Temples, Temples and More Temples...

I know that temples are one of the main sights around Chiang Mai, but really. How many can they cram into a city? We decided to see only a small handful of the more famous ones.

I somehow caught onto a theme: Buddha. At what point do they look around and say, “Ok. Maybe we have enough epagoges of Buddha…no wait, just one more.”





I quickly lost recollection of which temple is which. I do have some pics below that were the highlights of the long trek.

Moms are the same through cultures and time.

This picture almost looks monochrome except for the gold tower.

I guess you could call this temple an an-teak...

This is the oddly white temple. Its unusual for a temple to be all white in Asia. And with paintings of Neo from The Matrix and Speed Racers from Star Wars Episode I, its even more peculiar.

In Asia, its a Dragon-eat-Dragon world...

The End...

Monkey's Uncle...

N 18 deg 55.128
E 98 deg 54.935

Supposedly, there are three things Chiang Mai is known for. Temples, the night market, and prostitution…er, wait, no; monkeys.
We went to the premier monkey show. Honestly, not as great as I expected. There were some caged monkeys, chained monkeys and a small show. The show was really more of a video kind of venue, so I don’t have many stills. But they had the monkeys ride a small bike and shoot basket balls.

Born to be wild...

There was one portion of the show where they placed 9 numbered squares of wood on the ground and had a monkey choose whatever number he was asked to. The monkey was 100%. I was asked to go up front, they put the numbers face down, and then I was to find the number called out. I got it wrong three times in a row. The monkey came out and found it first try. I guess I’m dumber than a primate. My dad was right about me after all.

My mom bought "Monkey Balm" from him. It's not for the product, but rather the chance to catch a disease.

Don't you hate jobs where you have to wear a "Hello, My Name Is..." tag?

I think he wanted a "private moment."

N 18 deg 46.330
E 98 deg 58.797

Our last night in Chiang Mai we went to see a cultural dance show with dinner. We actually got bumped at first. Our driver called them up and explained that my brother is a big wig at the embassy and we got put back on the list. My brother isn’t exactly some VIP, but we weren’t about to say otherwise.
The one surprise was that there were no chairs. Floor room only. At least they had back rests.

...and the floor isn't as clean as you'd hope...

My dad eventually gave up and cheated. Wish I'd thought of that...

The food was excellent. I’ve always liked Thai food. Well, at least the stuff I’ve had in the states. Now I can say I’ve had plenty of authentic Thai food in Thailand and yes, I really do like it.

Spicy and delicious Thai food. No disappointments here.

Most of the music sounds like someone is beating a baby with a cat. However, it’s fun and the dancing reminded me of Culture Night at Brigham Young University – Hawaii.



The show ended and we were beat. We went back to the hotel and dropped dead. Early morning tomorrow we drive to Chiang Rai. I’ll use that long ride to catch up on my notes and organize my pictures. I am never traveling without a laptop again.

Cat Scratch Fever...

I grew up with cats. I love them. My wife won’t let me have a pet; any pet. And even if she would allow it, cats would still be banned. This made my trip to play with some very large cats even more special. A new tourist trap opened up months ago in Chiang Mai where we will be staying for the next three days. For a few dollars you get to play with tigers.

We first watched the adult tigers playing in the central courtyard. It looked like fun.

Playing in the pool.

I am glad for that fence, this guy looked menacing.

My dad literally has the tiger by the tail.

Next we had 20 minutes to play with baby tiger cubs. This of course was the highlight. At first out tigers were tired and couldn’t be bothered. But some persistence and poking paid off. Before we knew it, one got so riled up the left a tooth mark in a member of our party. Good times.

This leaf was the thing that this cat was finally willing to wake up and play with. It's like how kids get expensive Christmas gifts and play with the box.

I Didn't See an Elephant Fly...

N 18 deg 53.988
E 98 deg 52.520

Animal activists would probably cry aloud if they were to see this place. We ride the elephants. We make them perform shows. They even are forced to paint. However, I think it’s pretty clear that these elephants are treated pretty well.
If you don’t plan on riding an elephant or watching a show then you’ll have nothing else to do.



The elephants circle the show floor actually paying harmonicas via the trunk while the baby hula-hoops with his.



They then play soccer. It’s not quite as cool as a real game. But they do have one stand as a goalie and two are set to kick as if at a penalty shot.

This shot was a miss, but they did make a few in.

The finale is the painting. These elephants actually paint pictures themselves. I’m sure they’ve been taught what pictures to make, but that doesn’t make it less impressive. I’ve seen footage of this same thing on YouTube. It’s cool to be there in person and witness it yourself.



And for a premium, you can buy them. They cost about $60 USD each. More for detailed ones and even more if you get the “impressionist” style that the elephants do without being taught. My mom got a cheaper $30 one that is pretty darn cool.

The one in the middle was painted by the elephant in front of us. My mom bought the one on the right.

Before leaving we had to try riding one. Most everyone in my group had already been elephant back, but it was cheap enough to be worth going again.

My dad and I on elephant back.

We walked through a well trodden path and into a steam where the elephant splashed around. All in all,this is a fun park and these elephants are taken care of extremely well for their showmanship. The elephants probably think that they are in a exhibit of tourists and have just as much fun patting us with their trunks as we do in a petting zoo.



I saw some cool elephant tricks that most people will never get to see. Things that I didn't expect to see elephants do. But alas, they don't have and elephant that flies.

Longneck Karen...

N 19 deg 22.853
E 97 deg 52.521

I have been pretty ignorant about the longneck tribes my whole life. This trip was educational. No doubt you’ve seen pictures and Discovery Channel stuff about them. The women use coiled brass to stretch out their necks beyond normal length. Actually, the necks don’t get longer, but the weight of the heavier-than-looking brass weighs down the shoulders and pushes the whole chest down. Deforming and uncomfortable, it’s a wonder American teenagers haven’t started doing it yet.

We took a long ride to get to them. These are not the main stream Thai folk. They are their own race of mountain people. They still live in secluded areas. Most are in Burma, but with the military situation there now, just about the only tribe a group of Americans like us can safely see are in this refugee camp near the border.



No one is exactly clear as to how this started, themselves included. I’ve heard some think it was to make the women look less attractive so neighboring tribes wouldn’t steal their women. Others say it was to keep the Tigers from dragging the women away by the neck. Neither sound likely to me. I think it just evolved from a fashionable heavy necklace. Either way, the practice started dying out and has recently been rejuvenated only because tourists like us pay to see it. The whole village is open to anyone who pays to see it. They know that the only way to have any sort of economy is keep the freak show going. Of course we don’t see it as a freak show so much, but they probably think we do. None the less, they are happy to have us as we are their bread and butter. Despite the money we bring in, they have very meager circumstances.



They don’t mind posing with you for pictures, but they do expect you to buy something from them afterward.







As we got to the end of the village we saw local boys playing games. Just then a bell rang. We realized we witnessed recess and school was in session. We helped ourselves to see the classrooms.





After that we went off the path a bit and into parts of the village that I don’t think most tourists would venture into. The people are kind and very subdued. That’s a nice way to say they sit around all day and look very bored. I’d be bored too. I wonder if the whole village is a sham and at night they go down into fancy apartments below the ground. I can’t tell where all the money goes by looking at the campus.





On the way out I bought a few trinkets thereby relieving myself of any guilt for intruding, gawking and living in better conditions.
On the way back I contemplated what life would be like had I been born into this village rather than Mesa, Arizona. I suppose if this is all you know there is nothing to feel like you are missing out on. These children looked as happy or even happier than many I’ve seen in the U.S. For having the shoulders pulled down so low, they seemed to naturally have the corners of their lips pulled up.

Pai-Land...

N 19 deg 18.526
E 98 deg 27.712

The flight to Chaing Mai from Bangkok is about one hour long. But the process of getting on the plane makes you wonder if it’d be easier and faster to just drive there. Thai Airlines threw a wrench in our plans when they changed the airport we were departing from. There is an old domestic airport and the new International airport. Originally we were to depart from the new airport. Kris gets and email informing him it’s changed to the old airport. We show up at the old airport and when we try to check in, they inform us that they changed it back to the new airport but failed to notify us of that. We had to make a mad dash to the new airport in a taxi.

We actually made it somehow, but it was a very close call. Once we got on the plane and settled in it was time to leave. I love short flights. Upon arrival we get to a van we had waiting for us. At that point we found out that it would be another 3 hours by van to the village of Pai, where we would be staying. I don’t think we were ready for that.

The upshot was that once we left the city there was some nice scenery to look at.

This shot was taken between two trees at 40 MPH at just the right second.

This is the highest elevation we got. About 4,660ft. It was nice to finally feel cool air.

I also learned quickly that you don’t want to drive very fast on these roads. One thing about northern Thailand is that here when you hit road kill, it might be you that dies from it.

"What are you looking at?"

I also saw this sign everywhere. I can’t read Thai, but I’m fairly sure it means one of two things. Either, “When trees fall, they start fires and cause the deer to run into you,” or, “This is where Bambi was filmed.”

"When trees fall, they start fires and cause the deer to run into you." OR "This is where Bambi was filmed."

We arrived at our resort more tired than we anticipated. All we wanted to do was soak in the natural hot spring pools they have dotted around the premises. After checking in, that’s exactly what we did. And massages followed. For less than $10 UDS you get an hour massage. There was no wait either. In fact, we were the only ones at the entire resort. It’s nice to be able to afford luxury.
The grounds are well kept and beautiful.







We strolled around the small village we were in and noticed that almost every person had an elephant in their front yard hoping some tourist would pay for a ride. These elephants didn’t look like they were up to it. Some looked like they’d need to be carried themselves. One had a stumpy leg. When changing his positions he looked like he was crossing his legs and leaning on a pole. What a bad time to be without my camera. Luckily, my brother Kris had his camera and snapped one off. I don't have a copy of it yet, sorry. But I'll post it when I can.

After a relaxing day at our own private hot springs resort we called it a night knowing that we could wake up whenever we felt like it as we had no urgency to be anywhere the next morning. The only thing missing on this trip was my wife. Other than that omission, this is the way to vacate.