(NOTE: This post is actually from February 16th, but unfortunately I couldn't get the hotel computer to submit it for some reason. I'm back in Bangkok now for the night and tomorrow we are off to Cambodia. I have an early flight so I'm not sure if I'll get any pictures up tonight, but I'll see what I can do.)
Today was definitely one of my top 5 favorite days in Thailand thus far. I'm currently sitting at a computer in the beautiful Anantara Resort & Spa in Chiang Rai. Chiang Rai is in the north west corner of Thailand, called the Golden Triangle because it borders Myanmar (Burma) and Laos. In fact, tomorrow we will be going over the border to Myanmar to check out some villages and markets.
Before I get to today's events, I have to tell you a bit about this hotel - it is set on a hill overlooking the jungles of Chiang Rai and Myanmar - the view is spectacular. The hotel itelf is only 2 stories tall, but the grounds are enormous and every aspect of the building is exquisitely detailed - lots of beautiful Thai and Burmese (is that what it is called?) art all over the place. My room is definitely one of the nicest I have ever stayed in (although considering that my travels consist mostly of Holiday Inn stays, that might not be saying much!) I have a huge bed, a patio with a crazy view, and an enormous bath tub that could comfortably sit 3 across (although admittedly, any more than two might be a bit weird...) The pool is one of those fancy deals that "falls off" at the edge and they have musicians playing live Thai music all over the place. And while the hotel is certainly expensive by Thai standards, it is all much less than an average hotel in NYC for the nigth ($116 per night!)
So how did we get here? Well, it took awhile, but the trip was well worth it. We woke up this morning in Chiang Mai which is about 8 hours to the east in a more central part of Thailand. Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand (and a former capital I believe). We had been there the previous two nights and had a very nice stay. It was a little more "city" than I think my parents and I were expecting, in the sense that its still pretty crowded with a decent amount of traffic and built up (although not really with tall buildings). We checked out some wats (I'll save the descriptions for when I upload the pictures) and did some shopping at some pretty cool shops where they actually make the goods we were buying. For example, we went to a silk shop and first stopped by a factory where we saw them actually producing the silk. We did the same for a wood carving shop, a ceramics shop, an amazing jade shop and a few others. It was nice to see some actual artisans at work vs. the people in the markets that just hawk the things from god knows where! We'll actually I guess I figured it out, they're from the workshops we visited!
But I digress... we started off in Chiang Mai and drove for three hours north. Normally I'm not a fan of 3 hour drives, but this one wasn't bad at all. There was lots of interesting things to see along the way and it was nice to finally get into some of the countryside of Thailand (vs. the cities and islands I've been spending most of my time in). When we reached the Mae Kok River, we boarded a long tail boat. The boat had four seats, one for the driver, one for our guide, one for my parents and one for me. It was kind of like a tuk tuk boat with a large outboard motor on the back. The boat rode very low in the water and went along at a pretty good clip. We rode the boat all the way to Chiang Rai - about 4 hours in total, stopping along the way to visit some hill tribes and an elephant camp. My dad made fast friends with the elephants, but my mom was not very amused. Apparently, her motherly instincts do not extend to enormous elephants!
The ride was a long one and I can't say the long tail boat is the most comfortable form of transportation in the world, but it was an amazing experience to fly down the river. The river was relatively narrow and the tide was low (because we are in the dry season). The driver weaved in and out of the rocks like he had the route memorized... he would come inches away from some of the rocks, but never hit them. The breeze felt wonderful (especially in the heat) and the stops along the way at the remote hill tribes only made the experience seem more remote and special. We saw a few other boats along the way, but for the most part we had the river to ourselves and I fully appreciated it after the hustle and bustle that was daily life in Bangkok. I think today is one of those days I'll remember for quite some time!
Tomorrow we will spend the day in the Golden Triangle (where Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet) and at night we head back to Bangkok for a quick layover before heading over to Cambodia for the weekend - I'm hoping that I'll be able to upload some pictures tomorrow night at the hotel. I hope all is well!
Comments