Northern Thailand - Laos, Golden Triangle and Hill Tribe Village

Good afternoon,

A few weeks ago my I continued my journey through Thailand.  I took a weekend trip to the northern part of Thailand.  I visited Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and also got a chance to go to Laos.  I have already made a post about my trip to the white temple in Chiang Rai.  In this post, I am going to share with you my adventure to the hill tribe village, the Golden Triangle and Laos.

My excursion began around 7:30am where I was greeted by the bus driver at my hostel.  We then picked up about 13 more people from various parts of the city and proceeded on our journey to Chiang Rai.  The trip from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai took around 3 hours.  Our first stop was to the hot springs in Thaweesin Chiang Rai.  The springs are hot enough to boil an egg!!!  The next stop was to the white temple and then off to visit the hill tribe villages.  The hill tribe villages are from Cambodia and Myanmar and have come to Thailand to flee trouble in their homelands.  They are hard to actually find in the hills of Thailand, so this village is set up for tourists.  They like to live in peace and quiet amongst themselves.  Although you can tell that it is STRICTLY for tourists, it was still a great experience.  The Karen, or long neck, hill tribe was the tribe that I was most interested in.  I always see pics of these people BUT actually seeing them in person was astounding.  There are girls and women of all ages wearing the rings around their necks and also knees and they do not take them off.  The rings are usually started around age 5 or 6 and as their necks grow longer, additional rings are added.  The rings are the most important status of symbol and beauty.  I had the privilege of trying on a set of rings and it was HEAVY!!!  They also make some of the most beautiful hand-woven scarves that I have ever seen.  Thailand is known for the production of their silk but these scarves are made out of cotton because it is cheaper.  I did not purchase a scarf and I am kicking myself right now!!!  In the same area, there are the big ear tribes...which are a part of the Karen tribe as well.  I was able to take pictures of the big ear women and yes I was "all in her grill".  Enjoy the pics from this part of my journey.

After our visit to the hill tribe village we went to the Golden Triangle, which is where Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar meet.  The Golden Triangle is also one of the biggest producers of opium in the world!!  This is where Frank Lucas came and started his empire.  We took a boat ride on the Mekong River, saw the golden triangle area, which is a sand dune and then headed over to Laos.

In Laos, we went over to Done Sao which is a small island belonging to Laos.  The stop was full of tourists and items for purchase.  The people of Laos are known for their healing, medicinal potions.  On the stop we were able to see tiger penis whiskey, cobra whiskey, gecko whiskey and also scorpion whiskey.  My first trip to Laos was okay but I am definitely going back!!

So, this is a synopsis of my trip to northern Thailand and I had a great time!! Once again, I learned something new!!

Always learning,

Charmel

Cute hill tribe girl

Big ear karen tribe woman

Hill tribe village woman

Karen long neck hill tribe

This was HEAVY!!!

Big ear tribal lady

"Golden Triangle"

Gecko

cobra

cobra whiskey

map of the golden triangle

The White Temple in Chiang Rai, Thailand

Sawadee ka,

This past weekend I took a trip to the northern part of Thailand.  I had a chance to take a day tour to Chiang Rai, Thailand and it was great!!!  The tour consisted of many adventures but this post is going to focus on my visit to Wat Rong Khun, better known as the white temple.  This temple is one of a kind and it NOT complete!!!  The architect of the temple, Chalermchai Kositpipat started working on the temple in 1997.  There are many buildings on the grounds but more to be completed.  The architect said that the entire grounds will not be finished before his death so he is teaching apprentices how to build the structures that are left on his plan.  As you make your way to the main temple, on the grounds there are stages that you go through.  The first part of the temple is supposed to be hell and after you cross the bridge you enter heaven.  There is not much information about the temple online so I don't have many more details and I did not get any information while I was there.  So, enjoy the pictures and this breathtaking place.  There is also a gold building on the grounds that hosts more of the architects work.

Always learning,

Charmel

Tigers, tigers and tigers oh my!!

Sawadee ka,

A few weeks ago I had an experience like no other...I went to a Tiger Temple.  The Tiger Temple is located in Kanchanburi, Thailand.  Of course some of my colleagues were not at all thrilled that I chose to do this BUT when in life can you say that you got THIS close to a tiger!!!  We were able to pet the tigers and take pics with them.  Oh yeah, before I entered the temple I had to sign a waiver basically saying that the temple was not responsible if anything was to happen to me.  Monks actually live on the temple grounds with the tigers..which is awesome!!!  We also met a few Westerners that volunteer at the tiger temple and they were really enthusiastic about their jobs.  All in all I had a great time and I can say that I have actually been up close and personal with a tiger.

Always learning,

Charmel