Bangkok Week 169 — Mika's Photos

A very neat lamp shade at a new Bangkok restaurant.

Off to Chiang Rai, on Thai Air Asia (FD).

Chiang Rai's Mae Fah Luang *International* airport has 100% more jet bridges than Khon Kaen's airport.

Our room at Le Meridien Chiang Rai -- on the top of the resort's 4 floors.

Swanky bathroom that opens into the bedroom.

And nice lounging area too.

Actually made use of this spacious balcony during our time there.

Our room had a view of the resort's sizable property, and of the Kok river on which it sits.

The resort is designed around a large artificial pond that links to the river.

A nice property with a three-tiered infinity pool on the edge of the river.

The very airy lobby with stylish design.

Downtown Chiang Rai: a chain grocery store, chain eye glasses store, really old department store and Thanachart.

The first of many vegetarian restaurants upon which we stumbled.

Now that we're fed, we're off on an adventure to find the famed white temple.

First, we track down the oldest bus in Thailand, and ride it 13km out of the city.

After getting off the bus and crossing a highway on foot, we arrive at Wat Rong Kun, aka the White Temple.

Around the perimeter of the temple, crazy sculptures that didn't *quite* fit the theme.

This sign forbids drunk people from entering the temple.

Not totally sure what's going on with these halloween-like decorations.

A small buddha image sits inside the ornate entryway to the temple.

This temple is a modern "unconventional" buddhist temple whose construction only began in 1997 (and is not yet complete).

Big fat fish swim around in the pond in front of the temple.

To enter the temple itself, you have to take a bridge that passes over a sea of hands reaching up from hell.

Here you see some of the many, many hands... and some Chinese tourists.

Not creepy at all...

... especially with the late-afternoon shadows.

Each side of the bridge is flanked by a giant Zeus-like monster. Better behave.

Crossing over the bridge, which represents the crossing over from the cycle of rebirth to the Abode of Buddha (ref: wikipedia).

The 4 o'clock sun made the white that much more overwhelming -- like sun hitting icy snow.

Some of the detailing. The black-looking color is actually clear mirror chips embedded in the carvings.

A rainbow hidden in the fountains.

A view of the rear end of the building -- not quite as ornate as the front face.

The temple's been described as a winter wonderland. That's not too far off.

Construction not yet complete!

This ornate gold building is... the toilets!

And here we are, in front of a very life-like backdrop.

The temple had two cabinets packed full of (nicely sorted and stored) lost-and-found items.

Phaholyothin Road! This is our street! It continues straight up from Bangkok, all the way through Chiang Rai to the border with Burma.

I guess we're 828 km away from our apartment (the road starts at Victory Monument, and we're about 1km above that).

On Saturday night, a family enjoys dinner outside their old traditional home. I hope they're not outside because the house can't support them all at once.

We were lucky to be directed to a HUGE walking street that happens on Saturdays.

This crate full of chirpers...

...were about to meet their demise, for a less-than-appetizing cause.

Thai-style sushi is another hot-seller.

These lanterns were put up as part of a "Celebrate Chaing Rai's special things" festival.

Glowing lanterns from below.

Mr Scarecrow wasn't enjoying the event nearly as much as we were.

Some local schoolchildren do a traditional dance. The boys were most enthusiastic.

A sea of crocheted cacti. Cute!

The main walking street goes off into the horizon... as far as the overhead lanterns hang.

Standard Thai souvenirs, but at 1/3 the price as in touristy Bangkok!

These coconut rats look creepily life-like.

Chaing Rai's famous clock tower, another piece designed by Chalermchai Kositpipat, our friend who did the White Temple.

Not sure if this contraption really helps the rider, or hinders him (with added resistance).

Live music mixed in among the stalls of the walking street.

Vendors selling chocolate fondu (oh sorry, fondooz) by the stick.

An interesting snack: rice flour and sesame seed patties, barbecued and folded in half with sweet sesame paste inside.

Thai take on a familiar Japanese snack. Many fillings: red bean, chocolate, vanilla custard, fruity jams, etc.

Lots and lots of hand-made Angry Birds!

The townspeople enjoy themselves with song after song of Thai dancing. They know all the moves!

A creepy HUGE moth that looks like a terra cotta wall hanging... but is really just a creepy moth.

Exciting sunday morning breakfast buffet -- need that coffee.

One of the two giant rain trees (Albizia saman) around which the resort was designed.

More views of the resort. Our room's one of the ones in the background, on the top floor.

They have a pretty sizable, green property. I guess the rain serves them well.

A view upriver from the hotel, with mountains in the background. The river flowed surprisingly quickly.

A shot of the poolside, artificial pond, and the other giant rain tree around which the resort was designed.

Design not too shabby.

The three-tiered infinity pool. We'd return later.

Now we're at the Mae Fah Luang Art and Culture park, which was originally founded in the 70s as the office of the Thai Hill Crafts Foundation.

Lots of welcoming creatures all over the large property.

Before we even arrived at the first pavilion, we were greeted by a friendly duck couple.

Elephants line the entrance to the Golden Pavilion, a building the people of Chiang Rai built and presented as a gift to the Princess Mother to celebrate her 84th birthday.

It looks like they didn't originally use any nails or screws -- only wooden pegs and clever joints to hold the large structure together.

Inside (where no photos were allowed) there were ornate candelabras from provinces throughout Thailand.

A shot of the entire Golden Pavilion. The architecture was especially stunning from the inside: one giant, open room.

Some (creepy) totem poles carved out of teak.

Another pavilion...

... that housed a *really* long table!

Detailed woodwork on one of the pieces inside the pavilion.

Blending in with the locals?

Little mounds of freshly swept grass were scattered across the lawns.

A famous statue of the Princess Mother (who founded this park).

The entire property was like a well-groomed jungle.

Some of the trees looked like they were straight out of an oil painting!

Some neat leaves.

Another mothy friend.

Two jungle spirit houses, now one with nature.

A creepy pattern of bite marks. Who made these??

A giant teak tree root!

The frame of a traditional Lanna-style pavilion roof.

More really ornate columns (I guess they're not called totem poles in Thailand).

Another large pavilion, this one used for events.

Isn't the interior woodwork mesmerizing?

There's a large pond on the property of this park, and more mountains in the background.

A cute teak staircase.

The next big pavilion is dedicated to teak wood, carvings, and traditional everyday products.

Here, a display comparing all the different types of wood traditionally used in Thailand (not just teak).

Inspecting the age of this former teak tree.

One of the many rooms comprising the pavilion.

A golden wall decoration.

As you can see from the placard, it's a teak hand-cranked water lifting contraption.

And in the background, a spoon made specially for papa bear.

A coin-separating tray that seems clever, but all the slots look the same size to me!

An ornate bed headboard and footboard, plus some other furniture and a doorway carving.

This is a coffin that was donated to the museum after used in the funeral! What devotion by the family.

This is a very clever wash board -- the user sat on the mouse's back.

A contraption for writing scripture, which seems way more complex than it needed to be.

Some old teak instruments. Think they still work?

"Please take your seat." Okay!

Another ornately carved log...

...that's definitely not PG-13 if you look closely.

An army of elephants in the garden.

More giant teek roots. Again, kind of creepy!

Another Thai "totem pole".

One of the giant pavilions, as reflected across the pond.

Some bananas or 30?

Really quite a giant bunch of bamboo!

A little teak farm behind the museum.

And our friends the ducks again, haven't gone far since we passed them the first time.

They're curious to check out this stranger from the south!

Not interested in this person, though. She shows too much interest in them. They gotta act cool.

And off they go. Do they realize they can swim faster?

Wait, false alarm. Time to head back.

Back in town, we begin our temple tour.

This first temple is famous for its fat, happy Buddha.

Otherwise, it was just another temple in the middle of town.

A view of one of the town's central wet markets... covered, unfortunately for the photo.

Ahh... could buying limes be made any more difficult?

Ditto that for garlic.

And dried chilis, for that matter.

Cigars, anyone?

Another temple: Wat Phra Kaew, the original home to the emerald buddha (which is now housed at the Grand Palace in Bangkok).

This was probably the largest temple property in the city itself. Since the emerald buddha was moved to Bangkok, this temple was given a replacement.

Very ornate, and typical Lanna style.

Inside the first, ornate building are several buddha images, but not the replica emerald buddha.

There was a nice temple museum on the site.

Inside were lots of artifacts -- too plentiful to be on display elsewhere in the temple.

This buddha is made of Canadian jade.

Not sure what you call these long, kite-like hangings, but they're popular throughout northern Thailand.

The temple seems to raise turtles in a pond at the back.

This building in the rear is the one that houses the famed emerald buddha (replica).

Said emerald buddha (replica). You can get much closer to this one than you can to the one in Bangkok!

Enthusiastically gonging the gong.

Hmm. Do you think this place serves vegetarian food?

It was like eating lunch in someone's living room. Wait, it was someone's living room.

The shop owner did made-to-order, 100% vegetarian, dishes. Here, the stir-fried wide noodles.

And stir-fried basil with "beef" on rice. This dish was really good!

A peek into yet another temple, as we walk by.

Note the details of the monkeys supporting the elephant, who's supporting some other large two-footed creature.

A mosque peeks out from behind some shophouses. Let's go find it.

And here it is: Darun Aman Mosque, the largest Mosque in Chiang Rai.

Here's a colorful steamed bun shop, with lots of interesting fillings (pumpkin, sesame, corn and coconut, etc.)

The famous clock tower during the day (complete with touristy tuk tuk).

And the more underwhelming clock tower up the street, which hasn't won any accolades itself.

Another shop really likes to advertise its vegetarian cuisine.

After an exhausting day on the town, can't help but collapsing into a nap once returning.

Down at the pool for a late-afternoon swim.

Luckily, pool water's never too cool in Thailand.

Nice design and nice view for this pool.

The deck faces the river.

Not a shabby place to relax and read.

Writing some postcards, before I get too lazy about it.

Sunset over Chiang Rai (whose average elevation is 580m, apparently).

Tonight for dinner, a relaxing meal on the balcony. Not quite room service.

Dishes made freshly for us by our vegetarian lady earlier that afternoon. Too bad we didn't have a microwave in our room.

On Monday morning, another shot of one of the rain trees. Hopefully that tall foreigner gives you a sense of just how large the tree really is!

If only it were a little thicker, it'd make a perfect battle shield.

It was drizzling all morning.

Waiting out the downpour on the balcony, and following the Emmys online.

Beached whale! Getting in some laps before checking out.

Giving the rusty stroke its annual tune up.

And we're off to check out the temples that we haven't seen yet.

Here's Wat Jet Yod, famous for its seven-spired chedi.

It also has a rather large buddha.

This temple dog couldn't contain himself; the itchy back just got the better of him.

Ornate door at the entrance to the temple.

Have to say, the seven-spired chedi (the namesake of the temple) was a bit underwhelming.

And Wat Phra Singh. Can you read the text below?

This chedi is far more impressive than the one at the previous temple.

The entryway to the temple is very minimalist -- the Nagas have been replaced by a lotus-like spiral.

Dew on an assortment of lily pads.

Chiang Rai's train library! Every city worth its name has a train library.

Unfortunately, this one is closed on Mondays.

Lunch at yet another vegetarian restaurant. Starting to wonder if it's some kind of cult or something.

They still use pedicabs in Chiang Rai... but the drivers of most look to be as old as the tradition!

This street, just outside the town center, is lined with beautiful old trees that shade the sidewalks nicely from the sun.

Here's the subtle entrance to Wat Phra That Doi Chom Thong, which sits on the top of a hill. You have to work to visit this temple.

The entrance is in need of a small touch-up.

But it's always protected by a family of hens and roosters.

The temple itself looks, well, just like all the others!

But this one has some handsome dogs guarding it. (Actually, she's a handsome female.)

The dogs know where it's coolest, even if it's with the buddha.

The temple did afford a nice view. (That's not a painting on the back wall of the hut!)

Between us and that mountain is... a golf course.

Giant lotuses hold reminders of that morning's rainstorm.

The site is also home to the City Pillar, which is home to the city spirit deity.

This site is also the belly button of the city.

Here's Overbrook Hospital, founded in 1903 by a missionary in Chiang Rai.

We found a nice little ice cream shop, with home made Thai-style ice cream and coffee.

We both tried the young coconut flavor, and used the break to see what we had left to see before departing.

Completing our unintentional tour of places of worship, here's a church.

The Chiang Rai First Church was built in 1914. Was it the first?

Hmm. Can we really buy our Christmas tickets here?

While killing time before our flight, we stop to put up our tired feet for half an hour.

Last dinner in Chiang Rai, back at the first vegetarian restaurant we found. (They'd managed to completely re-arrange their shop between our two visits.)

Back at the airport, this cut-out has some serious proportion issues.

The airport is still waiting for its first international departure... but when it happens, they'll be ready!

While waiting for our flight, testing out the new Ford Fiesta. Not bad.

Thai Airways' flight to Bangkok departs from the LH door. Air Asia's flight to Bangkok departs on the right. And ladies and gentlemen, that's it for the airport.