East Bound and Down, pt.2 - Chang Rai, Thailand

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After checking into my room I set out walking around the town of Chang Rai. I visited another temple (loads of temples in this part of the world) and took some nice photos. This particular temple had a museum as well with some interesting artifacts from around the 17th century. Feeling cultured, and hungry, I then walked to the night market in search of some eats. It was here I introduced myself to a beautiful woman named Oksana from Lithuania. I invited her to join me for dinner and of course she accepted. We got to talking and turns out she was heading the same way I was. We hit it off well and made plans to travel East through Thailand together before crossing in Laos and eventually heading South. I love when things evolve on a daily basis.

The reason why I came to Chang Rai was to visit what is known as the White Temple. This place is a man's life work to showcase a temple of unimaginable beauty as a gift to all who visit Thailand. I rented a motorcycle, picked up Oksana, and off we went through the crazy chaos of Thailand driving and traffic. When we arrived my jaw dropped. The place is stunning. Never in my life have I ever seen anything so ornate and detailed. It really is a place you have to see to believe. We wandered the grounds for a few hours and around every turn their was always something new to look at. Simply amazing.

Moving on from the White Temple we zoomed on the moto to the North side of the city to view what is known as the Dark Temple - another artists life work to create something beautiful. The Dark Temple was a collection of buildings with carved wooden furniture, animal skulls, snake skins, and the like. It had its own kind of beauty and I thought the grounds had a real peaceful feel about them. Surprisingly I give a slight nod to the White Temple, but I really enjoyed both. A long day had passed and I was to bed early. Up at 5am the next morning I walked to the bus terminal and met Oksana. We hopped onto the 6am bus Eastbound to the border town of Chiang Khong , Thailand right on the banks of the mighty Mekong River, the lifeblood of South East Asia. We then crossed the river and headed into Laos. I was now deep in the heart of South East Asia.

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