Empty Nest Trekkers: Chiang Mai, Thailand

On 10 November we flew north to Chiang Mai,Thailand where we spent about a week. We rented a car for four days and drove a loop toward the Myanmar border and stayed the nights at Pai, Mae Hong Son, and Mae Sariang, before returning to Chiang Mai.

Lisa climbing "Sticky Falls". The minerals form a layer on the rocks that provide excellent traction allowing us to walk up the waterfall very easily.

One of the many temples in Chiang Mai.

Monks preparing for the Festival of Lights, Loi Kathang, that is celebrated throughout Thailand on the full moon of the 12th month on the Thai lunar calendar.

Lanterns in the background being prepared for the big night.

Lots of old VW busses in Chiang Mai have been re-purposed for various things.

A giant cave that we just had to explore with a guide.

Lots of great views from the tops of passes throughout northern Thailand.

Nice resort where we stayed in Pai.

No trip to Pai would be complete without climbing the stairs to see the white Buddha on the hill, up close.

No stair climbing exercise equipment necessary as a Christmas gift this year.

We were good tourists stopping at many of the attractions including this narrow goat trail that was a little unnerving to walk on.

We were fortunate to be northern Thailand in the month of November when all the sunflowers were in bloom.

Google Maps said this was only 12 miles off the highway. Well..... the little detour ended up taking three to four hours.

Lisa checking out the Poinsettias that grow wild, everywhere.

More big bamboo.

A rice field on the top of a mountain.

We visited a Karen Long Neck village outside of Mae Hong Song.

Many of the women wear the traditional rings around their necks and never take them off. They start wearing them at 5 years of age and add a ring every three years. It's not uncommon for them to have up to 30 rings.

They provided Kassie with a half ring stack for the picture. She checked the girl next to her to confirm that her rings actually went all the way around her neck.

On our search for the "long neck village" we encountered this guy sauntering down the road. We never know what surprise we will find when driving around.

The guy on the scooter was herding this elephant. Or maybe the elephant already knows to stay in his lane.

On the night of the Festival of Lights we were in Mae Hong Son. Lots of people buy these paper lanterns, light a fuel source on fire, and then let them rise out of sight. Presumably, most of them completely burn out before returning to earth.

A considerably safer option is to buy a little bouquet, light a candle or two, say a prayer, and let them loose in a big pond.

Seating behind the street food market didn't include chairs.

A monk blessing someone.

Buddha, Buddha, Buddha, and Buddha

I'll bet there's a Buddha behind the glass.

Pretty sure this is not Buddha

Another waterfall that seemed to go on forever down the mountain. The mosquitoes were pretty thick. So, we didn't want to push our luck with malaria.

A terraced rice field near the water fall.

We wisely parked our rental Toyota Corolla and walked the rest of the way to the waterfall. It would have been long walk to find someone to get us un-stuck.

At least the water was low. So, we weren't too concerned about having to ford several streams.

This road is steeper than it looks. 1st gear, the pedal to the floor, and we were barely moving. Great road for the first hour or so. Then it got bad, but we didn't want to turn around since we were so close to another waterfall. As if we hadn't seen enough waterfalls, already.

A giant scary spider about the size of my hand that we didn't mess with.

Kassie and Lisa spent the day taking a Thai cooking class. We got to pick 4 traditional Thai dishes to make. It was awesome! The food in Thailand is beyond delicious.

We started the day out with visiting a local market. Our cooking instructor taught us how to pick the freshest ingredients.

After several days in Chiang Mai we flew back to Bangkok and caught this train to Ayutthaya. The train cost less than 30 cents and took about 2 hours. Ayutthaya was the capital of the Kingdom of Siam and a prosperous international trading port from 1350 until razed by the Burmese in 1767. It has many ancient temples.

Buddha in a tree.

morning planning session on the veranda enjoying some awesome Coffee Culture Coffee. Thank God Paul and Lisa brought us some good coffee. We were sick of the instant stuff they drink over here.