The Golden Horse Monastery - Finding a Piece of Thai Legend

Chiang Rai Province, Thailand

You're a traveler, not a tourist, gosh darnit, and you want to do something unique.  Tripadvisor?  Pfft...that's for beginners.  Lonely Planet?  Gimme a backpacking break.  I wouldn't be caught dead
with one of those books!

I'm not actually above any of that, but I was in Chiang Rai, Thailand with very few recommended sights to see!  Chiang Rai is known for its White Temple, which is impressive, and will be saved for another post, but other than that?  Not much going on in these parts.  I would find something awesome and off the beaten trail to do.

Where is it?

Chiang Rai is the northernmost "large" city in Thailand.  I mostly stopped here due to a recommended ceramic site, and its proximity to Laos - I would be traveling there the following day.  As is my favored custom, I rented a motorbike in town and researched my options for the next day.  I don't even know how I stumbled upon what I ended up doing.

The Golden Horse Monastery 

There is legend.  There are documentaries.  There are no reviews and hopefully there never will be any.  You won't find this place on Tripadvisor or Lonely Planet and you will get lost getting there (or at least I did.  Severely).

The Jungle Cruise...Fo Real. Mekong Slow Boat Day 1

In Khmer language "Mae" meaning "Big, Mother, Boss or Large" and "Kong" is a short word of "Kongkea" and it means "Water". In the Lao-Khmer-Thai toponymy, all great rivers are considered "mother rivers" signalled by the prefix "mae", meaning "mother", and "nam" for water. (Wikipedia)

Of course I'm behind on some Thailand posts but I figured, since I'm ON the Mekong right now, I might as well post about it.

I don't know why, but I'm always a little nervous about border crossings.  There's just something about official men in official uniforms giving you that official look as they scrutinize your passport.  Their eyes tell you that you've done fifty illegal things in the previous country.  Gives me the heebie jeebies.

So, I was prodding my wonderful guesthouse owner for advice and logistics of everything that was to happen today.  I loved the guesthouse I stayed at in Chiang Khong.  It's the border town on the Thai side of the Mekong and a popular one-nighter for people crossing into Laos.  My private room with fan was 150 baht ($4.80) and her cooking was to die for.  Not to mention she fed me sticky rice with mango which is like Thai crack.  So, I was going to listen to everything she told me.

She saw my nerves and said that I could just book the slow boat tix through her (like another guest was doing) and I wouldn't have to worry about the ferry, tuk tuk and ticket office.  This man who would take care of all of that was her long-time friend and I could trust him.  The offer sounded pretty attractive and I would have a buddy doing the same thing, so I agreed, against all the advice I read online to just do the routine on your own.

Oh, Chiang Mai!

One particular stop in Thailand was sure to be a hit – Chiang Mai.  I knew I was going to like this Northern town because all of the specs were similar to my former home in Vietnam, DaNang.  Medium sized, cooler and less traffic-jammed than the big urban cities, and great eco-tourism to get you out and about.  The only major difference is that Chiang Mai is a well-known city in the backpacking circuit, and for good reason.  A friend of mine who I met on the bus ride over from Cambodia flew into Chiang Mai on the same day as me, so we decided to do a day of awesome together, and awesome it was.  We booked a tour with Untouched Thailand and two very fluent English speaking guides picked us up at 6:30am to head north.  These guys (named Pon and Tom) were great conversationalists, and had a unique back story – they grew up together and spent 18 years as monks!  This came in handy while we were visiting temples, as they knew so much about monastery life. 

Our first stop was at the Elephant Training Center.  There were many options for elephant interaction in Chiang Mai, some charging 58000 Baht ($187) for one day.  We didn’t know much about this place as we booked a tour and everything was prearranged, but we might have done this portion differently in hindsight.  Riding an elephant through the forest is an amazing experience, but something about it just didn’t feel right.  Riding a horse seems fine, but riding an elephant - an animal three or four times the size of a horse – brought on some guilt.  Afterward, it was very cool to feel the elephant’s skin (so rough!) and feed him a whole bunch of bananas.  It was warming to hear about the relationship the elephants have with the mahouts.  Our guide told us the mahouts rarely take any holidays, because having an elephant is a full-life job.  One mahout and one elephant are together until one of them dies.  After speaking with my host about our unease in the situation, he explained that they could be logging, which isn’t allowed anymore, so this life is much better and easier than the abuse loggers once put them through.  After we saw the mahouts give the elephants a bath, we jumped onto a bamboo raft and floated down the river.  It was a wonderful and peaceful ride. 

After leaving the elephant camp, we headed over to a cave, which was nice, but nothing compared to what I’ve seen in the last year.  I’m pretty sure Vietnam takes the cake for caves.  Sorry, Thailand.  Can't win 'em all.

Playing in the Mud - Thailand (Chiang Mai)

I’m researching and visiting as many ceramics villages as possible on my route through Southeast Asia.  

So far, Vietnam and Cambodia both offered traditional handbuilding techniques unlike anything I’ve ever seen.  Thailand, however, takes the cake for innovative wheel throwing processes. 

The village doesn't make too much of a variety of vessles.  They make very big pots/vases, very small candle holders, and a specific type of medium sized genie-like bottle.  Every artist was open to me visiting their home and taking photos or videos of their process.  The village was free to enter and there was absolutely no pressure whatsoever to purchase anything.  That was a first.  I actually wanted to purchase something, but the type of work they made wasn't exactly conducive to backpacking.  

Genius!

On the Move

Bangkok Traffic

One of the biggest parts of continuous travel is the transport that takes you in and out of countries, through puddled city side streets, and out into the countryside. 

For me, figuring out new kinds of transport (which happens often) is a little stressful.  Do I need a token or a card?  Am I getting ripped off majorly right now in this taxi?  Oh you need that token or card that I’ve lost now that I’m at my final destination??

BUT, when I do figure out whatever system is taking me here and there and I finally get on it, I really, really, enjoy using it.  

Vietnam

In Vietnam, there were mostly xe oms.  “Xe” means motorbike and “om” roughly translates as “hug,” which is a cute way of calling (often) haven’t-showered-in-three-days men with no official uniform asking if you want a ride.  Having my own moto, I didn’t accept their offers too often, but when I did, it was a fast, cheap and friendly way of getting across town.  If you didn’t use the xe oms, you had to take a fancy taxi car, which was usually painful to negotiate and quite expensive as there were very few cars compared to the moto traffic. 

 

Cambodia

In Cambodia, I was so amused by their tuk tuks!  Once a bicycle and cart operation, Cambodian auto rickshaws are a three-wheeled sensation, and an essential form of urban transportation, especially for 2-4 person groups.  There were also moto taxis of course, for even cheaper than the tuk tuks - but no helmets!  (I discussed these more at length in this post)

Queuing in Vietnam was practically nonexistent.
Look how these skytrain riders file in from the arrows
on the sides!  Crazy!  

Thailand

In Bangkok, moto taxis were again a transport staple, but they wore official orange vests.  There were SO MANY CAR TAXIS.  For such a huge city, I figured most people would rely on public rail transit - and many do - but looking down on a jungle of stagnant traffic, there were multiple colors of taxis as far as the eye could see.  If you didn’t want to take a taxi, you could hop on the Skytrain or the underground mass rapid transit – MRT.  I used the skytrain every day that I was in Bangkok.  It was so intuitive and conveniently connected to many attractions in the heart of the city.  Plus – on those hot muggy days (every day), the Skytrain was the coldest place in the city.  After five minutes, we were wishing we'd brought a sweater. 

I have to go to the bathroom. Or rather, I GET to go to the bathroom. Terminal 21, Bangkok

I wish I’d kept a bathroom diary of all the wonderful ways people ask you to go to the bathroom.  It would be such a brag sheet of endurance.  I've slipped and fallen on wet bathroom surfaces, squatted in a hole on tumultuous train rides, fended off rats in back-restaurant johns, and conquered a number of other less sanitary obstacles.  Needless to say, when I see that a stall comes with a) a toilet seat and b) the less common toilet paper, I am a beaming queen on her hopefully disease-free throne.    

Cambodia was actually a step up in sanitation but still pretty similar to Vietnam unless you were in a nice restaurant or store.  Tourism helped. 

Then came Bangkok. 

This throne washed and dried your bum. It even had controls to get juuust the right angle.  You might think "euwww, you touched the buttons?" fear not novice restroom user, the stall was also complete with hand sanitizer and wipes, which you could use even before washing your hands in the sink area.  Swanky.   

On a recommendation from my couchsurf host, I went to a shopping mall called Terminal 21.  Apparently they are known for their creative bathrooms and after an hour or two of meandering around, I was about to leave when I realized I had to go to the bathroom.  Or hang on – I HAD TO VISIT THE BATHROOM!  I almost forgot to check out one of the main attractions of this joint.

Travel Mistakes with a Side of Stress to go, Please

US Dollars, Vietnam Dong, Cambodian Riel, and Thai Baht

Even well-seasoned travelers make mistakes from time to time.  If you’re lucky enough to witness them admitting them, you may find yourself in a high place, smirking at their misfortune because even you would never forget or do that.  That was me, reading a blog about a year ago when one of my favorite bloggers admitted her international money woes due to careless mistakes.  I wouldn't categorize myself as well-seasoned in the travel department but I have learned the essential dos and don’ts when it comes to staying out of serious trouble abroad.  Today was a bad day.

Siem Reap to Bangkok, the Easy Way!

From my transport research (because these transitions tend to stress me out) the legs from Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam) to Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and then from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap are relatively easy and hassle free.  It’s when you get to the Siem Reap to Bangkok (Thailand) leg where the fun starts.  The countless stories of near-death experiences and “I’ve never been more terrified in my life” statements start

 popping up.  I wanted to avoid feeling terrified while in Thailand, so I dug deeper.

VIP

Where’s the Hassle??

The problem with this route lies in the transfer over the border.  Many bus companies will take you to the border, and then when you cross to the other side, you then wait, sometimes hours, for smaller mini shuttle vans to pick you up.  These vans are on deadlines, and sometimes speed 130k and faster in an 80k zone.

These two problems – border thumb twiddling and mini shuttle vans from hell – are mostly solved with an bus company called Nattakan Co.  They have an office in Siem Reap just a few doors down from the only KFC in town.  I would recommend going a day or two ahead of time, just to make sure you get the bus/seat you want.