A busy October. Back to America for
three weeks for my dad's wedding and to visit some friends and
family. Then, just as the jet lag was wearing off it was back to
Thailand, half-way around the globe. I spent a few days in Bangkok
at some old haunts near the oh so infamous Khao San Road, met my girlfriend's parents for the first time, and
showed them around the city hitting the Grand Palace and several
other tourist spots. Having packed up all my belongings and
moved out of my house in Surat, I still had three and half weeks to
kill before orientation for my new job. After four days in the city,
I was already dying to get away from the noise and stink of Bangkok, so north I went. First stop: Chiang Rai.
Chiang
Rai
It took 15 hours on a sleeper train
from Bangkok, then another three hour bus ride, and finally a 10
minute tuk-tuk to reach my accommodation (Chat Guesthouse) in
Chiang Rai town. I checked in and paid for a night (90
baht/person/night for a double bed), took a hot shower, and went to
sleep.
At 5:30 am Mother Nature sounded the
alarm clock in the form of several screeching roosters just below my
window. My goal for the day was to see what Chiang Rai had to offer
without breaking my budget (I'm paycheckless for the foreseeable
future). For 150 baht (about $5 USD) I rented a motorbike for the
day and followed the free map I got from the tourism authority to
Chiang Rai's famous Wat Rong Khun (the White Temple).
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| Wat Rong Khun Narnia/Chiang Rai, Thailand. |
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| The White Temple |
Reminiscent of a Narnian castle, Wat
Rong Khun is a Buddhist and Hindu temple as well as a seemingly
never-ending art project for its creator, the artist Ajarn
Chalermchai Kositpipat. Funded entirely by public donations, the
project began in 1997 with a projected completion date for the year
2070. The inside of the White Temple (which is not allowed to be
photographed) is somewhat of a social commentary and features scraps
of pop culture painted atop of traditionally designed Buddhist walls.
Aside from the beautiful and unique architecture there's also a
gallery with paintings, drawings, and sculptures by Kositpipat.
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| Britt's new friends |
After Wat Rong Khun, Britt and I
hopped on our trusty two-wheeled rental and sputtered another 20 km
down a scenic connection of badly paved mountain roads until we found
Khun Korn Waterfall. From the entrance of the park it was a
45-minute hike up and down a muddy trail cutting though bamboo
thickets and jungle. Brittany was immediately befriended by three
little Thai girls that were in absolute awe that a foreigner could
speak their language so well. The mist from the waterfall cooled us
off as we took some photos, then back down the trail to the motorbike
we went.
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| Khun Korn Waterfall Chiang Rai, Thailand |
We only wanted to pay for the bike for
24 hours, so the next day we were on foot. In the morning, we
checked out Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha). Guess what
I saw? A temple. And an emerald Buddha.
We killed some time in the afternoon
at the Hilltribe Museum and got our learn on about the local native
cultures and the history of opium in the region... welcome to the
Golden Triangle.
Finally, just before dusk, we were
picked up in an ancient Land Rover-style 4-wheel drive SUV by Nok,
the owner of Bamboo Nest Guesthouse where we'd be staying for the
next two nights. About 30 km outside of town, we turned on to an
unpaved driving path and it was all off-road and uphill from there.
Upon arrival at Bamboo Nest we dropped our bags in our private bamboo
bungalow and followed the moonlit trail back to the common area for
a home-cooked Thai dinner. There were six other travelers there
but unfortunately four of them were Canadian so conversation
wasn't exactly electrifying.
Noi, Nok's husband and co-owner of
Bamboo Nest, lit us a fire in the fire pit. Britt called it a night
and went to bed. I made the ill-considered decision to stay up
drinking cheap Thai beer with the Canadians and two others. I was
outnumbered and ended up defending America as the subject of a
relentless interrogation. They bombarded me with an unending barrage
of half-witted questions like, “Why do we know the name of you're
president, but you don't who Stephen Harper is?”
“Stephen Harper? Hmmm. You mean the guy in
the wheel-chair with the robot voice that's always talking about
space and time travel and worm holes? Oh. No. Wait. That's
Stephen Hawking,” I half-jokingly answered.
In truth, I had no
idea who Stephen Harper is (the Canadian Prime Minister-- thanks
Google). Didn't know. Didn't Care. I don't go around asking stupid
questions to Canadian people like, “Why do you think its okay to
wear denim shirts?” or “Are you growing that mustache because you
lost a bet or are you actually serious?”
Outnumbered as I was, I easily fended off these haters from the land of snow and syrup. The truth is, Canadians are jealous of Americans. Robin Williams said it best, “Canada
is like a loft apartment over a really great party”. While things
were still in good spirits I said goodnight to Joni Mitchell and the
other hippies and went to bed.
I woke up the next morning with a slight
headache and a dry mouth. It all disappeared when I stepped on
to the bamboo balcony outside of my bungalow. It was a comfortably
cool morning and the sun sparkled off the shiny green jungle, still
wet with mountain dew. Leftover mist trapped in the valley blanketed
rice paddies in the distance. Otherwise it was clear. This is the
type of scenery that Northern Thailand is renowned for. It was an
entirely different kind of beautiful than what I am used to in the
south. The guesthouse was appropriately named. It really is like a
Bamboo Nest in the side of the mountain.
I spent the rest of the day exploring
the compound a bit, but mostly laying around in the hammock on my
bamboo porch. Nok had done a superb job with the landscaping and
there were various flowers, plants, and trees strategically placed to
add that much more to the already naturally impressive terrain. There's
an abundance to do at Bamboo Nest. They offer jungle treks and 4x4
off-roading. It's only an hour's hike to a waterfall and natural hot
springs. If that's too far, a ten minute stroll down the mountain
will bring you to a Lahu hilltribe village.
Since I've been back in Thailand, the
two days I spent at Bamboo Nest de Chiang Rai have been by far my favorite and the most relaxing. It's easily one of my
top 3 places I've stayed in all of my travels. I could go on and on
into more detail about Bamboo Nest, but I figured the best way to
show how great it is would be to show you with a quick video. Here's the
newest Blake's World episode... Enjoy!
Want to see what it's like at Bamboo Nest de Chiang Rai? Watch the video above!
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| my porch view |
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| photo credit: Britt D |
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| Old Whitey |
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