Our best vacation ever was Chiang Rai, Thailand, the same province where the young soccer players and coach were trapped and triumphantly rescued from the cave. Like others around the world, I watched the news reports anxiously and cried tears of joy upon hearing of their escape. This story holds a special place in my heart because we traveled there (my favorite place we’ve visited), because the boys are close in age to my own and because it has been a such a wonderful collaboration of people from all over the world, coming together for the greater good. We need more of that. And, a special note of gratitude for the Thai Seal Samran Kunan who lost his life trying to help others.
Chiang Rai, Thailand – temple with monkeys
We were all over Chiang Rai, and our favorite day was the day that we mountain biked 40 kilometers around the beautiful countryside. The resort we stayed in, Katiliya Mountain Resort, reminded me of the lodge in Jurassic Park, save those pesky lab-created dinos, and was my favorite stay ever. Thailand is known as the Land of 1,000 Smiles, and after being there for just a few days we knew why. The people are wonderfully welcoming, cheerful and have a genuinely lovely spirit that’s both calming and infectious. Here’s a post from our favorite day there:
Day 1 at the Top of Thailand (Golden Triangle – where Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet).
We awoke this morning to the sun rising over the mountains, the sound of geese honking, some other wild birds or animals making noises, and some small deer grazing on the hillside viewable from our patio. Today was our day of
Post-bike ride Chiang Rai, Thailand
biking around the area. Our guide met us at 830, and we drove back into town for a bike ride through rice paddies, small villages, up hills and down. It was phenomenal. Truly one of the best vacation excursions we’ve ever done. Bee, our guide, was wonderful.
At one point we stopped at a crematorim (it looked like a very small little country church) and he told us that most Thai are cremated. Some are done at the crematorium, and others are burnt outdoors, just like you’d burn leaves or have a big pit barbecue (we even saw the area where this is still done). Then he walked us over to show us where some of the ashes and pieces of bone are thrown. Lovely.
We kept riding, had a small snack of wonderful Thai fruits, including a tiny pinapple called poulet (yes, like chicken in French) and something like a jicama.
Rode some more until we saw a baby water buffalo (in the field to our right). We stopped a moment to watch him,
Water Buffalo, Chiang Rai, Thailand
when all of a sudden, we see three adult water buffalo charging through the field on our left. Luckily, there was some barbed wire fencing we were able to use as a barricade, but it was unnecessary because the herd went around the fence through an opening and straight to the baby. It was a little freaky, though. And, they even stopped to apologize for scaring us and let us take their picture.
We also visited the famously photographed Wat Rong Khun or White Temple, an incredibly intricate Buddist temple in stark white.
White Temple, Chiang Rail, Thailand
Truly, one of my favorite days on vacation.
