Chiang Mai

Day 3:

After a short flight from the Bangkok airport, we made it to Chiang Mai. Our tour guide, Roon, was very friendly, and her English was much better than Sam's.

The only reason we even put Chiang Mai into our itinerary was because of The White Temple. But Chiang Mai was so much more than that. Chiang Mai was the most pleasant surprise of our trip. Chiang Mai had the feel of a small town, with roads going into the forest and elephants hanging out a little ways out.

The Kuhm Phaya Resort was amazing! There were trees all around and it felt like we were in the jungle. I hardly saw anyone else at the resort. It felt so secluded, which I really enjoyed, because we felt like the only people in the world. It was relaxing, peaceful, and enjoyable. Even the front desk people got to know us by name. 

We didn't have any plans that afternoon, but Roon totally hooked us up! She took us to Maesa Elephant Camp. The very first thing we did there was to feed baby elephants little bananas and sugar canes. They ate them up like someone would pop M&Ms into their mouths. It was super cute how they picked up the food with their trunks and brought it to their mouths. The elephants put a hat on our heads, then they kissed our cheeks, which felt like they were being sucked up by a vacuum. The workers then took the elephants to the water to cool down. It was cute to see them sitting down and laying down in the water. 

We then sat down and watched the elephants play soccer, paint pictures, throw darts at balloons, and race to pick up bamboo sticks. It was fun to watch, but I later learned that the workers don't always use friendly tactics to teach the elephants, and that broke my heart. 

William and I then took a ride on an elephant, 35 years old. The ride was an hour long throughout the jungle. It was really funny to see the elephant stopping to eat food along the way. The worker would make these sounds to try to get the elephant moving, but the elephant just ignored him.

On the way out, we picked up some poopoo paper, which is exactly what it sounds like: paper made from elephant poop.

On the way to our next stop, we stopped by an orchid garden. The flowers were beautiful and flawless. They were perfect! For someone like me who kills everything (on accident), it was impressive that these flowers were all thriving.

Soon then took us to Tiger Kingdom. William was really nervous, but I surprisingly wasn't. Maybe I was just really trusting of the workers that were in the cage with us. We simply followed the directions, like approaching the tigers from the back and only touching the back, butt, and tail of the tigers.

The white tigers were really cool. They were huge! We laid down with them, picked up their tails, kissed their tummies, and they didn't even flinch.

The medium tigers moved around a little while we were in the cage with them, which totally freaked out William. They also book playful bites at each other, which was cool to witness.

I'll admit that the baby tigers made me a little nervous, mostly because they weren't fully trained and were spontaneous. I'm also pretty sure their little baby teeth were very sharp.

William and I then headed back to the hotel where we got an authentic Thai massage. The setting couldn't have been more perfect. We were inside, but the windows were open, so we could hear the water from the pond, the birds in the trees, and the bugs in the grass. We weren't sure what to expect. The ladies first washed our feet, then they had us change into tunics. They massaged us over the tunics, sometimes exposing the arms and legs. They never used any oils. They did climb onto the table at one point, to add a little more pressure.

It was late by the time we left the resort, but we'd heard that we needed to check out the night market, so that's just what we did. The food was amazing! Maybe even better than the food at some fancy restaurant.

Day 4:

Roon met us at the resort and took us to a few temples. I never knew there were so many temples in Thailand. There's got to be more temples in Thailand than there are Starbucks in the United States. We saw Wat Ket Karam, Wat Gatekaram, and Wiang Kum Kam. Honestly, at this point, most of the temples look almost identical. I mean, I know they're different, but it's like, once you've seen one, you've seen them all.

I was very intrigued by the monks. There were so many. Soon told us that they can start their ministry as young as 7 years old. We sat down and talk with one. He looked to be, maybe, 15 years old. But he was kind of wise for his age, even though he looked totally bored. When Roon suggested that we sit next to him for a picture, he told us to stay on the other side. Um, awkward...! 

From there, we walked to the markets. We walked for miles and miles and saw so much food and so many flowers. Most of it was really weird, like the bugs and the who-knows-whats. But some of it was actually really good, like the mangosteen and rose apples. It's so interesting that these foods can't even be found in the United States. Like, I had no idea what 75% of these foods even were.

We then took a ride to Wat Chedi Luang to see temple ruins. Roon said that the city wanted to build a school there, but they had to stop the construction when they came across these sacred ruins. They've dug up 29 temple ruins so far. There are many more, but they don't have the finances to fund such projects.

I found it interesting that there were no guards around the ruins. I feel like these places would get vandalized in America. Roon said that the people believe in spirits and that vandalizing sacred places would bring them bad luck. And that's enough to keep them from doing bad stuff.

We ae lunch at Rommai rim ping, which was right on the lake, the one they used to travel from Chaing Mai to Bangkok. While we were eating, we saw someone doing their laundry (or something) in there. Hmmm...

Our last stop was at Doi Suthep, where Buddha's teeth, hair, and bones are located. The temple is gold plated and was almost blinding in the sun. The temple is located at 1050 meters altitude. It's not the highest point, though. The highest altitude is at 1650 meters high. We had to take an inclined elevator to get up there. Some people use the stairs, but William had bad knees, so... 

We saw a statue of Buddha that you could stick gold paper on for good luck. William put his paper on the left knee, and I've got to say that his knee does feel a lot better now than it did then. I put mine on the heart, for health. The head signifies knowledge, the hand power, and the stomach wealth. 

We also participated in a private ceremony, where a monk swung water at us while chanting. I'll take all the blessings I can get, no mater the religion (or philosophy).

The place wasn't very crowded, and that surprised me. Roon said that there are usually a ton of (very annoying) Chinese tourists. But because of Covid-19, China has closed its borders and there are no Chinese tourists in Thailand (or anywhere else). It's definitely not good for the economy of the country, but it made our visit much more pleasant.

That evening, we went back to the night market. There was a concert, and the band was actually really good! Like, REALLY good!

Things I learned today:

- There are often 4 animals represented on the temples. The swan carries messages between earth and heaven. The serpent connects earth and heaven. The lion is the protector. And the elephant is the supporter.

- The use of gold represents wealth. The use of red represents power.

- If you've lived a good life, you will have a better life in the next life. If you've lived a bad life, you will have a worse life in the next life. For example, people who have disabilities made poor choices in their previous life.

- Enlightenment is the highest level. Buddha reached enlightenment and will no be reincarnated. 2 out of Buddha's 5 disciples also reached enlightenment.

- Scriptures were written on palm leaves in a language that is no longer used. Few people nowadays can read it or understand it.

- People used to travel from Chiang Mai  to Bangkok by paddle boat. It took them 2-3 months.

- There are different kinds of monks; conservative, modern, forest, etc. The wear different colors in order to be differentiated.

- The more money people donate, the more blessed they become.

- Buddha had a family; a wife and children. He left them to learn philosophy. It was his calling.

- Temples always point to the east.

- On Buddha's birthday, people hike up 13 km to the place where Buddha's bones were buried.

- Since there were no representations of Buddha at the time that Buddha was alive, different countries and regions represent him in different ways. For example, in Chiang Mai, Buddha has a tiny smile on his face. His eyes are also slightly open and he has a round face.

Day 5:

I wanted to see The White Temple so badly, but William wasn't really into it, mostly because of the 3-hour drive. He knew he'd start to feel nauseous. We almost cancelled the trip, but I was able to talk him into doing it. On the way there, we saw many fields of rice, garlic, chili, and corn. We also saw a lot of 7-Elevens and some Starbucks, KFCs, Burger Kings, and McDonalds.

We took a little break about an hour into the drive to see natural hot springs. There were people cooking eggs in the water and selling them to tourists.

The White Temple did not disappoint. It was built in 1997. Chalermchai Kositpipat designed it. He is now 64 years old and still designs and paints. Roon said that sometimes you can see him walking around the temple and he looks like anyone else visiting.

The temple is so perfectly white, with his tiny little mirrors, that seeing creepy things surrounding the temple is the last thing you'd expect. But that's what we saw; hands reaching up from the ground and heads hanging from trees, etc.

We also didn't expect to see paintings of The Hulk, The Matrix, Pikatchu, Iron Man, The Terminator, etc. on the inside. It was so modern and so unlike anything else we'd seen up to that point. Kositpipat said that these were the confusions of the world. There was also a painting of a baby, then next to it, a painting of an old man, and finally a painting of a dead old man. Very odd...

As we were walking around the temple, outside, I looked up and saw what looked like thousands of metal keys. Roon said that people could buy them, sign their name of them, then hang them with the others. So that's what we did! Our name is on one of these, somewhere. We also threw coins into the lotus well for good luck.

Even the bathroom was cool. I'd never been in a bathroom so fancy, all made of gold.

Kositpipat's teacher designed The Black House. It was very different from The White Temple. There were a ton of chairs made with horns, and dead crocodiles, dead bears, etc. So much stuff. So much junk. And he must have spent millions of dollars of these things. There were also some very inappropriate, sexual things, which probably would have made the kids laugh out loud. This guy died about 5 years ago, but his family still lives in the house right by The Black House.

Although it wasn't on the schedule (because we didn't know about it), Roon took us to see the Long Neck Tribe. I remembered seeing them on the National Geographic Channel. It was a life-changing experience, truly. I felt a little uncomfortable, walking through their village, watching them like they were on display. I felt like I was at the zoo and they were the animals. But I didn't want it to be like that. This was their home. Roon reassured me that they were very friendly and enjoyed visitors because they brought them money, from entering the village and from buying their homemade goods.

This specific tribe moved outside of Chiang Rai about 12 years ago. They are pretty self-sufficient and grow a lot of their own food, but they need money to buy certain things. They self-medicate and only go to the hospital when everything else has failed. The witch doctor usually takes care of everything in the village. I'm not sure what kind of training he has... 

Roon explained that the husbands typically go to work outside of the village, and that the children go to school just like the other Thai kids. But they didn't use to go to school, this is the first generation to do that. And so they've had to learn Thai. At home, the speak their own language, a language that only their tribe understands.

We saw a tribe with head accessories, another tribe with large earlobes, and the tribe with the long necks. Only the women follow these traditions. The children can receive their first neck ring at the age of 5. The oldest lady in the village has 29 rings around her neck. Many women also have rings around their ankles and sometimes even below the knee. These rings change the shape of their bodies. For example, the rings around their neck pushes down on their shoulders and stretches their neck. And the rings below the knee makes that part of the leg super skinny. Some of the women also chew beetle, which is very addicting and turns their teeth black. But I saw a young woman with very pretty teeth, she probably doesn't chew.

The people of the tribe believe in spirits, and that kind of spooked me because I didn't want them chanting or doing voodoo on me. They were actually very welcoming. A lady even sang to us on a guitar that she made herself. And the kids were so stinking cute! Roon gave me a couple of pieces of candy so that I could walk over to the little kids and give them to them.

These people were so happy, though. They live in tiny little huts, which they built themselves, and they only eat the food that they can grow, but they're happy. 

After the 3-hour drive back, William got a foot massage and I got a facial. It's funny how they can spend an entire hour on the face (or the feet). Roon said that she occasionally gets 3-hour massages. Dang, that's a long time!

Things I learned today:

- In Chiang Rai, we were only 30 km away from both Laos and Myanmar. The point where all 3 countries meet is called The Gold Triangle.

- Thailand used to be a lot bigger. It included parts of Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

- The French and the English came to battle for ownership of the countries, and Thailand lost certain areas, making it smaller.

- People in Thailand like to travel to Japan to vacation. Vietnam is fun to visit once, but isn't a place to see over and over again. And China sucks. Basically.