28 march 2015 (Saturday)
on our second day, we are headed to the famous golden triangle near chiang rai. the trips there will take about four hours and our journey started on 7am (john, our guide even requested a 'wake up' call for us, so we didn't overslept!). the journey doesn't felt long or even tiring since we made a few stops along the way.
at around 8:30 am, we arrived at our first stop which is the thaweesin hot spring. if i'm not mistaken and heard correctly from john's explanation, this hot spring was man made in order to boost the economy in the area. it is the highest hot spring in Thailand and could be seen from the roadside. the hot springs has a constant temperature of 95 degrees centigrade and it is 178 meters deep. Its geyser height could reach as high as 37 meters.
you could dip your feet into the water if you want to. it's free. honestly, the water was very warm and my feet turned pink in less than a minute after I soaked them. done soaking, we walked around the area to appreciate its beauty. you also could buy different types of eggs that were boiled in the spring. and there are a lot of souvenir shops as well.
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| the eggs are put inside the basket while boiling |
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| spurting geyser as the background |
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| let's do some 'feet sinking' |
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| souvenir shops selling variety of merchandise |
we continued or journey for another two hours and arrived at our next destination, the white temple or known to the local as wat rong khun. "
Wat Rong Khun is a unique temple that stands out through the white color and the use of pieces of glass in the plaster, sparkling in the sun. The white color signifies the purity of the Buddha, while the glass symbolizes the Buddha’s wisdom and the Dhamma, the Buddhist teachings." (source:
renown travel) but due to the earthquake on 5 may 2014, the temple was damaged and restoration is in progress. we are considered lucky for we could enter the main building since the restoration hasn't started yet.
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| behind us is the ubosot, the main building of the temple |
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| the bridge, the lake and the building |
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| wishing well, your wish will come true if your coin fall into the bowl in the middle of the well |
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| the golden building a.k.a the restroom |
one and a half hour later, around 12 noon, we visited the long neck village. the village started about 20 years ago. there are five hill tribe villages with more than 200 villagers living on this mountain; Akha, Iu Mien (Yao), Lahu (Muser), Palong (Big earring) and
long neck (Kayan) tribe. we were welcomed by several children selling handmade bracelets.
as we walked further into the village, we saw their small living huts powered with solar panels. some of them are preparing lunch. after the huts, we came into the stalls area. the stalls sold several types of souvenirs, some handmade and some imported (factory made). the stalls are handle by local women. you could also see them weaving scarfs there.
according john, they started wearing the brass around the neck (some even wear them on hands and feet) from the age of five. the rings are added annually. and once a year, during their new year celebration, they would open the brass rings to clean them. you could help their economy by either buying the merchandise or by donating.
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| one of the small but still cosy hut |
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| powered by solar panels |
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| our guide, john is explaining about the 'long-neck' to us |
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| picture of the women without the brass rings |
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| with one of the long neck woman (according to john, she appeared in national graphics episode regarding the long-neck tribe) |
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| weaving in process |
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| merchandise sold |
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| and this is how I helped the economy (well, sort of ^_^) |
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beautiful weaved scarves (I bought the 3rd one from the left)
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to be continued in day 2( part II)...
