Bangkok Week 553 January 31, 2019 A relaxing weekend in (chilly) Chiang Rai! View fullsize The comparison we've all been waiting for! The NZD 20 vs. the CAD 20. (The relative sizes accurately reflects the relative values at the moment.) View fullsize Welcome to Chiang Rai... View fullsize ...where it's sweater weather! View fullsize Brr! Too cold to swim this trip! View fullsize Not a flowering tree... but a flowery vine that's taken over a tree! View fullsize How brilliant! View fullsize Inspecting the vines. View fullsize Enjoying the fancy features (read: portrait mode) of the new phone! View fullsize Buffet breakfast! View fullsize The gardener's hard work - on display already by 8:30am. View fullsize Welcome to Doi Tung! View fullsize Home of the large leaves. View fullsize Would make a great umbrella. View fullsize Ready for the tree walk + zip line! View fullsize Starting to rethink their decision! View fullsize And we're off! This isn't so bad. View fullsize The first real test of your mental prowess. View fullsize The bridges are the easy parts! View fullsize See, it's not so bad. View fullsize A long one. View fullsize Enjoying some respite on the stable platform. View fullsize Someone chose the bridge route... View fullsize ... while the others chose the zip line. View fullsize There she goes! View fullsize Holding her nose. View fullsize Show-off. View fullsize Just another day. View fullsize Beautiful orchids. View fullsize The individual flowers were really large. View fullsize Up-close with the trumpets. View fullsize Mini-grapes? View fullsize Mustached mum in a wheelchair. View fullsize Posing with the meerkats. I mean slipper orchids. View fullsize Bromeliads! View fullsize So excited to be here. View fullsize Our first sighting of the Nipple Fruit. View fullsize Enjoying the stroll atop Doi Tung. View fullsize Peeking into the garden from the top. View fullsize Yum. My favorite Chiang Rai snack. View fullsize My northern cousin. View fullsize Leaving Mae Fah Luang. View fullsize Aha! That's what those Nipple Fruit are for. View fullsize Don't forget to stop for some Human Maintenance Service on your way out. View fullsize Next stop: Choui Fong tea plantation. View fullsize A different view than when we were here last fall. View fullsize Enjoying the tea, and the view. View fullsize Group shot in the leaves. View fullsize More tea leaves! View fullsize Spot the tiny people! View fullsize Enjoying the last night of the Chiang Rai Flower Festival. View fullsize The dress I never knew I was missing! View fullsize Up-close-and-personal with the performers. View fullsize Enjoying the orchid filled tunnel-of-love. View fullsize Floral eye candy. View fullsize My favorite part of Chiang Rai! View fullsize The Saturday night dancing! View fullsize Dinner at James's favorite restaurant - Chivit Thammada. View fullsize Her beautifully-presented pineapple fried rice. View fullsize Cheese. View fullsize The house greeter -- all tuckered out from a long night. View fullsize Happy Birthday! View fullsize Face ID - still novel to us! View fullsize Breakfast, take 2. This time, outside. View fullsize Aww. View fullsize Countryside family portrait. View fullsize Chiang Rai's River Kok. View fullsize Tromping across the hotel's freshly-trimmed lawn. View fullsize Aww, now that's a nice portrait with the nature. View fullsize This caterpillar and tree trunk look more like a painting! View fullsize Inspecting the novel flowers. View fullsize That's more like it! View fullsize My little froggie friend! View fullsize The Haw Kham Pavillion - constructed in traditional Lanna architecture. View fullsize A nice statement. View fullsize On the nice, deep stairs. View fullsize Bridge over the water. View fullsize Mum, relaxing with her feline friend. View fullsize Intricate wood carvings. View fullsize These elephants are so life-like! View fullsize How intricate! View fullsize Looking out at the lotus pond. View fullsize Enjoying his antique wooden swing... View fullsize ... oblivious to the bee hive he was disturbing overhead. View fullsize Photogenic atrium inside the Haw Kaew. View fullsize Inspecting the different types of wood. View fullsize Visiting the Wat that originally housed the Emerald Buddha. View fullsize And which now houses a replica. View fullsize Watching all the fast-paced action! View fullsize Of these guys. View fullsize And now for something different: western vegan lunch. View fullsize Last attraction for the trip: the blue temple. New to us! View fullsize It's quite the tourist attraction. View fullsize But also unlike any other Wat we've visited before. View fullsize It uses blues, instead of typical reds and whites paired with gold. View fullsize I blend in, right? Just like a chameleon. View fullsize Above the entrance to the main temple building. View fullsize Inside the main building. The white Buddha stands out against the blue. View fullsize Ornate (blue) wall and ceiling paintings. View fullsize Good-bye, blue temple. View fullsize The swimmer in the group gets in some laps in the chilly water, before we leave. View fullsize No trip through Mae Fah Luang International Airport is incomplete without a stop at DQ! View fullsize N95 masks for sale in the lobby of Gateway. That's the state of affairs in Bangkok, folks! View fullsize A nicely-worded reminder from SQ. View fullsize Even Changi has immigration lines sometimes! View fullsize Guess what!? I got upgraded!! First time ever -- thanks, Thai Airways! View fullsize Posing with his birthday goblet from Malaka. View fullsize Din Tai Fung for dinner!
