A lovely day in the country. After a delicious breakfast at the homestay, we headed out for the surrounding country. Our initial goal was the local hot spring, but we got sidetracked. On the way to the hot springs there were signs for "Toy Ngoon." We had no idea what this meant, only that on the blue sign was a white tree. Why not check it out?? We followed the signs are were quickly off the secondary highway onto the one lane local road. Up and down we went as the road twisted around the hills. In time we arrived at a small village. Here we decided to park our car and walk. Walking through the village was worse than a meat market; calls coming from left and right. Resisting the calls of the chickens we continued along the path. As we got to the edge of the village, there it was... the giant tree. It was HUGE! We took some pictures and wandered around the tree. See the pictures below.
On the way to the tree, I saw a sign for a waterfall. When we left the gigantic tree we decided to check it out. More local roads barely wide enough for one car, but very beautiful countryside. We passed through tea fields and mountains before coming through another small village. At the far end was the waterfall as well as a hill tribe village. First we hiked up to the top of the waterfall. Wonderful green mossy boulders, red clay, and very tall bamboo. When we arrived at the top there was a rickety old bamboo walkway over the rocks leading to a large boulder in the middle. We paused for a breather and also some time for some pictures.
The trek down lead us back out to the main road and a sign that read "Hill tribe house 150m." What the sign neglected to say was it was 150m upward. It was a very steep hill that lead to the hill tribe house. It turned out to be a small village, guest house, and satellite dish complete with farm animals. Hiking back down was just as difficult as the trip up... very, very steep. Maybe flip flops weren't the best decision???
Back to the car and out on the road. We stopped for some Som Tam (Papaya Salad, nice and spicy) at the village. We ate noodles, som tam, and had a nice bottle of water all for 50 Baht. There were only two roads leading out of the village... one had a sign placed in the middle. I asked for the best way to get to the hot springs from the village. The lady from our lunch stop told us to o up the road with the sign and turn left at the T. Why not?? If she says we can do it we might as well, right?? WRONG! We made our way up the mountain on a road with no shoulder. One side was mountain and the other was jungle after a small drop off. We got up about 1 km before we ran into construction. They had just poured the concrete for one lane, the other was only sand after a 6" drop off. Needless to say our Toyota Vios (like a 4dr Yaris) wasn't going to make it. What could we do?? The road wasn't wide enough to turn around and I couldn't go straight. I decided the back up... all the way back down the mountain to where we started. It must have been quite a sight for the construction workers and local children seeing two white people backing up down the mountain road... I managed to impress my wife with my driving. Mission accomplished.
We back tracked our way back to our original highway route. Made it to the hot spring and were a little disappointed. We had hoped to swim, but the pool was empty. No problem though, we soaked our feet and headed back to Chiang Rai. There are still more hot springs throughout Northern Thailand, so we will try to find another one in a few days.
Next stop was the white temple. After a few U-Turns and stops to check the map we found it. You need to understand the street signs are all in Thai... not easy when you can only remember a few characters. The White temple is just that... a white temple. We are going back tomorrow morning for pictures, as the sun was making it rather difficult to take good pictures.
Dinner was Hamburgers at "World Famous Burgers." Delicious. I know it sounds like we only eat western food, but you need to understand we basically only eat Thai food in Bangkok. Maybe once a week we indulge in Western fare. So, yes we eat western food, but it is usually things we can't find in Bangkok. Dessert at the same coffee shop as yesterday after a short walk around the Night Bazaar. Just as we finished our dessert a group of children came by and serenaded us with some Christmas carols... what a great way to find some holiday spirit.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
Eduardo (and Christelia)
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