We crossed the Friendship Bridge from Laos into Thailand on Tuesday the 13th of December. We spent one night in the sleepy riverside town of Chiang Khong. From where we stayed we could look across the Mekong River and see where we had just spent the night before.
The next day we took a two and a half hour bus to Chaing Rai. All windows and both doors were wide open the whole way. The lady collecting the money tied our backpacks to one of the seats to keep them from bouncing out the door. It was a hot and dusty ride as the driver stopped here and there picking up and dropping off people all along the way.
Chaing Rai is a nice small city in Northern Thailand. It has a relaxed atmosphere and is a great place to arrange excursions to more remote areas.
During our time there, we were able to Visit Wat Rong Khun, better known as the White Temple. It is surely one of the most unique temples in Thailand and probably one of the most bizarre pieces of architecture I have ever seen.
This modern creation was designed by artist Chalermchai Kositpipat in 1997. It blends traditional Buddhist imagery with modern art and pop culture. Although it has drawn criticism from some, it has become a major attraction in Northern Thailand.
The all-white building that represents Buddha's purity is incredibly detailed in its design. Once you enter the property you face a very unusal bridge. As you go over the bridge you see thousands of hands reaching out from the moat, which symbolize desire and envy. The way to happiness is by successfully crossing the bridge and foregoing temptation and greed. I am pleased to report we sucessfully crossed without incident and entered the main temple.
Here is where the real fun begins. Inside there are murals depicting characters like Superman, Michael Jackson and Harry Potter. One painting shows a plane hitting the Twin Towers as Spiderman and an Angry Bird look on.
There are many interpretations as to what it all means. One theory is, people should give up unnecessary fantasies and desires and turn to the path of purification and enlightenment. Others believe it is the artist's way of showing how Buddhism recognizes and accepts everything regardless of what or who it is and this includes characters like Elvis Presley and Kung fu Panda.
Seeing walls with peaceful Buddhist imagery along with images of nuclear warfare and oil pumps was certainly bizarre to say the least. Here we were faced with everything from calm, peaceful pictures and silly cartoons, to horrible images depicting the destructive impact humans have had on earth.
Maybe the message is to not spend too long focused on the bad when there is also so much beauty and fun in the world. I think Kung Fu Panda would agree with me.
We also visited a hill tribe refugee camp. Due to years of civil war and unrest in Myanmar there are actually many refugees in Thailand. Although it is good they have been allowed to stay in Thailand, they are unfortunately living a very restricted life. They are prevented from obtaining Thai citizenship, despite the fact that many have now been born in Thailand.
These lack of opportunities have confined some groups to small villages or camps separate from most of modern Thailand. Residents live in bamboo houses as they are not allowed to use permanent building materials. Many of them survive on traditional farming methods and selling handmade crafts to tourists.
The group we visited was the Karen. The Karen women are easily recognized for the brass rings worn around their necks. It is believed these rings were originally worn for protection against tiger bites to the neck. As time went by they became more about beauty, decoration and tradition.
These rings give them the apperance of having very long necks and over time the rings do depress the collar bones. Once they start wearing the rings, they generally stay on for life, as the number of rings increase. If the rings do need to be removed for medical reasons, they have to be cut with a special machine. Normally this isn't done because over the years their neck muscles weaken to a point they are actually needed to support the head.
As you can imagine, there are different opinions on the ethical issue of visiting a long neck hill tribe. On the one hand, this activity could be considered exploitive and human zoo like. On the other hand, there is no doubt these people do benefit by the income that is generated from the sale of their hand made crafts and it is wonderful that they have been able to live in a safe environment and keep some of their traditions alive.
Today many of the young Karen women are breaking with this tradition. It is a struggle to balance the old world with the new, especially when you are really stuck between both. It is estimated that the neck lengthening practice only has a few generations of life left. As for the future of these kind and gentle people it is really unknown.
We also spent time in Mai Sai, the most Northern point in Thailand with its main road leading to a bridge that crosses the Mae Nam Sai River and goes directly into Myanmar.
Very close to here is the Golden Triangle where there is a famous overlook. From here in Thailand we could easly see Myanmar to the west and Laos to the east.
Historically the Golden Triangle has been an area well-known for the growing of opium and it got its name in the 1970s because of the booming opium trade in the area. We spent some time in the Opium Museum and learned a little about the devastating impact opium trading has had on Southeast Asia.
After three nights in Chaing Rai it was time to move on again. On Saturday December 17th we took a four hour bus through the mountainous jungle to Chaing Mai.
Built over 700 years ago, the old city was once an entirely walled square surrounded by a moat. The moat still exists and within the old city there are many charming lanes that you can wander around. It is easy to get lost; however, if you walk long enough you will eventually come to a wall, a moat or a gate.
Chaing Mai has now expanded well outside the original walls and moat and has become Thailand's second largest city but it still only has a population of about 200,000 people.
The amazing thing about Chaing Mai is the fact there are over 300 Wats (Buddhist temples) and we spent our time here exploring as much as we could of the place that is known in Thailand as "the Rose of the North"
After four days of trying to squeeze in as much history and culture as possible we were ready for a rest. On December 21st we flew to Koh Samui and started our Christmas break.
After a little over a week here on Lamai Beach in Koh Samui I can most definitely say it has been a very relaxing break so far.......
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
No comments:
Post a Comment