Travel to Chiang Rai

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More time on the bus today there was a lot going on so it went by kind of fast. Chiang Rai is the northern most point of Thailand so the drive there was much more scenic,winding roads through forest. Actually seeing the ivy on the ground and bushes reminded me a lot of kudzu so it felt very familiar.

Along the way we saw some water buffalo. These are different than the ones we saw in India which were black. These are whitish tan and the people here still eat the buffalo.

We also saw several teak trees. These are harvested when they are 35 years old so it's not just a start up crop and one reason teak is more expensive.

Our next stop was to see bamboo made down to chopsticks. These aren't factories mind you but little shops set up by local who then sell to the big corporate brokers. This was interesting as they cut the trunks to small sections about a foot long, then cut those sections in half, then run them through slicers to cut the thin piece for chopsticks.

Our nest stop was to a little shop that made figures from the teak sawdust. Not my taste but nice work.

Our last stop was at something called the White Crystal Temple. Ok, let's be honest, this is a guy with too much money and too much time, trying to buy his way to heaven. The architect artist is a Thai native that apparently made billions in Europe with his art. He has spent 10 years to build this "unique" structure and is still not finished. It depicts the 3 planesPDF existence in Buddhism, Hell, Earth and Heaven. He must have a sense of humor cause of to the side of the temple isone of the creatures from "Aliens" coming out of the ground. Ok, time to move on.

Finally into Chiang Rai. Short visit to the night market and ready to get to bed.

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Photos

Alien at White Crystal Palace
seemed appropriate

Comments

[JQ]

Thats a Predator
It looks dead...