The White Temple- Wat Rong Khun. They gave me a white skirt to put over my legs because I was wearing shorts.
Statue/Memorial of King Mengrai the Great
Wat Phra Singha
Wat Phra Kaeo
Black House- Baan Si Dum (Museum)
We saw four hill tribes. This is the Long Neck tribe (Kayan tribe). The members of these tribes are actually refugees from Burma (Myanmar).
This is the Palong tribe. The earrings create huge holes in the earlobes.
On Sunday, we planned to head to Phuchifa Mountain to catch the sunrise. They showed us a picture of Phuchifa during orientation, and since then, it has been one of the top things I wanted to do in Thailand. The sun is supposed to rise through the clouds, illuminate the mountain, and create an almost ocean-like effect over the mountain tops. Phuchifa is two hours from Chiang Rai, and unless we wanted to leave the day before at 1:00pm and spend the night there, we had to go with a tour or find some other way to the mountain on Sunday morning. The hostel hooked us up with Tom from the agency next door, and he was willing to drive us for a decent price. We woke up at 2:30am, left by 3:00am, started our way up the mountain at 5:00am, and stood there in the cold and mist for two hours, anxiously waiting for the sun to make its appearance. We were hoping to see something resembling this (thank you google images).....
Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating, and all we saw were clouds and mist. SUCH a disappointment :-(
Holly and I at the lookout point, still hopeful that the sun will come out....
The hundreds of others who joined in our disappointment. Sunrise FAIL.
Exhausted from getting up so early, but not down for the count, we continued our tour of the area. On our way back from the mountain, we made a couple of stops.
Trying to ride an ostrich. FAIL.
Phu Sang Waterfall- it's a warm water waterfall
We arrived back in Chiang Rai around 1:00pm, and Holly decided to take a well-deserved nap and check out the Hill Tribe Museum in town. I continued the tour and made a few more stops.
Wat Prathat Pukhao. I liked the dragons outside of this temple more than the temple itself. My last name Vishab means Dragon, so I thought this picture was appropriate.
Opium Museum
I really liked Chiang Rai and I definitely feel like we saw a lot in two days. Two notable points; it's kind of cold in the north of Thailand! It wasn't freezing, and I expected it to be cold on the mountain, but on Sunday, it was chilly walking around, and I wore a sweatshirt for the first time since I left the US back in October. In Chonburi where I live, it's a lot hotter; I didn't mind the break from the heat, but I'd prefer a middle ground somewhere. Also in Chiang Rai, I noticed a lot of travelers in their 40s and 50s (not people on vacation, but actual backpackers). I saw some older couples, but many solo travelers too. Before I began this trip, I was a little nervous about being in my 30s as opposed to my 20s; it's been a while since I've done the backpacker thing and I wasn't sure I could hack it again. Seeing travelers in their 40s and 50s confirmed for me that you are never too old to take some time off to see the world! I still stay in hostels, but get a private or double room with an ensuite bathroom as opposed to a dorm room with a bathroom in the hall. With a few adjustments (if you require it like I do...haha), backpacking is still an incredible experience. And in case you were considering doing the same thing, here's some extra motivation http://www.ridiculouslyextraordinary.com/21-reasons-you-should-quit-your-day-job
Plans for this weekend are up in the air at this point. I have a few options and am trying to figure out which one makes the most sense. There's so much to see and do here that it's pretty hard to make a bad decision. Until next time....Sawatdee kah!
