We arrived at the cute Chayadol Boutique Resort on the outskirts of Chiang Rai and were pleased with our comfortable accommodation. A small pool was a blessing as the weather was very hot. Sightseeing is a real treat in this part of Thailand and there are Temples and Pagodas in abundance. Chiang Rai is quieter than its big sister Chiang Mai but the super friendly Thai locals make every visitor feel very welcome.
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| Golden Clock Tower Chiang Rai |
Chiang Rai
The Night Market is excellent and and a large open air restaurant in the centre faces a good size stage. Locals of every age sing, dance and entertain the crowds for free and it is a real treat to watch the show while eating.
A walk around the elaborate golden Clock Tower before returning to the hotel helped burn off a few calories. The Clock Tower was built in 2008 to honour the King and stands as a landmark in the centre of Chiang Rai. It has a sound and light show every evening at 8pm and was designed by the same artist who built the famous White Temple.
The Black Museum
Next day we decided to visit the Black Museum or Baan Dam which our taxi/guide said was a must see. We drove the half hour or so to this amazing complex. Built by a Thai artist Thawan Duchanee to house his works, the forty or so traditional Thai Teak buildings also contain the skulls and skins of dead animals alongside intricate works of art creating a most unusual, thought provoking and eerily beautiful complex.
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| Thai architecture at the Black Museum |
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| The Black Museum complex houses beautiful artworks |
The White Temple
After our Black Museum day we then decided to go all white – and visit the amazing WhiteTemple of Wat Rong Khun. Built and paid for by Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, this fascinating and incredibly beautiful place also contains some eerie reminders of the fragility of life and death.
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| The Magnificent White Temple |
Constant reminders of the dangers of living a bad life and the evils that can bring. There is even a picture inside the main temple depicting 9/11 and George W Bush to warn us of the horrors of war!
Thai people love to share good luck and also to remember their ancestors, In the gardens there are several stunning large white and silver trees made from thousands of Bodhi leaves with hand written messages on each. For a tiny donation you can buy one and write a personal message and it will be hung on one of the trees. Chiang Rai was certainly turning out to be a very special place!
Monk Chat
After a few days sightseeing, one day we decided
to take an early morning walk to a beautiful temple
not far from our hotel.
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| The White Temple |
While there we happened upon two young monks who were eager to practise their English in return for answering our questions about Buddhism and the daily life of the monks. During the course of our long chat we asked Ben and Chan if there was anywhere we could go for a few days to learn meditation. Ben said he had a friend who may be able to help. We were also invited to celebrate Buddha Day at Chiang Rai and duly arrived at 7 am the following day for this very special occasion. As we were were the only non Asians there, the beaming locals welcomed us with open arms and we were given VIP seats at the top of the temple for the entire ceremony.
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| Ready for instruction |
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| Two novice monks have their heads shaved for ordination |
Family and friends arrived for the celebration and a happy procession followed the newly ordained monks for their first prayers at the hilltop overlooking the Golden Triangle.
Wat Phrathat Pha Ngao, Chiang Saen
We returned again the next day and were told that Monk Somsack and his abbot had invited us to stay for five days and would give us personal instruction. We were thrilled to get this very special invitation and knew we were in for a very unique experience.
We arrived to the temple with our luggage and
were delighted to find that we would be accompanied by four monks and a temple-boy who would take us Chiang Saen, the nearest town to the monastery by local bus. We arrived at the bus station in central Chiang Rai and were helped on by the monks who also insisted on paying our fares. This was much to the amusement of locals on the bus who were intrigued by the sight of two middle aged western women being looked after by four monks and their assistant!
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| Golden Triangle Mekong River - Laos, Myanmar and Thailand |
Following a two hour bus trip from Chiang Rai we arrived at Chiang Saen and then took a couple of TukTuks to the Wat Phrathat Pha Ngao six kilometers away. I will forever remember the hilarious sight when the two TukTuk drivers decided to have a race while the monk's robes flapped in the wind alongside us. When we eventually arrived at our destination we were met by Somsack and we all went together to investigate the incredible complex of Wat Pha-Ngao.
The Temple and monastery is a community based around the one thousand three hundred year old statue of the Buddha recovered from the site some years ago.
The Golden Triangle
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| 1300 year old Buddha at Chiang Saen |
Two kilometres uphill stands Doi Jan a magnificent white Chedi which overlooks the famous Golden Triangle. The Mekong River flows below with stunning views of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos all visable and stretching for miles in all directions. Our afternoon was spent walking and chatting with the monks. They loved to hear about our lives at home, our families, our beliefs and what our country looked like. We discussed history, religion, culture, food, travel, life and death... no topic was off limits and we felt they enjoyed the chat just as much as we did. They were funny and joked just like any young people from anywhere in the world.
Our daily routine began early next morning. At 4 am a gong sounded to waken the sleeping monks and nuns. Chanting began at 4.30 in the Shrine Room and lasted around an hour. The centre was then cleaned and everyone assigned their own jobs. Our job was street cleaning and dressed in all white, we joined in the therapeutic swishing of brooms twice every day. Concentrating on the job in hand is an excellent way to practise mindfullness and time passed surprisingly quickly!
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| Feeling welcome at the Temple |
Breakfast was a very welcome sight at 7.30 and local cuisine was an interesting combination of rice dishes, vegetables, fruit and meat. Then came our individual tuition. Somsack was a cheery and very helpful young man who was delighted to answer any of our questions. He helped us practise relaxation and mindfulness and gave us lots of help with any problems we encountered. One day when the Shrine Room was in use he borrowed the key to the Buddhist Scripture Room where texts from many different countries were stored in wooden carved sarcophagi. We felt like very privileged visitors to be allowed to spend time in this very special place.
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| Overlooking the mighty Mekong River |
Lunch was served every day at 11am and this would be the last food we would eat until breakfast the following day. We expected this to be tougher than it was and when the body is not expecting food it adjusts quite well and surprisingly does not get as hungry as expected. As the weather was very hot, drinking copious amounts of water probably helped too.The afternoons were spent working, learning and some free time to feed the giant carp and catfish in the lake. Evening was more meditation and chanting. By 9 pm bedtime was a timely respite.
Our second last day was another humbling experience when two novice monks became ordained. We had spent several days in their company where we had all, dressed in white chanted and meditated in the same prayer room together. The young men surrounded by many friends and family, went through the beautiful ceremony of ordination, had their heads shaved, and were given their brand new saffron robes and alms bowls. Their proud parents looked on as they struggled to fold their robes in the correct way and the wise older monks were on hand to help.
Our five days passed all too quick and and we left feeling that this would be another experience that would leave life long memory that would be hard to better.
