Chiang Rai

Well I just got back from another weekend trip, this time to Chiang Rai in northern Thailand.  I went with three other teachers, basically just on a whim because we were able to get a really cheap flight.  On Friday night we arrived and went straight to the night market, which was rumoured to be very good.  After walking around a bit, we decided to find a hotel for the night.  This was the first time that we went somewhere without first having a reservation or some idea of where we were staying.  It was actually more difficult to find a decent hotel by wandering than we anticipated (even though it is the tourism off season).  We went first to a hostel that was borderline grungy near the night market.  After a look at the rooms, we decided to try our luck at finding another place.  We ended up asking a tuk tuk driver where we should stay, but turned down his suggestion because we thought it was too far away.  Next we looked at a hotel that was even grungier than the hostel.  By then it was getting pretty late and we were all tired.  We ended up turning on our heels and going back to the tuk tuks to take us somewhere cheap but a bit nicer.  The place that we had originally been recommended is where we stayed, and it was ideal for what we needed.  My lesson learned: trust your tuk tuk and book ahead.

The white temple.

The next day in Chiang Rai I got up early and walked back to the night market (about 20 minutes away) to get breakfast.  When the other girls woke up, we decided to tour the white temple first.  As far as temples go, this one was pretty unusual.  It is not actually finished yet, for the inside walls are still being painted with an elaborate mural.  The outside of the temple is completely white, true to name, and tiny mirrors are embedded into the plaster that covers it.  The result is that the temple is somewhat blinding in the sun.  Inside, the temple was far from what I expected.  The wall opposite the door was painted with a large Buddha and heavenly figures on clouds.  The wall with the entrance was painted to look like a dragon, with what I assume to be the sins of humanity plastered around it.  The dragon featured hellish figures along with popular icons such as tiny superman, spiderman, avatars, kung fu panda, and more.  The result was a strange mix of modern with traditional Thai.  The connecting wall showed human figures riding dragon boat shaped clouds towards the Buddha painting, changing into monks as they neared.  In the end, I was very glad that I did not pass up the opportunity to see this temple, which was truly original.

That afternoon, we also went to see a small museum featuring the hilltribe people.  The museum was not very impressive, but it was interesting to see photographs of some of the people.  One of the tribes is called the Karen, and they stretch their necks with golden hoops.  It is unfortunate though, that these people are not considered Thai citizens and are severely exploited through the tourism trade. 

The black house.

After that, we headed over to the House of the National Artist, or “Black House” right outside of Chiang Rai.  It is actually an estate filled with displays that are mildly horrifying.  I think that the art is meant to disturb viewers because it is composed largely of dead animal parts, including horns, skeletons, and furs or skins.  There were rooms filled with crocodile skins, and massive dinner tables draped in skins with chairs made of horns for you to look at.  Also, groups of people there are dressed entirely in white, which is rather off-putting as well because everything else is painted black. 

A display at the black house.

After the black house, our group met up and got picked up to be taken to another hotel for our second night.  This one was called Akha Hill House, and was located right in the midst of the mountains of Chaing Rai, near the Akha village.  A truck came to pick us up, and we were told to stand in the box and hold carefully onto some handrails.  It seemed very dangerous at the start, but it was surprisingly easy to stand while the truck was moving, even in the mountains.  Actually, it felt similar to quading and I really enjoyed it.  The mountain air was very refreshing, and it was awesome to be out in the mountains and away from a city for the weekend.  At the hotel, we checked into some sparse bungalows with great views of the surrounding hillside.  We were very worried about the threat of malaria (and none of us remembered to take our pills), so we lathered up in thick layers of bug spray the whole time.  Here in Thailand there is really no limit to the amount of deet a bug spray can contain, so I had on a 50% solution.  That night, we hung around and talked to the other travellers at the hotel (who were from Holland and France). 

The view from our bungalow.

Me attempting to make a bamboo cup.

The next day, we signed up for a one-day jungle trek tour through the hotel.  Our guide was very nice and spoke English very well.  The hiking was difficult to begin as we started by heading straight up the side of a mountain, but overall it was not hard.  Our trek was centered on a jungle lunch that we helped to prepare.  We had to make our own cups and bowls out of a bamboo tree using the machetes they gave us.  It was actually really difficult to do (and not just for me!).  Afterwards, we trekked farther and went “fishing” in a tiny stream.  This kind of fishing didn’t really appeal to me too much, because we were really only scooping up minnows and other crustaceans that looked too small to be appetizing.  To “fish”, you first needed to construct a dam to block the stream.  Then, you splash around in the shallow water to find the fish.  We collected them in a bamboo piece.  Afterwards, our guide told us that Thai people who fish that way traditionally would go to a bigger stream and catch bigger fish, but that it would take far too long for us to do it on that scale.  Our next stop on the trek was where we cooked lunch.  Actually, that is not very accurate because the guides kept us busy trying to make chopsticks out of bamboo while they took care of the cooking.  Everything was prepared by boiling it in hollow bamboo over an open fire.  I stayed clear of the minnows, but ate some of the instant noodles that the guides cooked, some bamboo soup, and some omelet.  For dessert I had two slices of pineapple as well, which really turned out to be a bad idea because I immediately started to feel sick.  On the way back to the hotel, we got to experience the rainy season first had for the first time.  It poured the entire hour and a half we spent walking back, and the rain turned the red mud trails into absolute slides.  It didn’t help that I felt sick most of the way and ended up puking on the side of the mountain before long.  Luckily for us, the people at the hotel were very nice and let us shower before taking us back to Chiang Rai to catch our flight.  Overall, I was very happy to spend time in the mountains, which were breathtakingly beautiful.  We packed a lot into one short weekend, and ended up getting back to Bangkok pretty late before our long day of teaching Monday.  

Creating a dam for fishing.

Our jungle food.

Preparing the instant noodles, jungle style.