Our Visit to Chiang Rai - Part Uno

Last week we took a trip up north to the town of Chiang Rai.

It was time for our 'visa run', when you leave the country for a few days or hours (or a few minutes!), then come back in & get a new stamp in your passport and more time in the country. Our friend Beverly was ready for her visa run too, and she invited us to go along & to stay with her friend Jay in Chiang Rai. Perfect!

The three of us caught the Green Bus for the 3 hour trip.

We had wonderful, comfortable reclining seats, with leg rests - better than any airline seat I've encountered.

We were given bottles of water & a snack - tasty green colored bean paste on a wheat bun (to match the Green Bus?) and a Thai action movie set in the arctic to watch.

A quick shot of some of the bus station snacks - the orange ones at the bottom are my favorites.

Jay picked us up - the first of many wonderful things she did for us over the next few days! From the bus station we headed to this amazing attraction - the White Temple. It is a labor of love designed & built by one man, Chalermchai Khositpipat, to signify heaven on earth in honor of Lord Buddha.

This is the beautiful entrance to the temple which is free to all visitors.

Here's Jay at the entrance - no photos beyond this point.

Each sculpted edge is lined with tiny mirrors that shine in the sunlight, & make a spectacular spectacle all lit up after dark.

The building continues.

Beverly & I are in front of the Gold Temple which has to be the most glorious restroom on earth, wouldn't you agree?

Nearby is a little museum of more of the artist's work. I snapped this pic of this gorgeous painting & his workbench before I noticed the 'No Photos' sign. Oops.

Here is one of 3 cases of Lost & Found stuff.

Heaps of hats, clothes, scarves, umbrellas, sunglasses & toys all neatly folded & stacked in glass fronted cabinets.

And, the sign reads 'Lost $ Found' - a typo? or is there a deeper meaning?

The artist has also contributed his work in other venues around town -

this stunning Clock Tower,

and these wonderful street lights running down the main drag of Chiang Rai.

Next, Jay took us on a nature hike to the Khunkorn Waterfall Park.

It started out as a lovely walk thru an immense bamboo forest,

And quickly turned into a series of tricky climbs up & down the treacherous rocky trail. Sada had found a couple of walking sticks & they sure came in handy!

Almost there! We were sweat soaked by this point - luckily it wasn't a very hot day!

Here we are at the lovely falls. We rested in the cool breeze, drank our water & prepared for the return journey.

Somehow, going downhill can be so much harder - this spot was Steep!!!

But we made it - no twisted ankles, nobody cried & we all slept well!

Coming soon: Part Two, where we cross the border into Burma ...or Myanmar as it's called by the current military dictatorship, and we hang out with a gigantic golden Buddha on the Meykong River.

See you then.