Blogs from Chiang Rai, North-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 5

Well was collected from guesthouse on Soi Rambrutti by a van and taken to Don Muang Airport for my flight to Chiang Rai. Uneventful flight and went to taxi desk at airport ( after collecting luggage from prettiest carousel ever) and gave them name of guesthouse. Had to pay 200baht at the desk which saved any chance of being ripped off by driver Got to guesthouse found myself In a shared dorm room with 2 blokes. One was from Taiwan and pleasant enough but he did not stop talking lol Dumped my stuff and went to explore. First impressions were of a smaller Chiang Mai, Was beginning not to feel too well though- burning with fever dizzy and queasy so rather than go back to Mr Talkalot in the room I sat and sipped a coke ... read more

Hey All, I was up rather early this AM, but gave me time to check emails and such. After breakfast was picked up for my day trip up to the Golden Triangle Area. On they way stopped at a temple, and went to this village area where some of the hilltribe people live. They were relocated here for public display which I was very uncomfortable with. The Karen "Long Necks" are from a very remote area of Myanmar, very difficult to find and visit. These people agreed to be relocated to Thailand where their children get an education, and they have jobs posing for the tourist in their new village. OK, I can see where they would want to come where their kids can get an education, and maybe its worth it to them. I just ... read more

Hey All, I have been tired before, but this is a whole new level. To put it bluntly, I have had 7 hours sleep since I work up last Sunday morning. I got up at 7 am Sunday and worked Sunday night, then slept 3 hours Monday, before working Monday night, then slept 2 ½ hours before working Tuesday night. Ran home Wed. morning and after an 1 ½ sleep was woken up by a call from the hospital about work, and have not slept since then. As I am romping through one airport after another, its all becoming a fog. At this writing I just switched airports in Bangkok and waiting on my Nok Air flight to Chiang Rai. I am working on pure adrenaline here and another cup of strong Thai coffee. Bout time ... read more

Geo: 19.91, 99.83 It was lovely meeting Catherine and Janice again, it had been a while since I was last here and I was all broken from my motorbike accident, they're delighted to see me back to my old self as I really was a sight for sore eyes last time and, they're pleased to meet Danny. Janice has a meditation retreat near Chiang Rai and is planning to open up again soon for the start of the season although she is aware there's a lot of work to be done before she would be ready. Danny suggested us going to give her a hand for a few days and she was delighted by the idea and grateful for our support and company, so we arranged to leave the next day and get moving again. To ... read more

Around 13km from Chiang Rai is a modern temple, Wat Rong Khun, known locally as "The White Temple". The cycle there was uninteresting, along the Superhighway, but the temple was well worth the effort, one of the most extraordinary pieces of architecture I have ever seen. The photographs do not do it justice as it is covered with tiny pieces of mirror, so the whole structure glitters in the sun and looks very surreal. Walking across the bridge into the temple you pass hundreds of sculptured hands rising out of the ground, supposedly symbolising want, and a mythological-looking protector. Inside the temple is painted with strange murals featuring contemporary people. The area around the temple is also interesting for cycling as it took me through coffee plantations, most of which have a small coffee shop attached ... read more