Category Archives: Northern

Weekly Photo Challenge: Escape

Escape to Myanmar?

An escape. Or rather, an attempted escape.

On a trip completely paid for by my employer, I was shuttled off to the north of Thailand for a long weekend. The highlight of the trip for me was to be in range of the Golden Triangle and the Burma border crossing at Mae Sai. Everywhere else we would go, I had already been to.

Arriving at the border, we were supposed to be able to leave our passports and pass into the border town. No foreigners are allowed to proceed onward from that town, but we would still get around an hour to explore.

Leaving our passports with the Thai authorities, we were on a bridge over a stream in a literal no man’s land. Getting to the Burma crossing, we were asked to provide our passports. The same passports we had just left behind. On top of that, they wanted an additional 500 baht or US$15.

This resulted in quite the standoff between our Thai boss and the Burmese border guard. By the time we actually found out what we needed to do, there wasn’t enough time to even bother. Instead, most of us went into the duty free store and had a look around. Zhou, a Chinese coworker, and I both got a can of Chinese beer and had them outside overlooking the stream before heading back across the bridge into Thailand.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Beyond

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beyond-khamphaeng-phet

While the ruins of Sukhothai are very well known among travelers of Thailand, around it existed several satellite cities, which are lesser known. Among these is Kamphaeng Phet, a fairly pleasant riverside town built directly alongside the old Sukhothai-style ruins.

Like Sukhothai, these are divided into different areas. One section of temples and monuments are located within the old city wall. The majority of the temples lie north outside the city in the forest. These belonged to the Arani (forest dwellers) sect.

A few dozen temples dot these woods. Upon coming to the exit of the outer Historical Park after see them all; I came across this quintessentially British car. A Mini Cooper decorated all over with Union Jacks? Certainly photo worthy.

Ruins beyond it? Makes it all the more interesting.

Temple of the Industrial Buddha – Trips in Progress

Into the Northern Mountains: Chiang Mai Trek – Day 2

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← Day One

A preluded apology: I took many, many pictures of the following events. However, somewhere in between riding in the truck back to Chiang Mai and returning to Julie Guest House, I lost it along with all the photographs. So, no pics to go along with all of this. Sorry.

Being awoken several times throughout the very early morning by the incessant shrieking of roosters is not the most pleasant way to begin a day. Everyone seemed to agree, particularly our Australian friend, who had 13 Chang beers the night before, and for me, coined the term “Changover.”

The morning began after breakfast with a few elephant rides. This time, after the camp’s workers insisting that everyone must go, I rode atop with the German boy in our group. The ride required holding on to the side of the bench very securely, as I would most certainly have fallen off otherwise.

As the elephant descended into the passing stream, the trainer jumped off for some reason, leaving us without anyone to steer. At that, the elephant began to go a bit wild, and we had to hold on even tighter. Finally, the rider came back and began yelling at the elephant from the shore until he was able to jump back on.

After the last of the rides ended, the elephants were, one at a time, brought into the swimming pool, which a member of our party had yesterday dubbed the ‘stagnant pool of festering hepatitis’ which no one would think of entering. Today they did. 3 people ended up getting in that pool with the elephants to scrub them and swim with them.

Both the elephants and the people seemed to be enjoying the whole endeavor and if the water were actually semi-clean or flowing, I would certainly have joined in. Though as their feces rose to the surface to bob around before whatever ultimate fate of disintegrating into the water they may have, I decided that our initial take on the water was probably best.

A short while after the elephant baths had ended, some new westerners were beginning to arrive. They were dressed in outfits specific to the elephant camp, so I assumed they were here for a multi-day stay for the camp, rather than the multi-activity trip that we were on.

We were just on our way out as they were arrived. Once again piling into the songthaeks we were off to a hill tribe village. At first glance, it didn’t seem anything too distinct from what I imagined a rural Thailand village would be like and fit in well with the surrounding area.

This was, however, the longest I have gone without seeing a 7-11 in Thailand.

We got out of the songthaew just down the road from a row of souvenir stands. After walking past the stands, a few of us walked down a dirt path leading into the village. Along the path, we got a closer look at many of the houses that gave much clearer hints as to the daily lives to be found here.

Animals were also all over the place. Barking dogs and puppies looking for attention. Lots of chickens everywhere. And one very large pig lying on top of a covered bench trying to stay out of the sun.

We spent a much shorter time in the village than I was expecting; and after the guide pulled some fresh, though rather tart, tamarinds off of a tree for us to try, we were once again in the truck heading to the next destination.

On the far side of the next village, we pulled off across the street from a park. It didn’t much seem like a park, as a power substation stood right next to the narrow entrance to the path. This would be the final path for some of us that day, as one part of the group would continue to the peak of the hill we were climbing, where they would spend the night at another small hill tribe village. It’s something I would have liked to do, but my time was limited in the area now.

The rest of us stopped at a rocky waterfall about a half hour up the trail where we had lunch. For being what was essentially a northern mountain stream some of the water was surprisingly warm. There was also a very smooth section of the waterfall that made a convenient slide into the deeper section of the pool below.

After the swim, our groups split up and we returned to the songthaek for the last leg of our trip: rafting. The drive was down a narrow riverside road (different river) and we seemed to come close to running off the edge a few times when we had to share it with lines of passenger-elephants and pickup trucks more numerous than my dive through the Mississippi interstate. Afterward, we finally arrived at our departure point.

The 2 river guides gave us a brief crash-course on instructions for when we were going through rapids and then did a surprisingly thorough check on our helmets and life jackets. They then led us to the two rafts where they arranged us according to our perceived strength and body size. I wouldn’t have thought so, but they stuck me in one of the stronger positions.

Our trip through the rapids was exhilarating and proved to be as much a race between the two boats as a rafting trip. Whenever we came up side by side, the game was to try and splash as many people as possible on the other raft. For it being my first instance trying out whitewater rafting, I greatly enjoyed it and will certainly be doing it again in the future.

Once the rapids began to calm, we were brought out of the boats and waded in the shallow water as they replaced our inflated rafts with rafts made of bamboo strung together. Four of these bamboo rafts then linked into one long chain with a river guide steering us from the front. Our weight sunk the bamboo just below the water level for most of the trip, so it was a calm, though somewhat soggy ride.

Pulling the chain of rafts closer to the riverbank, we were told to get off here at a mostly covered picnic area, complete with a couple food stands. The trucks pulled in with all of our bags in the back end. After drying myself with my convenient small packtowel, I went into the squat toilet stall to change back into regular cloths. It’s a lot easier to carry things when you have pockets.

A woman was selling framed pictures she had taken of us on the rapids for 100 baht. I bought one, thinking that would be an interesting keepsake to send back to my mother.

The group grabbed a few beers and piled back into the rear end of the truck. On the ride back, we discussed our plans from returning to Chiang Mai onward. A couple would be returning to Bangkok to leave the country. Others were staying in Chiang Mai or going farther north to Pai and Chiang Rai. I was the only one that seemed to be heading into Isan, which I found pretty surprising.

At this point, I still had my camera, as I was taking pictures during the ride home. However, by the time I arrived back at Julie Guest House, it was not in my possession. But, I guess that’s what I get for holding on to its pouch rather than keeping on my belt as I usually do. I still think it must have fallen out onto the road as I got out for someone further into the songthaek to exit.

The woman who ran my new guesthouse called up the company and I had them check the truck. I knew it was the same because they found some underwear in the back end. There had been an incident involving one of the French guys and a large hole, which resulted in him leaving underwear in the truck.

After no luck checking Julie Guest House and the surrounding streets again, I resigned to the fact that I wouldn’t be finding it and had lost the pictures of this entire experience.

← Day One

Into the Northern Mountains: Chiang Mai Trek – Day 1

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Day Two →

One thing Chiang Mai certainly isn’t lacking is tour options for visitors. While I usually hate the prospect of these kind of groups, preferring to just go off on my own and see what I can find, I will concede that occasionally they will bring you places that you just couldn’t get otherwise. A few of Chiang Mai’s most popular are tiger visits, elephant farms, and hikes to local hill tribes.

In the last few hours with the motorbike I took to Wat Doi Suthep, I rode over to the bus station, got my ticket to Surin so that I would be there in time for the Elephant Round Up festival in a few days, and then went to the office of a tour I had see a couple days before when walking through the city.

This tour included an array of things. A dabble of everything rather than 4 days straight with elephants or a 3 night hike into the backwoods of northern Thailand. On top of that, it was a good deal. Less than 3000 baht (US$90) for a forest hike, visit to a hill tribe village, waterfall hike, overnight at an elephant farm, whitewater rafting. And, all meals provided.

To quote a Facebook status update from last year when I was trying to figure out how to spend limited time in Boston, “When in doubt on what to do, do everything.”

Day One

For the first time since I had left the U.S., I was woken up by an alarm. Next to me was a small bag already packed with a bare minimum for the expedition’s activities. It still amazes me how much some people can overpack for situations as short as a 1 or 2 day trip.

After a quick shower, I headed down to the Julie Guest House’s main floor, a large open-air lounge area and for the first time since being in Thailand, opened the menu and pointed straight to the “American-style” breakfast. Scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, etc. came were set in front of me less than ten minutes later. That was coupled with a Krating Daeng, the original form of Red Bull, to help wake me up.

A few minutes later, a songthaew (pickup truck with benches and a roof in the back end) pulled up looking for me. In the truck already were 3 French, 3 Americans, and a German. Being passed around the back end amidst the passengers were bottles of Chang, the staple cheap Thailand beer. I grabbed a bottle from them and joined in the conversation as the driver, unseen to us, was maneuvering around the labyrinthine sois of inner Chiang Mai to pick up the rest of our expedition.

We had 3 more pickups before leaving the city, an Australian and an Italian couple. The Italians were the only ones in the group that didn’t know English. Though, based on a tip I received from Marina, an Italian girl I met at Julie Guest House that Italian and Spanish were similar enough to be mutually understood if spoken slowly and carefully, we struggled through a few exchanges.

The songthaew left the city on a path I wouldn’t have been able to follow even if I had been paying attention. Our first stop was a greenhouse attraction of some sort with a wide array of foreign plants, a jewelry shop, and a cafeteria which we were much to early to get into. It wasn’t an interesting stop, but there have been much worse ways to send 20 minutes.

We piled back into the songthaew and continued into the northern Thailand wilderness. The truck began to slow down and we looked around to see where we could be.

It then brought us to a small town developed at what was simply a highway intersection. Inside a few of the corner buildings, which were really just heavy ceilings without walls, a market selling many different kinds of food and other items stood. I was amazed at how many different kinds of bugs were.

We were then herded back into the songthaew and driven around several winding dirt roads pasts some fairly steep river valleys. One of our French companions made a joke in passing that this would be a perfect spot for them to “take care of us”.

About a half hour later, we stopped at a spot along a small ravine. Next to the stream were a few wooden buildings open to the elements and a staircase leading up to a shack, which, according the Aussie who tried to get in for some privacy, was well-secured. This was where we had lunch along a very elongated picnic table on the edge of the creek.

From the creek, we were walked back to the road and led a couple hundred meters to a path into the woods. For the next few hours, we were hiking through the northern jungle mountains of Northern Thailand.

It was odd to see some of the buildings we passed at areas that were so far away from any sort of makeshift road. Homes in the middle of the woods that were usually open-air. Throughout them were obvious piles of clothes and empty bottle of Chang and whiskey strewn about the floors, and occasionally sitting outdoor shelves or tables.

In between some of these homes were dried out rice fields. Though we were able to walk through their husks with ease, it was much easier to traverse the narrow grids of raised earth that crisscrossed the fields.

There were a couple times when we were required to cross streams/small rivers, some shallow and some not so much. We had to use the rocks and random logs along with branches hanging over the streams. I was very glad at this point that my sister had talked me into getting waterproof hiking boots for my trip over here. There were a couple close calls and some thorny branches that left scratches. But no one had a fall into the water.

The most difficult part came a couple hours or so in. A slope stood in front of us. Because of the trees growing up its entirety, there was no way for me to gauge its actual height. There was no actual path either, as we all just scaled the way we found best as we went up.

About ¾ the way up, we finally stopped at a semi-flat area with rocks and logs covered in a layer of insects to sit on.

I’ll freely admit that I am not in the peak of physical fitness, probably far from it, though I was doing much better than some of the people on the trek at this point. Although, the lingering hangovers that many of us had did nothing to help the overall situation.

One of the more irritating aspects during the climb was that, on the more narrow areas, where we were single-file going up a series of rocks and very steep slopes, I was caught behind the Italians, who were faring the worst of the group. With streams of sweat and a slower pace than me, he was not a pleasant man to be caught behind.

Once at the actual top, it was relatively flat from there on out. It was a little over another kilometer on high-elevation, mostly along a very narrow ridge, which provided a fantastic cleared view of grassy valleys in between the small mountains.

Throughout all of this, there was talk about hitting up the advertised swimming pool the moment we reached the encampment.

Once finally down the slope into the valley, we came to a few houses. It could hardly be called a village, though it was dotted with sparely with buildings here and there. Maybe 20 in all.

Here, we very quickly saw our first elephant as we approached one final stream to cross on a narrow bridge made of about 8 branches. It came, guided by a rider on its neck, through the river to lead us to the camp.

The first thing most did once at the camp was not check out the elephants or the cows, or the swimming pool, but simply crash in the covered area next to the main building. Some sat and some laid, but everyone did it.

Very quickly, the annoyance arose that the cooler, containing water, soda, and beer, was locked. We were told that the man who ran the camp was away and had taken the key with him. About a half hour later, though no sign of this man surfaced, our guide was able to unlock the cooler. After a round of waters, the Changs started popping open.

Behind this covered patio was the swimming pool advertised for us to swim with and help bathe the elephants. It was really more of an artificial pond of stagnant water that looked as if it hadn’t been clean in a very long time. Someone in our group described it as a ‘stagnant pool of festering hepatitis’ and jokes began about how many Changs it would take before someone would actually be the first to jump in. I quickly decided it wouldn’t be me.

There were about 4 or 5 elephants total on the camp, including a young one tied to a post in a distant lean-to that always looked as if he were dancing off in the far end of the camp.

After dinner was served, the caretakers came around looking for people among our group who wanted to take their turn riding the elephants. Each on had a bench roped on to its back, and the whole apparatus included rope, which looked very uncomfortably tied under its tail and digging into its butthole.

Some rushed at the chance, while others were too exhausted. I just didn’t have any real desire to ride on one.

By this time, dusk was starting to come across the valley. Aside from the annoying crows of the roosters all throughout the area, it proved an extremely peaceful spot for us to wind down for the evening.

We spent close to 4 or 5 hours just sitting on the long benches where we had eaten dinner drinking Changs and discussing every topic from Thailand to travel to pop culture in different countries. I was one of the last ones down there, though not even coming close to matching our Australian companion, who had put back 13 1.25 liter (6.4% ABV) Changs.

Finally calling it a night with 2 others, we initially had no idea how to get to the visitor cabin that was at the top of a nearby slope. Luckily, I had a miniature flashlight, and we found the stairs up to it. The cabin was open-air, but each bed inside was surrounded by its own intricate mosquito netting.

Thankfully no one was snoring noticeably as I joined everyone that had already fallen asleep.

Day Two →

The Eightfold Path Underground – the Forest Tunnels of Wat Umong

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“With each day passing,
what have you been doing?”
- Buddha quote at Wat Umong

At the base of Doi Suthep is another temple that is unlike any others I have seen in Thailand. Taking a left off of the road that goes up to Wat Doi Suthep, and then passing some winding roads through a few neighborhoods, a tuk-tuk brought me to Wat Umong, the forest temple of Chiang Mai.

This wat has a quaint peacefulness to it in a very different way than Wat Doi Suthep does. It is spaced through with buildings that fit very well into the forest atmosphere. In between most of these are tiled pathways, similar in many respects to most of the sidewalks throughout the country, but in much better upkeep.

One bridge to the small island.

Down one path, you come to a large pond with an island in the center and 2 small bridges connecting it to the shore. Though it wouldn’t surprise me at all if this pond were artificial, it is still a nice little spot dotted with a few statues of important Buddhist figures.

I had chosen to come this day because a weekly lecture given by an English-speaking monk. I wasn’t quite sure where on the Wat grounds to find this lecture, though I quickly found him and a small group of about 10 foreigners all gathered in a gazebo not too far from this pond.

The monk was a reserved, though strongly spoken British man around 60. I walked in about 10 minutes, maybe more, after his lecture had started. It began with basics on Buddhism and how it impacts the lifestyle and mindset throughout Thailand.

Eventually, once he had begun taking questions, the unyielding bombardment of Christians and their monotheistic cousins to defend their own beliefs began as well. I can understand asking questions for the purpose of comparison when a monotheistic tradition is what you are approaching a religious analysis with. But simply trying to shoot holes in another’s religion using only your own as ammunition, it’s shooting blanks at a hollow target.

One intriguing question that did not come out as harshly, though, was what Buddhism’s take on gods, devils, and specifically a creator god was.

For a brief intro to Buddhism, read this next section. For those who are familiar, or don’t care, skip over:

For those unfamiliar with the very basic founding of Buddhism, an analogy can be drawn to the founding of Islam and Christianity. Like these monotheistic religions, which emerged from the tribal religion (a religion which pertains to a certain group or groups of people) of Judaism, Buddhism, too, emerged from the tribal religions which make up Hinduism.

From these tribal religions, in all 3 (Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism) a figure professing a new set knowledge emerges, and from a following the he gains springs a new cult, and ultimately a new religion.

Siddhartha Gautama, the man who would become the Gautama Buddha (there are hundreds, if not thousands of Buddhas in the mythology of the religion) was born into a royal family and grew up amidst its isolated wealth. One day, he went outside into the real world, saw its suffering, and then renounced his wealth in an attempt to find a solution to suffering. In a long series of efforts, he achieved enlightenment. His decrees on how this is done then became the founding tenants of Buddhism, just as Jesus’ preaching or Muhammad’s prophecies did for Christianity and Islam.

To answer this question on gods and demons, the lecturer admitted, unexpectedly, that it doesn’t matter. Yes, Buddhism arose out of the belief system, and for the most part the cosmology of Hinduism is still incorporated into many facets of Buddhism, and representations of its deities are present at many temples. The closest thing to an ultimate deity in Hinduism is Brahma, the creator.

Rather than establish a cosmology or recognize a set of gods to worship as Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, or Judaism do, Buddhism is, he says, a system of self-betterment. It is not concerned with the universe, but with the self.

Entraces to the tunnels.

After the lecture disbanded, I continued around the large temple grounds. One of the rumors I had heard about this temple was about a system of underground tunnels. It turned out that they did indeed exist as 3 parallel and intersecting tunnels built into a large platform, on the top of which was a very large brick stupa.

While not the quasi-mystical intrigue of actual subterranean tunnels, these were interesting to walk down, and a few times a bit too short for me. At the end of each of the three tunnels was a monument of the Buddha. A path splitting off of their common connecting tunnel then led up some stairs to the stupa’s platform.

The main stupa of Wat Umong.

And one side of the platform it stands on atop the tunnels.

Walking down its outside stairs and back down to the base, I noticed a leafy garden littered with broken sculptures. It was a collection of Wat Umong’s Buddha relics salvaged from other wats. Some of the pieces were clearly very old, and many of the fragments were certainly unexpected.

The relic garden of shattered Buddhas.

Closing back in on the main area, I noticed a road heading up a small hill. Going up a short ways, it became clear that this was to the residences of at least a portion of the monks. I figured that was a path better left alone.

The path up to the monk residences.

I unintentionally seemed to take the long way back to the main entrance, walking past many unfamiliar buildings before I got back to the parking lot. Unfortunately, my cab that had told me he would wait for about 20 minutes had no doubt left well over a half hour ago. So, I had to wait a while before another visitor came in their tuk-tuk, which I snatched up and took back into the heart of Chiang Mai.

To the Mountaintop Temple: Wat Doi Suthep

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“A willful man will have his way . . .”
-sign on the path up Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep

Sunset over Doi Suthep mountain.

So it probably wasn’t the smartest idea to rent and ride a motorbike up a mountainside when I have never ridden one before. The one time I tried riding a dirt bike at my cousin’s house in the Upper Peninsula (this year no less), it turned out pretty disastrously with me essentially falling over in a field. And the dirt bike then falling on top of me.

I was lucky enough to have a few deserted alleys to practice the basics first before going out on the road. But very quickly, I needed gas. This meant going out onto the parkway which surrounds the center city. This did more than give me a crash course in how it works, I got the added thrill of weaving in and out of traffic in the busiest part of town in a country that has no regard for lanes or traffic rules.

The waterfalls on the way up Doi Suthep

Once filled up, I continued on to the northwest toward Doi Suthep Mountain. The street leading out there is highly commercialized with many lanes of traffic. Luckily it wasn’t too busy at this time of day. It also went past the Chiang Mai University and the city zoo.

Much of the road up the slope consisted of zigzags to the left and right. And left turns are not easy to make to begin with. Combine that with driving on the left side of the road, as you are turning left, past oncoming traffic that will many times come from out of sight. It can sometimes be an intimidating experience.

About a quarter the way up, there is a small park with a trail along a small series of waterfalls. These face right down the mountain toward Chiang Mai, giving a nice look of the whole city itself. The waterfalls, though, are something to see, as they are so shallow and running over the sides, oftentimes just glazing the rocks rather than seeming like an actual river.

And away goes the road.

A little ways farther was a section of the mountain-side which the edge had given way, taking a piece of the road and railing along with it. It seemed too close to the edge to pose any danger to drivers, but it was still a long way down.

Once at the top, where the entrance to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep is, I was very surprised to actually find a functioning village. It made sense, as there were so many stands and small tourist shops, that they would settle here rather than commute from somewhere else. Still, seeing an actual village stuffed into what was essentially a parking lot for the tourist attraction was unexpected.

One of the streets of Doi Suthep village in the wat's parking lot.

And another.

There are two ways up to Wat Doi Suthep. The first is the stairway. The other is a completely enclosed diagonal lift. I opted for the stairs.

The tram for those who can't do the stairs. Or those who are just lazy.

The lower stairs, full of shop-stands.

Soda and beer can hats. I foresee many scalp cuts.

The first third of the stairway is stuffed with stand selling food and drinks to temple offerings to baseball hats made out of old beer cans. Aside from getting a freshly squeezed passion fruit juice there, this is mostly unremarkable.

The base of the Naga handrail.

At the base of the true stairs to the wat.

The rest of the stairs are bordered by a fantastically ornate naga handrail. At the bottom are several nagas exploding out of the of the main naga’s mouth. This main naga’s body then makes up the whole rail in exquisitely detailed texture and colors.

The stairs are many, but the temple at the top is certainly worth the climb. Doi Suthep is the first temple that I had been to with a mandatory “donation” before you could enter.

The grounds of the temple are made of lustrous tiles which must need a good amount of maintenance to shay as pristine as they are. I did come across a monk and 2 nuns throughout the complex who were actually mopping the wat floor.

The pristine temple grounds headind toward the ledge.

As had quickly become my habit, I walked around the outside of the main shrine rather than heading straight in from the entrance. The first thing you immediately come to on the right is an open area leading to a railed ledge looking over the side of the mountain. This was the most crowded area of the temple, with people posing for pictures at every free spot, taking up space that people who actually wanted to enjoy the view could be using.

Chiang Mai blushing in the sunset.

The sun was beginning to set at this point, giving the city below a very pink hue. Off to the right of the ledge was a large pillar of smoke coming from what had to be a significantly sized flame.

Working further around the central shrine were a series of bells and a building of some sort that was still being constructed.

The main entrance to the central shrine and the chedi.

Only a portion of the many Buddha Idols, including a replica of the Emerald Buddha found at Bangkok's Grand Palace.

Finally coming back to the entrance, I removed my shoes at the stairs to the main shrine and went in. Inside were dozens, maybe upward of 100, idols of the Buddha. It’s curious that, for a religion in which doing away with material possessions is one of the founding tenants, so many of these temples are filled with some of the most ornate architecture and treasures in the country. Of course all of these sculptures and items certainly add to the beauty of the temples, though at times it seems a bit in excess given that aspect of Buddhism.

The central chedi of Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep surrounded by numerous Buddha idols.

In the middle of the central temple was a large, angular, golden colored stupa (chedi in Thai) surrounded by many different forms of Buddhas. Reclining, meditating, and standing with a cautionary gesture among them.

Unfortunately, in my brilliant planning to be atop Wat Doi Suthep for sunset, I overlooked that I would have to drive back in the dark. Down a mountain. This proved a much less enjoyable experience than riding up. And much slower experience, as well, as I was rarely using the engine at all, and was certainly wearing down the breaks.

Now for the ride down . . .

Paths Unwritten

in the currents of the world