Bangkok Week 529 August 16, 2018 Back to the great Chiang Rai! View fullsize B2B or B2C? A business pun I'd never noticed before in Domestic Departures. View fullsize We're off to Chiang Rai, on Thai Smile! View fullsize Got our Jazz (it's like we never left Bangkok). View fullsize And we return to Le Meridien Chiang Rai; we were last here in 2011! View fullsize View from the balcony. View fullsize Pool, Pond and River. 3 bodies of water converge. View fullsize Touring the property after all these years. View fullsize My rain tree is still here and doing well. View fullsize What a nice property! View fullsize Spotted on the way to lunch next door: a creeping tree. View fullsize Lunch by the river. View fullsize Spotted in the wedding hotel's lobby: a high-tech departures board. View fullsize With the Man of the Hour. View fullsize The groom's "parade" starts outside the hotel - led by James and his father. View fullsize The engagement ceremony. View fullsize Quick costume change. View fullsize And back for the reception dinner! View fullsize Did we mention? The theme was Game of Thrones! View fullsize A grand entrance for the bride! View fullsize The next day, we're off to the Mae Fah Luang Foundation in Doi Tung. View fullsize Doi Tung elevation is about 1380m. View fullsize These giant leaves were the highlight of the park! View fullsize They'd make a great wallpaper. View fullsize Tall trees! View fullsize Our first stop is a tree-top walk. View fullsize It's similar to the one we did in WA -- but the bridges are suspended. View fullsize And they DO sway! View fullsize You're hooked onto a safety cable throughout the duration of the walk. View fullsize High above the jungle. View fullsize Group shot, thanks to our guide. View fullsize We were in the clouds! View fullsize Banana tree from above. View fullsize The rest of the Mae Fah Luang garden was a showcase of different types of plants. View fullsize I don't know what this is - but it was growing unattended, like a weed! View fullsize Flowers in the winter garden, spilling out of a basket. View fullsize A whole garden of "slipper orchids". View fullsize Like these ones... View fullsize ... and these ones. View fullsize A Bromeliad garden! View fullsize So many kinds of Bromeliads! View fullsize The centerpiece of the garden. View fullsize An important sculpture. But I forget who made it, or what it stands for. View fullsize Can you get the scale of these trumpet flowers? View fullsize Some perspective! View fullsize My leaves! View fullsize A tessellation. View fullsize Great views of the towns below. View fullsize Indeed, we were in the clouds. View fullsize Onto our next destination (via a very scenic drive!) View fullsize A great lunch view! View fullsize Can you guess where we are? View fullsize Myanmar and Laos -- as taken from Thailand. View fullsize Indeed, this is the Golden Triangle. View fullsize Good thing there's a triangle here to guide us. View fullsize Boat tours from the Thai side. View fullsize And an ornate Wat overlooking the area. View fullsize Pineapple poppers! Bite-sized pineapples! View fullsize We each ate, like, 4 pineapples on the drive back! View fullsize Final stop for the day: an organic tea plantation. View fullsize Rolling hills of tea, as far as the eye can see. View fullsize It's not a back drop -- honest! View fullsize They do the farming, harvesting and processing on site. View fullsize And they recently opened a tea shop for visitors. View fullsize Tea tea tea! View fullsize Tea -- under a dramatic sky. View fullsize Feeling thirs-tea? View fullsize Dinner at a house on the side of the river. View fullsize This guy owned the place! View fullsize Our favorite part about Chiang Rai? The Saturday evening dancing! View fullsize If the locals aren't dancing, at least they're watching the show! View fullsize The next morning: we seek shelter from the rain under the hotel's other big rain tree. View fullsize A quick trip to a little artist community. View fullsize There were Mothers' Day activities going on as well. View fullsize A tribute to the rescuers of the Wild Boars. View fullsize Avocados are all the rage up here! View fullsize Exhibits by local artists. View fullsize This gallery was showcasing the work of 3 Thai artists from their year in France. View fullsize Creative! (But sold already.) View fullsize Spotted at Chiang Rai International Airport: a "scale" model of the airport. View fullsize Turns out its undulating runway can accommodate A380s! View fullsize As can its giant terminal! View fullsize Check out the bustling departures lounge. View fullsize The largest Thai lounge in their portfolio. View fullsize What happens when you have an excess of orchids. (What a problem to have!) View fullsize I think someone got annoyed by economy passengers coming up to biz class!
