C & C globetrotting around the world…

We hopped on the mini-van to the Lao-Thai border. We checked out of Laos, took a small boat across the Mekong and then did the border formalities for Thailand. They were very nice and we even got candy from the border officer. That’s a good start. The bus ride to Chiang Rai was pleasant since the road was good and there were no curves. Arrived in Chiang Rai we went to a bakery right by the bus station to kill time before our meeting with our CS hosts. While we were there, Liz and Bruce from Perth (Australia), whom we had quickly met in Luang Nam Tha, came in. They come to Thailand almost every year, so they gave us some tips about Chiang Mai. They were really nice and we decided to meet up later in Chiang Mai. Then it was time to meet our CS hosts at the bus terminal. Taylor is a Canadian from Sudbury (Ontario) and Oh is Thai from Bangkok. We had dinner at an open-air food court. The food was delicious and we are very happy to be in Thailand.

Chiang Rai was founded by King Mengrai in 1262 and became the capital of the Mengrai dynasty. Subsequently, Chiang Rai was conquered by Burma and remained under Burmese rule for several hundred years. It was proclaimed a province of Thailand in 1933.

Our first day in the city we visited the Doi Tung Royal Villa and Garden area. We waived down a local bus and told them we wanted to go to Doi Tung. After about half an hour the lady selling the tickets also told us where to get off. From there we headed to a tourist store from where the sangtaus leave for the last 20km. The Doi Tung Royal Villa was the final residence of the mother of the King, known as Princess Mother. The magnificent villa was built on the mountain overlooking the surrounding hills and valleys in a unique mix of Swiss and Lanna architectural styles. We skipped the villa visit, but spent time in the large adjacent flower-filled garden. It was beautiful and reminded Cecilia of Butchart Gardens in British Columbia, but with more exotic plant varieties and stunning orchids. We also visited the Hall of Inspiration, which tells the story of the Royal Family and how they inspired each other to serve the country. We learnt a lot about Thailand’s history and how the King (Rama IX) came to reign. The exhibition presents the characters and philosophies of the Royal Family that helped them bring Thailand to the prosperity it enjoys today. It shows how the King and his family work for the benefit of the Thai people. The Princess Mother also helped people in the region to alleviate their suffering. She implemented a plan to help the hill tribes in Thailand stop growing opium and trafficking it. She also set up programs to integrate them into society by improving their health, literacy and empowering them to become viable and self-sustaining.

Christoph had a coffee there from a funny street vendor. The man started preparing the instant coffee by pouring hot water into a cup. Christoph told him no sugar and no milk, so the man asked if also “no coffee”. Funny guy! We then wanted to head back to Chiang Rai by catching a ride to the local bus. We hopped on a sangtau full of Thai people that was going down. When we arrived, we asked how much we owe them. They refused to accept any money, thanking us for sharing a ride with them. We couldn’t believe it! We are really pleasantly surprised by how nice the Thai are and are already loving the country. Our CS hosts, Taylor and Oh, decided to cook dinner that night, so we went to the local market together to buy the necessary ingredients. That is really amazing about food in Asia. Everything is prepared fresh, be it in restaurants or at home. We cooked Tom Kha Gai (a spicy chicken soup with coconut milk) and a stir-fry. We helped chop everything and wrote down the recipe for Tom Kha Gai. It is called a soup, but it’s more like a thin curry you eat with rice and it’s absolutely delicious. Oh is a great cook, so Cecilia hopes she can make it at least half as good. We spent the evening chatting with them and they told us a lot about Thai culture and customs. It was a great idea to surf in Chiang Rai as our first stop, especially with a local who gave us amazing advice on do’s and don’t in Thailand.

On our second day Oh offered to show us Chiang Rai’s biggest attractions, which was very much appreciated. The Black House and the White Temple are the creations of 2 artists who are in competition with each other and their styles are complete opposites. The Black House is black (surprise!), made of wood, with animal skins and a dark mood reigns. The White Temple is white (who would have guessed?!), made of concrete and mirror glass. Both artists fund their art themselves, so entrance is for free to both. Our first stop was the Black House, also known as Baan Si Dum. It is made of wood, mainly black and in a shady area. It is decorated with lots of animal skins and buffalo horns. The main building is really impressive in its size and the furniture made of huge tree trunks and buffalo horns stunning. On the central table there are snakes skins that are over 10m long. There are also other smaller buildings into which one can peer and see crocodile skins and other animals, but they are not open to the public. Christoph thought he is walking through the movie set of ‘Conan the Barbarian’ and Arnold Schwarzenegger would jump around the corner at any moment.

The White Temple, Wat Rong Khun, is different from any other temple in Thailand. The main building is white with pieces of glass, making it sparkle. The white colour stands for Lord Buddha’s purity; the white glass stands for Lord Buddha’s wisdom that “shines brightly all over the Earth and the Universe.” The artist’s intention was to build a temple in imitation of heaven, a “heaven on Earth”. The bridge symbolizes transition from the cycle of life to the land of the Buddha. In front of the bridge is a small semicircle, representing the world. The large semicircle with the demon king’s fangs embodies passion and desire. We need to throw our passion and desire away into the mouth of the demon king to clean ourselves before going inside the main building. Unfortunately we couldn’t take pictures inside, but the paintings inside are rather bizarre. There are modern images, such as “Predator” from the Hollywood film, “Spiderman”, “Batman”, “Keanu Reeves’” character in the Matrix, rocket ships, etc. The sea of hands rising up towards the bridge to the temple, some holding skulls are very striking. He has dedicated his life to this project, funding it with his own money. The project is so large and encompasses 8 buildings, that it will take 60-70 years to complete, according to the artist.

In the evening we met up with Taylor and together we went to watch the 7pm performance at the Clock Tower. The Clock Tower is built by the same artist as the White Temple, in a similar style with lots of sparkling glass. On the hour in the evenings there is a little “show” of colour and music. Back at the house, the guys wanted us to send of a sky lantern, a traditional Thai custom. We went out to a field close to their house and lit it up. We held it and made a wish before letting it go. We had seen lots of people do it in Luang Prabang for New Year’s and now it was our turn. It was lots of fun and we watched it go off in the distance.