Northern Thailand: Chiang Mai's outskirts, Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle... Oud la-la!

Tranquility filled the air as what I will remember as my favorite celebration in the world came to a reluctant end.  The further north we ventured the longer Songkran kept going!  Isolated villages dot the lush Thai countryside in the north and seem to lack means to contact with the outside world.  Obviously there are cars and motorbikes whizzing about, but most were stuffed with Hawaiian shirt clad tourists snapping their shutters at anything that moved.  Songkran is recognized as a four day festival, yet Caitlin and I had been pruned for at least five days at this point and we would still see the odd pick-up truck prowling the streets, its bed stuffed with joyous Thai seeking another brigade to go to battle with.  I'm convinced the extended Songkran can be attributed to northern Thailand's isolation.

Though Songkran's torrential drenchings eased, my exploration of Thailand persisted.  I had a few more days in Thailand and a tidy list of things I wanted to do.  On that list was explore the mountainous outskirts of Chiang Mai, visit the White Temple, see the Golden Triangle and watch a Muay Thai boxing fight or two.  Caitlin and I made all of these things happen with aplomb in the limited days before my departure.

With three days left we leapt at our opportunity to explore northern Thailand in semi dry attire and arranged a tour that encompassed two sights that we had deemed unmissable.  Our tour would take us to the assiduously built White Temple and the Golden Triangle into a day long tour of the northernmost area of Thailand.  After an early morning departure Caitlin and I found ourselves barreling through oncoming traffic en route to our first stop; a geothermal geyser.  With my heart nearly blocking my airway, I clenched my armrest until my bloodless knuckles cramped and proceeded to mutter a stream of bottom-heavy words under my breath as not to disturb my intrepid tour guide Caitlin who was slept heavily to my left.  Now I usually pride myself on my resilience to flinching in precarious, adrenaline-curdling situations; but the nonchalant nature that our driver, Oud, maintained whilst hurtling into oncoming traffic along the roads of northern Thailand hit a nerve and I found myself holding on for dear life.  After an hour of watching Oud win game after game of chicken we made it to our first stop; a geothermal hotspot.

Wat Rong Khun

Oud pulled his beaten-up white van off of the highway and parked between an identical van and a tour bus.  I pried my fingers from the armrest and thanked my lucky stars for making it there in one piece.  After informing Caitlin of our driver's relentless bravado we started to poke around the horseshoe of shops that bordered the main attractions, a geyser and boiling hot springs.  Poking around the shops was quite a laugh as they were stocked with everything from Angry Birds pajamas to 'gold' plated Dhas (Thai swords).  We perused about, making sure not to miss any hilarious item.  In the end I believe it was the formaldehyde-coated snake which served as a walking cane that stole my heart as the most outrageous good in the area and we moved on.  My stomach growled for some food and that call was heard and immediately answered by the vendors at the site.  For a mere "haaaa baht" (five Thai Baht or about sixteen cents, US) Caitlin and I bought a woven reed basket about the size of a grapefruit containing seven eggs.  We took said basket over to the hot springs and dipped them in to cook our recently acquired breakfast.  After dousing the eggs in some black sodium sauce (akin to sweetened soy sauce) we enjoyed the culinary genius we had exerted while marveling at how quickly the eggs had cooked.  Satisfied, we headed back towards our deathtrap of a van only to notice that the egg vendors had their stock cooking over an open fire about twenty feet away from the spring where numerous tourists posed with their submerged baskets.  Thailand is a funny place.  I mentally prepared myself to meet my maker and hopped back into Oud's van, Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple, our next destination.


The construction of the White Temple began in 1997 and the ornate sacred ground was flagrantly a work in process when we arrived.  The allure of the contemporary temple is found in its intricately detailed buildings that utilize a modern approach to a very traditional style of architecture.  Designed by Chalermchai Kositpipat, the temple maintains Kositpipat's controversial subject matter.  During the 80's  and the beginning of his career, Kositpipat was highly criticized by Thailand's government, monks and other artists as he pioneered the inclusion of western pop icons and traditional Buddhist temple art in billboard ads.  Kositpipat's career took an auspicious turn when he was selected to design a temple in London solidifying his vision as an acceptable form of sacred tribute.

Though we were surprised by the choice to include such sensitive matter into a temple of such immaculate construction, what was more impressive was the high level of success Kositpipat achieved in maintaining traditional Buddhist temple construction.  The massive tiered roof of the ubosot was punctuated with large, proud chofahs that straddle the apex of two intricately detailed gables.  The entrance is guarded by two parallel multi-headed naga, massive in size that and serving as the support system for a footpath that crossed pits of sinewed hands of the damned reaching for salvation.  The bridge led the way into the temple itself and was packed with tourists turning it into a stream of people akin to army ants that have found a food source.  Every time I slowed my pace to document the details of my surroundings I would get shouted at by a 'security' guard in broken english- "Keeep bridge moving" over and over again until Caitlin and I were near tears.

The sheer detail of the temple is what defines it and pulls in the number of tourists that it does.  If you simply look around the area surrounding the White Temple there isn't anything for miles.  The temple was constructed solely as a stop for tourists and immigrants on their way to the Laos border.  Aside from the temple the area was barren in all directions and made it very clear to anyone with half a brain that the temple was built with profit as its sole motivation.  That being said, with the numbers the temple draws already I doubt its construction will be completed in the near future.  After exploring the temple for nearly an hour we headed back to Oud and the impending drive to Laos.

Caitlin and I at the border trifecta; the golden triangle

After another 2 hours in our car we arrived in a third parking lot that was packed with tours, a theme that had installed itself from early on this morning.  Caitlin and I hopped out of the van to be greeted by the stifling heat of the north and a surprisingly arid climate due to its riverside location.  We poked around a bit, decided not to take a boat to Laos, and found ourselves two riverside hammocks and relaxed for a little.  My relaxation was short-lived as I abandoned my hammock rather quickly in favor of wandering the banks of the Mekong River

Across the muddy water rose the countryside of Laos to my right, to my left Myanmar.  I couldn't get over that simple fact.  I was there, in the Northernmost part of Thailand, observing two Asian nations I had read about for years and years, imagining the sights and sounds and smells and there I was.  A mere swim away, standing on a country that had always seemed so foreign to me.  An overwhelming sense of belong took me in that moment and I stood there, vexed in the hazy midday air.  Before I knew it, our time there was finished and we made our way onward.  The end of our trip came in the small city of Mae Chan where travelers that wanted to prolong their stay in Thailand would go to get their passports stamped for 500 Thai Baht.  Caitlin and I wandered about taking every opportunity we could to haggle Thai vendors down from their already cheap prices.  Our day ended and we headed back to Chiang Mai to get a good night's sleep so we could wake up early for our favorite activity, one that Caitlin would intrepidly attempt for her first time the following day; scooter rentals.

A multi-headed naga emerging from the mouth of Makara
protect Wat Phrathat Doi Suthap

Caitlin looking ecstatic in her Thai garb

Wat Phrathat Doi Suthap overlooking Chiang Mai

It was my last day in Thailand and after enjoying a breakfast of fresh fruit and strong Thai coffee Caitlin and I took a 10 minute crash course in driving scooters and were off to explore the mountains around Chiang Rai on our small engined, two wheeled transportation.

Wat Phrathat Doi Suthap's Wihan

Crabs and grubs, hakunamatata

Caitlin figured out the scooters with unbelievable ease and we proceeded to drive about the entire day.  We found waterfalls, bluffs, and cruised along the ridges of Chiang Rai's mountains.  We crashed a Thai picnic where 4 locals sat by a stream drinking Thong and soaking in the cool water.  We stopped at some marvelous teek wood temples and were awed by Chiang Mai's Wat Chedi Luang.

Chicken legs on the grill accompany fried chicken fetuses

The night markets of Chiang Mai are endless and provide perpetual knockoffs

We ate street food (chicken rolls are a no go) and we haggled with vendors.  We filled up our gas tanks with roadside gas stations selling recycled liquor bottles full of gasoline and we laughed at the unbelievably creative ways the Thai incorporated Angry Birds into everything and anything imaginable.

We got lost, found our way, only to get lost again.  We wove in and out of the whizzing cars of the rabid Thai drivers.  We explored an area of the world that had seemed so far away merely months ago, but we were there, the the moment enjoying every little detail.

It was an amazing end to an amazing trip, to say the least.

Chiang Mai evening