8.15am - Check out
9.30am - Hill tribes villages
12noon - White Temple
1.30pm - Lunch
4.30 - Mae Kajan Hot Spring
6.30 - Arrived at Chiangmai city & Check in at Dusit Princess Hotel
7pm - Dinner/Night market
On the road again:
This morning, we were asked to factor in time for both breakfast and check out, so that we could leave the hotel at 8.30 sharp, for we had much to cover, and would be going south to Chiangmai.
As we gathered at the lobby, waiting for others, Lynn played at the grand piano. The hotel was quite strict about it's supplies, and aunt was asked to return the laundry bag and bedroom slippers that she took from the room.
Authentic tribal people in custom made villages:
That morning, we visited 2 places of interest in Chiangrai. Firstly, we visited the tribal villages. To my surprise, the place we went is actually a big area in the hills that houses a few different tribal villages. The most famous is the "Karen Long Neck" tribe, but there were also Akha, Lu Mien, and others. We walked a path that took us through all the villages. I realised that while these folks are authentic tribal people, this union of villages is a conscious effort (of the government or tourism industry) to house a few tribes in one site as tourist attraction and for conservation of culture.
Here our guide explained the history and some biology of the Long Neck Karen women. We walked through the villages, took photos, made some purchases and donations (tribal dance performances). Such visits never fail to leave strange and mix emotions.
White Temple:
We arrived at our last place of interest in Chiangrai close to noon. It was a very beautiful white temple, but it was swamped with tourists. I wonder if any locals really pray there? Here's the story about this temple: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Rong_Khun
But I must say, the temple made very good photos.
Ha, her "hood" was a detachable piece from my cardigan. It was hot, and she was without cap/sunglass/umbrella.
Our 2nd jump shot location!
A very smart breakpoint for a 3 hour journey:
We had late lunch, yummy Thai food, nearby, and left for Chiangmai at about 2.30. In the itinerary, we were to visit a hot spring (for foot) along the way. Turned out that this is such an intelligent way to break a 3 hours long journey into 2 parts. This place, Mae Kajan Hot Spring, is right along the way; no detour needed. Here, for those who dare soaked, others browsed the shops or just hang around for coffee and ice cream. After this hour-long break, we hit evening traffic in Chiangmai and finally reached out hotel slightly before 6.30. Here are some photos of the hot spring:
Below, the top 3 photos are at the hot spring. Bottom 3 are of dinner/night time at Chiangmai.
Our hotel Dusit Princess is at the heart of the city, with bazaar stalls lining the walkway along the street outside. As we had most of day 4 afternoon and night of day 5 for shopping, I (the Yaps) did not hit the night market this night. Most of the rest did, but not for long, as we had sunrise to catch the next morning!
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