completed in 2014. In fact they are still casting and decorating the gates and was quiet as it isn't yet in the guide books. On the way back I visited the Hill Tribe museum.

For somewhere I knew nothing about it was a busy couple of days.

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