N 116  Cheing Mai – Cheing Rai one day trip

I had been to Cheing Mai from Maesai( Thai – Myanmar border crossing ) by car passing through Cheing Rai, so this trip I took this time is not really a new one . But it also cannot be exactly the same, like the saying; U cannot cross a river twice as the water you are going to cross is not the water  you had crossed before. And the most significant difference here was  that the 2 trips were  not of the same directions but vice versa.

This time we were visiting Cheing Mai , staying for one week. We are a family of 6 and some haven’t been to Cheing Rai. So we hired a 10 seater and started off early as the trip would take the whole day.

 Before long our driver stopped at a place which we later learned it to be a resting place where we can get some foods and coffee. The place is amazing as it is on the bank of a small stream with falls and a bridge. Rocks are plentiful and they are used to decorate the banks and lawns and gardens which are perfect places to take photos.

But no  food was available except coffee and a few cakes made us disappointed. The shopkeepers said that it was still early that foods were not ready yet.There  are some other places in Cheing Mai like this where we cannot get food at early hours. Even at about 8 or 8:30 we cannot buy breakfast.  I thought why so industrious people like the Thais don’t open their food shops early, and my mind also wandered  back to our hometown where we can get breakfast even at about 6. What  do you want to eat? Noodle, or tofu, Sticky rice and crispy fritters: and teashops that sell all kinds of foods are all open early. So after some coffees and photos we departed from this scenic spot.

The road is perfect and smooth as all roads in Thailand though there are curves  and ups and downs in some places. We could see trees and wooded areas and plantations along the road. I have heard that Thailand takes care of its forests and preserve them well, so people cannot cut down trees as they wish.

Presently we came to a place called Mae Swai. I haven’t visited this place before. But as it is a place of worship the driver stopped the car for us to visit. As usual there is a golden shrine at its centre and many colorful ornate statues around it. On the left hand side  there is a man made garden complete with a small stream which is made to look like a hot spring  with a waterfall and flanked by trees and shrubs which is perfect to take photos. And then around the compound there are statues of Buddha and celestial beings, creatures and replicas of statues from around Asia.

Another place we visited was  Singha Park. This is a place I haven’t visited before. As soon as we went in we saw a big golden Singha ( lion ) situated prominently on a vast green lawn. We drove right to the viewing platform taking in nice views of tea plantations and pretty sceneries. I learned from Google that the park features flower gardens, lakes ,meadows, orchids and vegetable crops etc and that it is a place to relax  and enjoy fresh air. But to enjoy what the enormous park provide for us, even a whole day will not be enough . So we got onto the platform,enjoy the beautiful scenery , took some photos and left the park to visit another place.

The next place we visited was the Guan Yin Statue.  There is a trolley service to take people to the base of the statue  which is very beneficial for people who cannot walk up. And then an elevator built in the statue took us to the top where there are exquisite sculptures ( plaster I think ) and we can also take a good view of Cheing Rai and its surroundings.

And then the car took us to the Blue Temple. This place is also new to me. Like any other shrines and temples the handiwork of crafts are amazing. The hues and colors which adorned the whole structure are blue , so that this temple gets the name Blue Temple. We saw some tourists who are trying to take group photos in front of the great blue Buddha. Although the compound is not so big and not much to see it is also worth visiting.

It was getting past lunch time then. So we went to look for a place to lunch and settled at a Chinese restaurant which is on the bank of a river. The Nam Mae Kok which starts at the Myanmar border and flows into the great Mekong River.

Our next visit was the Ban Dam, the Black House.I had been there but some of us haven’t, and so we visited it. The  place consists of 40 structures of different sizes which are all painted black. In these structures there are a variety of works of art, paintings. sculptures, furnitures etc;Many are made using buffalo horns , crocodile skins, and animal bones, which some people may find them preposterous and annoying. But there are people also appreciate these works, that made this creator  renowned by Thai people and even overseas.

The last place we visited was the White temple. It was designed and built by the Thai artist ,Chalarmchai Kositpipat and dedicated to the Buddha’s teachings. It’s design is unique which is mixing classic traditional Thai art and contemporary art. The adornment of white plaster with small glass inserts  looks shiny and white that it gets its name the White temple from it.

We left the temple at its closing time and headed for Cheing Mai. On our way back my thoughts were still lingering on the places we visited. I admire all those people like Chalarmchai  Kositpipat ( White Temple ) Thawan Duchanee ( Baan Dam )and all people who had started building all these wonderful places including places of worship.Indeed they are people who had left a legacy for the world to come and see, enjoy and appreciate.