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).

Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng - Belly Flips and Gorgeous Views

If you get vertigo, or motion sickness, or have anxiety with hairpin turns, overtaking vehicles on blind turns, or narrowly avoiding dogs, motorcycles, coach buses and cars, then the road from Luang

Prabang to Vang Vieng is not for you.

If you are excited by hairpin turns, enjoy seeing some of the most beautiful rain forested mountains, don't mind getting a little close to travel companions and don't eat too big of a breakfast, the road from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng is most definitely for you.  Through potholes and narrow passes, the road twists and winds up and down mountain passes for about 6 1/2 hours, churning the bellies of even the hardiest of backpackers.  For my Vietnam buddies, just imagine the Hai Van Pass, but even more turns, and for six hours.
There are a number of ways your vehicle can get delayed: punctures, collisions, suicidal cattle, landslides, murphy's law is in full swing and spares no one.

Kuang Si Waterfall and Bear Rescue Center - Luang Prabang, Laos

Sometimes there are several options for eco-tourism in one city, and other times, there is THEE thing to do in a city.  For Luang Prabang, THEE thing to do is the Kuang Si Waterfall and adjacent Bear Rescue Center, housing several Asiatic bears.

Free The Bears fund has rescued almost 1000 bears from poachers and other threats preying on them in Southeast Asia.  Laos' center is within the grounds of the beautiful Kuang Si waterfalls area.  When I heard that this was the thing to do in Luang Prabang, I was a little disappointed.  I hadn't heard much about the bears, but having seen some of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world (and admittedly not the biggest waterfall fanatic anyway), I was hesitant to shell out the kip for the tuk tuk ride out there.  Meeting two other solo travelers wanting to see the falls, I decided it was worth it to split the cost of the hour-long ride out and back.  I'm so glad I did!

So strange and awesome

Tat Kuang Si Bear Rescue Centre was established by Free The Bears Fund Inc. in 2003 after local authorities confiscated three bear cubs and asked for assistance to help look after them.  The rescue centre has continued to provide care for these bears and also accepted further bears that have been confiscated by the Lao authorities.  Most of the bears at the centre are Asiatic Black Bears (Moon Bears) that were illegally captured from the wild as young cubs – it is likely that they were destined for use in the traditional medicine trade.  -Freethebears.org

Last summer I took a trip with my mom down to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in TN/NC, America and I got to see a black bear up close.  He was nothing like these bears, which were also black but sported a clear boomerang of white hair near their neck.  There are other differences between these bears and American black bears as you can see in the photos!  Yes that bear is standing on his two hind legs.  Like a human.  You aren't seeing things.

First Impressions: Luang Prabang, Laos

No more Bangkok johns.  Back to squatting!

Luang Prabang, Laos.  I've finally made it.  Worth it?  The jury is still out.

As the last country I'll visit in Southeast Asia, it's hard not to compare.  The coffee was better in Vietnam.  The food was better in Thailand.  Cambodia had more interesting eco-tourism.  What's it gonna be, Laos?  You're already more expensive than any of those three.  Even renting a motorbike is $20/day!  What gives?

While changing some Baht into Kip, I received a 5000kip note at the bottom of the stack when I should have received a 50,000kip note.  It would have been easy to take what she gave me and dash off but I noticed it, so I said "shouldn't I get..." and she quickly smiled and said "woops!  Sorry about that!" And gave me the 50,000 note.  Just avoiding scams left and right!

What I have enjoyed about Laos is the laid back atmosphere.  I still haven't seen anyone give a hoot about anything except bottle cap checkers and lunchtime dramas on the tube.  The vendors don't even care when you walk away from their booth after talking to them for five minutes.

No cops, security guards nap in front of ATMs, and no one yells at you to buy things.

The night market in front of Haw Pha Bang Temple

A definite highlight of Luang Prabang happens at 5pm every day.  The night market is one of the best I've seen, with art, crafts and souvenirs unique to Laos.  There was only one item that I had already seen in a different country, everything else was new and tempting.  I kept my purchases rational, picking up a traditional Laotian-style skirt and a bracelet.  There are sooo many other things that I wanted, though.  Scarves, dresses, necklaces, notebooks with hand-painted covers - they're all so beautiful.


Another thing Laos does well are yummy fruit shakes and crepes.  I ordered a mini lime shake and a  banana-nutella crepe.  Drool.  Perhaps I haven't given Laos enough of a chance.  I may stay in the country a little longer than planned and re-route my way back down to Bangkok.

80 Amused Passengers and One Baby Monkey. Mekong Slow Boat Day 2

Pakbeng, Laos

Remember when I almost didn't get a seat yesterday?  That wasn't happening today.  Bleach blond girl was still in bed when I cinched and clicked my pack tight and headed out for an early morning at the dock.  I stopped by a bakery on the one main road through Pakbeng and made it down to the boats at
7:30am.  We were scheduled to leave at 9:30am.  You can't be too prepared for these things... today was going to be a potentially grueling 8 1/2 more hours of slow boat on the way to Luang Prabang.  So for about 30 minutes, it was me and ten other overly prepared locals, hangin' out on the boat.  The rest of the passengers slowly started rolling down the hill to claim their seats.  As some of the travelers were settling around me, someone mentioned "yeah...she's bringing it on the boat!"

I look up and a girl about my age is stepping into the boat and what is riding tightly on the back of her neck?  A baby monkey.  The girl-half of me was melting in sheer cuteness and the other logical-half was thinking... I've seen "Outbreak," I know how these things end...

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.