#HakkaLimsRnRInThailand2017 - Day 4

Day 4 itinerary:

5.15am - leave hotel 

6am - Sunrise at Wat Phra That Dou Suthep Temple

9am - Breakfast at local eatery

Rest of day - Free and Easy

6pm - Khantoke Dinner and Northern Style Dancing Show

Sunrise-Posing for IG-kind-of photo

Most of us would had watch sunrise elsewhere before this trip.  I wasn't expecting anything spectacular, but the fun and refreshing part was doing it with this "new" group.

We arrived at the location at the foot of the temple at about 6am.  From here, we can opt to either take the cable car up or climb a fleet of 300 odd steps of stairs to the temple.     

6:08 am - start of climb

We gathered at a open terrace, which had the view of the city and the brightening eastern horizons.  I bought a lotus flower along the way up (for presenting at the temple), and used it to take some shots.  

6:17 - 6:21

6:24 - 6:31

From 6.15 to 6.45, we took various photos while waiting.  At 6.46, we finally see that it's happening.

6:32 ; 6:46

Clockwise from TopRight: 6:46 - 6:47 - 6:49 - 6:50

In less than 10 mins, the sun was up and sitting nicely on the horizon.
6:51 - 6:54

Time to let our creativity flow!
6:55

Hah, this was the fun part.   The 3 of us had done jump shots at 2 locations already, so this time around, we decided to do the back view.  Suddenly Uncle Sk stepped in without saying anything.  We were able to get a rather nice shot (the one in the middle) of the 4 of us in the air.  After the shots, we were all exclaiming, that he must had been itching to join in for long liao, hoping that we will invite him to, but when we still didn't "zi-dong", he decided to just crashed the party!

7O'clock

After this, we toured the temple.  Tourists and locals who visit the temple will buy vegetarian food from outside and give alms to the monks here.  When the locals do this, they kneel to the monks.    We (the tourists) do so standing.  Still, most of us felt weird-out!

We left before it was even 8am.  See photo of the steps that we climbed up at 6am, looking so pretty in colours.

7:45

We requested that the guide recommend a local breakfast place.  She took us to this very crowded place call Joke Sompet Restaurant that served very good porridge.  There were both locals and tourists at this place.  It was so popular that their dim sum were all sold out by 9am!

Hot afternoon in Chiangmai

It was "free and easy" day after breakfast.  All of us rested in the hotel until lunch time.  As we didn't plan for any whole-group activity, the 3 of us went for lunch at the nearby IT mall.  While browsing at the mall, I casually mentioned that we could look for photo printing service to give a few hard copy print out to the old folks more traditional folks, like my mum and Uncle SK; I think they like memorabilia.   We found one such shop, which require us to upload the photos to their website.  Here, WK and Lynn connected their phone to the mall's free WIFI via their Facebook account.  The uploading was problematic, but eventually we manage to print quite a few pieces.  

While connected and accessible to WhatsApp, we realised that some of them at the hotel were going for massage, so we headed back to join them.  But we missed them, and thus decide to join WS, who was out checking out trendy cafes.  She read up recommendations before the trip, and choose to visit one which was a 10mins walk from our hotel.  She took a video of it (the deco) to send to us (below).  It was a hot afternoon, and the walk took us about 15mins.  I find the coffee so-so, but maybe I was feeling too hot from the walk.  And it was warm in the cafe.  Maybe it was a Tuesday afternoon and we were the only customers, so the shop was saving electricity bills?

Hacked!:

We went back to the hotel close to 5pm, to freshen up and prepare to go for dinner-cum-performance.    At the hotel, Wk noticed something amiss with his FB account.  Turned out that his account had been hacked, when logging into the free WIFI at the mall!  He went to the hotel lobby to get the guys there to do some translation for him, and took back control by getting his password changed.  Then he checked Lynn's FB, which sure enough was hacked too.  We were late going to dinner, but both of them managed to have their problem resolved successfully.  

The next day in the van, we all shared experiences of hacks and security setting.  I joked with them that I'm the only "smart" one who had never been hacked before.  At the mall, I didn't want to use my FB account to get access to free WIFI, so I gave the excuse (to WK and Lynn) that I don't remember my password.  Truth was while I know my password, I don't remember my log in email/user, haha!  I resist using FB to register for other stuff, not because I know the danger of being hacked, but due to other inconveniences, like receiving advertisements, notifications, updates and recommendation.  I practice good security by not linking FB with IG or blog.  

Cultural performance for the family:

I remember that years ago, when I was still rather young (secondary school maybe?), I watched a cabaret show during a Thailand trip with mum and grandma.  Grandma didn't understand why everyone seemed so keen to take photo with the performers.  Although pretty, they were not international stars, she said.  I had to explain to her that these really beautiful "girls" were males.  

Anyway, I don't know how or why (i didn't ask), this trip there's no Ah-Kuah show.  Maybe it's not popular in Chiangmai or maybe it was not recommended for family?

This night we wore casual smart, to a Khantoke Dinner with cultural dance performances.   Khantoke dinner is the customary northern Thai style of eating food served in large platters at low tables while being seated on mats on the floor.  

The food was good, the place and setting and performances up to expectation too.  This was WL's last activity with us on this trip, as he would be heading for the airport the next morning.  I had enjoyed the trip tremendously up to this point, probably due to the company I was with :).  

#HakkaLimsRnRInThailand2017 - Day 3

Day 3 itinerary:
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!

#HakkaLimsRnRInThailand2017 - Day 2

Day 2 itinerary:

9.30am - Mekong river Long tail boat ride

10am - Laos (tourist) market

11.45am - Mae Sai

1.30pm - Lunch

--

3.30pm - Garden

6.00pm - Dinner by the Mekong

A brief geography of Golden Triangle (by a city girl): 

I requested to start day 2 later, at 9am.  The previous night, I felt exhausted when we were traveling by road from Chiangrai Airport/night market area to our hotel.  It took more than an hour.  It (the hotel) is located at the famous "Golden Triangle", which is an area where 3 countries - Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, being separated only by a river, had a rich history of illegal opium production and trade.  When we approached our destination in the dark, we were traveling on a road running parallel to the Mekong river on our right.  On the opposite bank of the Mekong river is Laos.

It must be due to excitement, we woke up early.  Thus we had plenty of time to eat breakfast, and to take in the beautiful views of Mekong river by the terrace outside the hotel cafe.  

It was a cooling and slightly misty morning, thus the photos turned out greyish.  See the photo below, all 3 countries are in it: where I stand is Thailand, to the right (top) is Laos, and to the top (starting from the small island right in the middle and then moving into the left) is Myanmar.  

Later when I google-mapped the area, I learnt that the rivers - Ruak (curvy one) and Mekong - run like the letter "Y", and thus the 3 countries form a triangle:

I learnt that Uncle SK got a camera as a long service award gift from his company about a year back, and had since been going around SG to take photos of places, such as Orchard Christmas Light up.  That morning at the hotel, we were roaming around taking photos, and I took a (very rare) photo of us.   

Ha, pokemon go just released Gen 3, so we had AR on, with backdrop of the Mekong.  

Mekong river - Long Tail boat ride - Special Economic zone - Laos market:  

We gathering at the lobby at 9am, where Lynn played on it's piano (will post on day 3).  Took a 5 mins van ride to "Golden Triangle Park" where there's a special immigration arrangement for tourists who take long tail boat ride to go to Laos.  We do not need to clear immigration at Laos; instead we hand over our passports to the Thai immigration office there, and retrieve them when we come back.

Boarding at Thailand; Golden Buddha statue in the background  

Took a photo of a passing boat, similar to ours.

A very nice group photo!

First, we go north thus Laos was on our right, and soon, Myanmar was on our left.  The tour guide explained that now we only see grass land, as there are no more poppy (opium plant) fields.  There are short buildings here and there, and they are mainly immigration buildings or hotels/casinos for the tourism industry.

Then we turned around and headed south.  On the Laos side, there's a sign board to mark the "Golden Triangle special economic zone", where there are casino and hotel development.

After about 30 minutes in the boat, we stopped and boarded at Laos, and visited a tourist market.  We spent an hour there, where Lynn got a souvenir and a few of them got "cheap n nice" backpacks.  We also got to experience the large throng of Chinese tourist, and how locals learn to speak Mandarin to cater for the biggest spenders.

When we turned back towards Chiangrai, we saw that Thailand is much more developed.  Here's a church, in the predominantly Buddhist country.

Finally we landed, and the tour guide requested that we clasped our palm in respect when taking the photo with the Buddha statue.

The lesser known Ruak river:

Afterwards, we visited another famous border, the Mae Sai checkpoint, which is the north most part of Thailand.  Here, across a bridge (over Ruak River) to the top is Myanmar.   The bustling market place here is an authentic local market, with grocery and necessities (7-11 too) along side souvenir shops.

[Day 2 afternoon continues on an earlier post below]

#HakkaLimsRnRInThailand2017 - Day2 (Con't)

After lunch, we took a half hour journey uphill, to visit Mae Fah Luang Garden, which is part of the Doi Tung Development project.   The patron of this project was the late Her Royal Highness Princess Srinagarindra, the grandmother of the present King of Thailand.  The garden is next to the villa which was her last residence.   The history of this place: http://www.thaiwaysmagazine.com/thai_article/30-12_doi_tung/doi_tung.html.

Groggy afternoon, around 3pm, at the back row of our 11 seater van:

Near the entrance to the garden:

It was a beautiful place, and also a beautiful day.  There were locals in traditional costumes visiting the place, and there were performances too.  Of course I took lots of photos of the place and the flowers, but here, I shall post pictures of us mainly.

Bird's-eye view or "apple" view:

Traditional dance performance; the girls had beautiful smiles.


Pretty and colourful pictures:

Chio Bu-s!

Chio Bu-s too!

And here we did our first jump shots!

Imitations, ha!


We left at about 5pm, and headed back to a restaurant across our hotel, beside the Mekong river, for dinner.  A lousy picture of the Mekong from inside the restaurant; but we had a great day learning some history of our neighbour countries:

A dream come through - #HakkaLimsRnRInThailand2017

This December school holidays (i.e. 2017), I went on a Mum's-side-extended-family-trip (the Lims) to Thailand Chiangrai and Chiangmai.  Had wanted to do such a trip for a long time, so it's finally a dream come true.  

Family members and dynamics:

Mum has 5 siblings.  Including herself, 3 are married and 3 are single.  From this group, there are 7 children, which are me and my cousins.  3 of us are married, and only 3 grandchildren, i.e. Lynn and her 2 cousins.  Thus, including the spouses, we are an extended family of 22.

The Lim extended family consists of members who do not not fancy such bonding.  The classic example is my Dad.  Other than CNY (when my grandparents are still around) and weddings, he was hardly at the Lim families' gatherings and occasions.  My sister and her family also seldom join in our events.  Thus, each year's CNY eve reunion dinner, the core group are the rest, which is about 16-17. 

Previously, the Lim siblings and my 2 cousins had been on trips organised by the Hakka Clan association to China together.  I resist such (cultural) trips with big bunch of elderly folks, so I did not join them.  

For this trip, we tried "jio" everyone (except my dad) to go.  Uncle Eric & family, eldest Uncle and wife, and Jayne (my cousin-in-law) couldn't join in.   Not surprising, Yin & family did not join us either.  Eventually, its 9 of us, fun loving and sporting ones who went!  Not as large a group as I hoped to achieve, but still my first attempt, and a wish come true for me! 

The 9 of us were my mum, 2 aunts and 1 uncle, 3 of us (Yaps) and siblings Wee San & Wee Loon (my cousins).

Having known each other for "a lifetime", we know each others' "pattern".  There are the rubber-time, the perpetual late comers, the very troublesome, etc.  Like every families (trips), we had little dramas here and there, but nothing major.  Shall write about some of these along the way, cos these are what make the (so-traveled-CR/CM) trip uniquely ours! 

Day 1 itinerary:

9am: Meet at Changi T4

Flight: SG to Bangkok (transit) to Chiangrai

4pm: Arrived at Chiangrai airport

6pm: Dinner at Chiangrai night market

9pm: Check in at Imperial Golden Triangle Resort

Departure from SG, 9 Dec:

WS and I conducted a briefing a week before our departure for the group, but some didn't turn up, some were late or physically-here-but-mentally elsewhere.  Sign..     

On the morning of the trip, 8 of us went in 2 cabs from TPY.  We agreed during the briefing to be at the airport exactly 2 hours before the flight's departure time, so that everyone had ample time to check in together (in order to pool the baggage allowance), then explore the new terminal and eat breakfast.  I was taken aback when the first "incident" occured at this first event, which was to receive a last minute request in the morning, to reach the airport earlier.  Sign..  I had a family (including my mum) to manage that morning; alarm clocks and schedules were already set in motion the night before, so I declined the request.  In order to have more time to explore the airport, the other group decided to eat breakfast at home, and was thus late to the airport.  We had to wait for them to do the check in together, thus we had only time to eat breakfast and nothing much else (while they explored).  I kept up my good spirit (although I did complain to WS the impact of their decision on us), mainly having expected such things to happen.   Luckily, the rest of trip (except day 6) were quite on time, credit to Aunt Cindy I was told (will elaborated further on). 

Changi T4:

The first of many group photos to come:
WK, Aunt YY, Uncle SK, Mum, Me, Lynn, WS, Aunt Cindy.  Wee Loon took a different flight and was scheduled to reach Chiangrai airport 1 hour after us.

 

We transited at Bangkok DMK airport.  We thought that the transit time (1hr 40m) was comfortable, but it turned out to be a big rush.  It was a 15-20m walk from the arrival (international) terminal to the domestic terminal.  At the domestic terminal, we had to go through immigration (arrival in Thailand), but only one lane was in operation.  We had to grab sandwiches before we board our flight to Chiangrai.  Based on this experience, we should have ordered meals (lunch) on this leg of flight.  

A picture of the 3 cousins, after waiting for WL for one hour at Chiangrai airport.  

From the airport (at about 5pm), we proceeded to Chiangrai's only night market to settle our dinner.   Lynn ate crepe and I bought a (cheap and nice) papaya at the night market.  Eventually, everyone decided to settle for a sit-down, restaurant dinner instead.  We then took our final (1hr-car) journey for day 1, from here to the far end of Chiangrai, and checked in at a beautiful resort hotel along the Mekong river (>9pm).   Oh yes, at Chiangrai airport and at our hotel, Lynn and I played pokemon-go!

Wee San created a hash tag for our trip: #HakkaLimsRnRInThailand2017.