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Day 17 leave Chaing Mai
We are packed and ready to go.... We leave the breakfast... Shiree, although feeling slightly better is not yet willing to put anything in her mouth and I'm ok for dodgy chicken sausage....
Were collected in a minivan which is preferred to a coach and take our seats for the next 6 hr journey. Our drivers good this time... I assume he must own this van as he takes far less risks than some we've experienced.
The landscape becomes even more undulating as we progress further north and the houses appear to be constructed better and kept in slightly better order than most we've past so far... A number of sports bikes shoot past us as we climb yet another hill... We are traveling on a dual carriage way up and down the hills and the road surface is new.... Mile after climbing mile of smooth dry twisting roads is obviously a draw for the bikers around here and there are quite a number of them out.... There modern bikes, all around 1000cc and they sound great as they pass... I'd guess there Thais, judging by the lack of a number plate and the tiny stature of the pillion riders, and I can only assume its a familiar road to them....
We make a stop on route at another temple... We are over halfway through our journey and Shiree's coped well, so this stop is a nice chance to stretch our legs whilst the driver drinks another red bull and grabs some food...
This location has been selected as a rest point because of this temple...
Its different from any we have seen so far.... It's completely white, with small mirror pieces all over it.... It has two big dragons that are the sides of the entrance bridge which you walk up to gain entry to the actual building... Hands can be seen reaching up from the ground beneath as you climb, it's all very
"un-monk" and almost has a darker gothic feel to it... With only its colour in contrast....
We read it was designed in 1997 to embrace modern day life with traditional Buddha values and traditions.
There is a link at the bottom for you to view....
Back in the van and heading further north we are getting to know the other people in the van... It would appear that not everyone has chosen the same method of crossing the boarder as we have.... Some are taking the normal road route and some, like us are talking "The Slow Boat" from Chang Khong to Luang Prabang.
After arriving at the boarder crossing in the van and those crossing by road disembark, we leave them on the pavement and head off to our hostel for the night... There is only four of us in the van now and we are all doing the same trip... Our hostel rooms are made from dark mahogany.. There simple and sparse with little more than a bed and mosquito net, there positioned back to back, and the dividing wall is so thin we might as well be in one big room together... I'm sure I can hear them breath... Shiree and I unpack and wonder off to look around the town. The Main Street appears to be one straight road, lined with closed shops... Its a Sunday, so it's pretty quiet... Our hostel entrance is a narrow drive way directly off this central main road, that's wedged between two shops.... As soon as you walk 30 foot away it's lost amongst all the other buildings, themselves half hidden by what must be one hundred power cables that hang low, obscuring every shop sign from telegraph poles along both sides of the street.
Directly opposite the hostel driveway is a narrow road that drops steeply down to the Mekong river... We wonder down are take a look around... We have basically walked into a loading dock area for the boats that trade between Thailand and Laos which is on the opposite side of the river.... Its a mass of flat concrete , maybe 120 meters long and 50 meters deep... There are large steps cut into the ground next to the entrance road and it's here we sit for a while... The Mekong river is hugely important to all its neighbouring countries as it supplies millions of gallons of water for all the rice fields and it's used as a trading place all along its length...
Its around 250 meters wide in our current location. The water is fast moving and a very un-inviting brown... Its sides are littered with large rocks but are predominately steep muddy slops and heavy forest.
As the sun drops, along with the temperature we head back to our hostel, Shiree's ready to brave food now there's a loo close to hand...... Then off to bed.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Rong_Khun
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