Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai

Saturday, February 26, 2011
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai Feb.26

The drive today was across the mountains, but before we actually left Chiang Rai, we stopped to see Wat at Rong Khun, the White Temple . It is artistically different from all other temples in Thailand. It was built entirely by the Thai artist, Ajarn Chalermchai, who began the construction about 12 years ago. I'm not sure that words can adequately describe the architecture and decoration of this place and the details of the murals may not be obvious from the photos, but seeing it in person is very powerful, from the beauty and peace surrounding Lord Buddha to the demons representing the unwholesome thoughts of humans, and the suffering of souls in hell, blending both the ancient and the contemporary.

Our next stop was at a rice factory, where the rice grains were separated from their hulls and then polished and sorted. Some of the rice is ground into rice flour and the rest is bagged and sold. Nothing is wasted, the hulls were traditionally used for feeding pigs, but now that its food value is recognized, it is being used in some human food. When we reached the outskirts of Chiang Mai, we stopped for lunch in a private home that provides meals for OAT groups . The home is very contemporary and constructed entirely of concrete. It is beautiful in its simplicity and we enjoyed the meal and playing with the two month old puppy.

After lunch we had two stops in Chiang Mai before reaching our hotel. The first was an umbrella factory, where paper, cotton, and silk umbrellas are made and hand decorated. It was amazing how quickly the workers could produce beautiful things. Our final stop before the hotel was the Gems Gallery, which claims to be the world’s largest jewelry store. After learning about sapphires and rubies, we were given a tour of the workshops, where we watched craftsmen carve jade, design gold settings, and set some amazing stones. Then it was on to the showroom, where the real fun began. I knew what I was looking for, and made my selections very quickly, but some of the group had more trouble deciding and that gave me time to look at some very large and elaborate pieces of jewelry. While it was beautiful, and completely beyond my budget, I could console myself with the thought that it really didn’t suit my lifestyle and was totally inappropriate for walking in the mall or drinking wine at Donna’s.

It was a long but productive day, but felt good to get to the hotel and make it an early night, because tomorrow we leave early for our trip to the elephant camp.

Photos & Videos

Comments

maryleabyrd
2011-03-01

this is crazy! The pictures uploaded, but my blog won't post.

maryleabyrd
2011-03-01

Switched from IE to Google Chrome and finally got text posted. Now to get some other entries written.

2025-02-07

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