Golden Triangle adventure Though I woke up relatively early, it took a while to get my day started. As there was no-one looking over the eating area outside on the first level, I fumbled around until I had some bread toasting and hot coffee sitting in front of me. Just as the toast popped up, a elderly woman eventually came out of seemingly nowhere, and gestured for me to sit down. She delivered the toast, along with a jar of jam, and some butter.

After eating, I spoke with Jira again about a motorscooter rental, and some suggested sights to see. I showed him my Chiang Mai region map, and he said that visiting Wat Phra That Pha Ngao would be a good idea. It was noted on the map without any explanation, but not listed in my Lonely Planet guidebook. He told me that there was the remains of an ancient temple located at the base of a small mountain around which a number of newer structures had been erected. Also, I would have a chance for a great view of the Mekong River (Mae Nam Khong in Thai.) I asked him about the elderly woman who had helped with my "breakfast", and he informed me that it was his mother, who rules the roost when he and his wife are not around. I asked how this is accomplished without knowledge of any English. "She always communicates with all the guests just fine," was his answer.

The motorscooter showed up, I paid for the day, and then I had to move everything to my room which become available that morning, and set everything out. I set off at about 10:30, in search of a Thai Muslim restaurant called "Sakina". Unfortunately, I didn't pack my guidebook with me, and forgot to write the name of the place on my little notebook that I had started carrying with me the day I arrived in Thailand. I only knew the approximate location as verbally described by Jira. I found the place by repeating "ah-han Musi-leem you-nai" ("food Muslim where...?") to Thai people at several businesses. Waving my index finger back and forth towards either direction of the street seemed to help on my third attempt.

I ordered mataba, which is roti flat bread stuffed with chicken. It came with a sweet chili sauce, and along with my iced coffee, everything was gone in 5 minutes. Next time, I'll have to arrive before getting too hungry, so I can properly enjoy how delicious it was.

On my map of the Golden Triangle area, it showed that I should turn right off of the main highway (number 1) after about 30km onto a highway number 1016. When my odometer showed that I had gone 40km, and I hadn't seen an obvious turn, I stopped at a run of small businesses on the side of the road. I wandered on foot a bit, until I found a woman who knew some English. I showed her where I wanted to go on my map, and she giggled a bit and gave me a big grin. I had overshot the turn by over 10km. She suggested that I continue towards Mae Sai and take an alternate route to Chiang Saen. On the map, I could see that I would go right by the Golden Triangle itself. Saam Liam Thong Kham, as it is called in Thai, is the name of the spot where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet, where the Mekong river takes an abrupt turn.

I went into Mae Sai itself, so that I could take a couple of photos of the border to Myanmar itself, and also to find some coins and paper money from Myanmar. This proved more difficult than I had originally thought, though it led me on a small adventure through an evening market area where I remembered to pick up some badly needed sunscreen. I finally found the coins along the last 50 meters of the main road before the border. The paper money I bought around the corner, on a street with a large tourist hotel. There were plenty of vendors hawking wares to the unknowing farang at probably 4-5 times the usual cost – call it a "service charge" for the convenience of only walking 20 meters out of the hotel to buy a souvenir. I managed to get the souvenir paper money for 40% of his original asking price only because I responded to his price by speaking my numbers in Thai.


After having a snack and some water, I headed back south down the main highway. This time, the turn was clearly labeled "To Golden Triangle" with an arrow. Lucky me. The 35km stretch of road before I got to the Golden Triangle was much more scenic than the main highway, and was also a lot of fun to ride on, with many twists and turns through the latter third.

At the Golden Triangle, there were several boat tour companies offering a 1-2 hour ride, but they were very easy going when I declined. Then I walked the other way to take a few shots of a very large buddhist display, complete with a very large shiny gold seated buddha. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find an explanation in English for it all.


The Golden Triangle. Isn't it so... exciting?


Just as I was about to start the scooter to leave, an older woman – I would guess about 50 or so – approached me, and asked where I was going. I told her Chiang Saen, and she asked me in broken English if I could give her a lift into town. As a small favor to pay back for all of the kindness I had received from Thailand already, I happily agreed to take her. Along the way, I tried to get her name, but it was too difficult to understand. 15km later, as we approached the town, she directed me to turn onto a main street, and drop her off at the main market. She thanked me heartily, and I wished that I knew the words in Thai language for "No problem - think nothing of it." I smiled, said, "You are welcome," and turned around to go look at a temple I had spied on the way into town.

I parked in front, and marveled at the entrance dragons for a minute. The name of the temple is Wat Phakhaopan, and there is a Lan Na Thai period chedi to the rear of the modern structure. The Lanna period, as it is now known, occurred in two Northern thailand city-states, from 1296 to 1558 A.D. The temple (original and new), chedi, and scuptures were much more influenced by the style of Laotian Buddhism than that of Thailand.





The entrance to Wat Phra That Pha Ngao (my original destination for the day), was a short 4km from Chiang Saen. It was immediately obvious that this was a large complex of structures, which included a chedi up on a small mountain that I had observed from the road on my way to the temple. At the end of the long driveway was the main temple – as far as I could tell. Some searching on the web later informed me that the original temple and chedis possibly date to as far back as the 10th century. The modern temple was originally named Wat Sop Kham, and was located along the edge of the Mekong. Because of yearly damage from the waters of the river, it was decided by the local people to rebuild the temple inland at the foot of a small mountain called Doi Kham, near the site of a much older deserted temple.


In 1976, while the new temple was being built, a very old Chiang Saen style brick and plaster Buddha image was unearthed. The excavation ceased, and the Wat Phra That Pha Ngao temple was built over the image, which is named Luang Pho Pha Ngao. The name pha-gnao ("rock shadow") refers to the rock on which the original temple is built on, and a second rock which appears to be it's shadow.

Because there were too many people inside the temple, and it was too dark inside, I did not take any photos of the unearthed Buddha image inside. Had I known of its significance, I would have at least attempted to take a couple of shots. Behind the newer temple were the two boulders and a stairway which went up the hill far enough that I couldn't see the top.


The original cheddi and it's "shadow" boulder (in front)

I decided to tackle the stairs, as I figured it would eventually lead me to the large chedi on the hill that I had seen earlier. By the top of the stairs, I had broken into a full sweat, and a bit out of breath. I was greeted with the sight of a beautiful newer temple structure which appeared to be constructed almost entirely of ornately carved wood. To the immediate right of the top of the stairs were the ruins of a rather old chedi, and then further off - a small bell-house – also made of wood – with a hillside view.


Ancient cheddi ruins at the top of the stairs from Wat Phra That Pha Ngao
I went up to the wooden temple, and the carving was even more impressive from a few meters away. The entrance doors were closed, so I made my way around to the other side so see if I could enter, and happened upon a monk who was just in the process of closing up. He asked me in English if I wanted to see inside, and I told him that it wasn't necessary if he needed to go somewhere. He said he was in no rush, and insisted that I come in and take a look. After he turned on the spotlights, I saw that the entire inside was all intricately carved wood reliefs of many famous episodes in Buddha's life. Much of the wood was painted over with paint made from gold leaf, and taking any photos was difficult, at best.



The monk chatted with me for a while and I told him my entire story about my reasons for coming to SE Asia and Thailand. He told me his name is Comb... Phra Comb, to be proper. This particular temple was built for the princess of Thailand. It had been opened a few years earlier with much fanfare, and she visits at least once every year to make sure it is being well cared for. It is called Upostha Hall, and is made mostly from carved teakwood (as I had guessed). It is apparently a replica of a temple in Laos, which accounts for the extraordinarily elaborate temple ground boundary markers.



The front entrance of Upostha Hall
Phra Comb apologized for his lack of english speaking skills, and then asked if I could help a little with the English translation for the inscription which was to be carved under one of the particular scenes from Buddha's life. It involved a time when many special Monks came to Buddha, and he gave to them thirteen very important "rules" to follow. Then they returned to their homelands to establish temples. That is as much as I remember understanding anyhow.

I took his translation and edited it for proper grammar, while at the same time warning him that certain terms I was using may have a better synonym, as I am not well studied in Buddhism. He understood, and said that he would check with another friend who was better versed in the English versions of Buddhist terminology before committing the inscription to be carved. Because monks eschew a life of possessions, he explained that I would not be able to email him as he did not own or have access to any computers. He suggested that I simply ask for him by name on my next visit to Wat Phra That Pha Ngao. I thanked him heartily for allowing me in to see the temple, and then asked him where I should go to see the chedi on the top of the hill. He told me to follow a road at the end of the driveway to the Upostha Hall for about .5km up to the top of the mountain. Normally, the road would be open to motorscooters, but it was closed today only due to some "special" reason - of which he wasn't sure. He said that the road would be an easier way to exit back to the main entrance when I was ready to leave. I would have to walk down a little over a kilometer.

After climbing another steep 500 meters, I was again fairly out of breath, and what I found up at the top as well as the view probably took the rest of my breath away. The sun was low, preparing to set; the more-than-half moon grazing the spire at the top of the chedi, and it was quiet, without any other visitors - other than the birds and buzzing cicadas.




Unfortunately, due to the late hour, the interior of the chedi - named Phra Borommathat Phutthanimit - was already closed. Inside, there is some kind of Buddhist relic of such importance that women are not allowed to enter. I had heard this practice in Thailand, but this was the first time I had seen a sign to that effect. I circled around to photograph the numerous Buddha images surrounding the chedi itself.





On my walk down, I saw what appeared to be a rather large temple student "camp." Literally, there were dozens and dozens of tarps strung up to trees in the forest next to the road, with evidence of overnight occupants. Then I passed a building with at least a hundred seated young men in robes inside. My best guess is that Wat Phra That Pha Ngao may be a monk training or meditation center of some sort. There were numerous other buildings that I spied as I made my way back to the motorscooter.

As I rode back to Chiang Rai, the sun went down, and I found out that at dusk, an incredible number of gnats come out to play. At motorscooter speeds, you find your clothes and face littered with the little creature pretty quickly. There were so many in the air that I had to ride at times with my hand in front of my face - not exactly the safest thing to do when you are riding down an unlit country road in Thailand on a motorscooter. Keep in mind that most other people on the road are riding motorscooters as well, but many don't use their headlamp, or it is very dim, or even worse - they ride on the far edge of the wrong side of the road.

When I was about 7km from Chiang Rai, I noticed that the ride was suddenly bumpy. I came to a stop and found that the rear tire had gone flat. I rolled it to a spot next to a driveway to a restaurant and a set of some kind of shops. The shops were closed, but the restaurant appeared to be open. I walked around the lower level of the place - finding no one. Soon, a couple pulled up in a car, and walked upstairs. I followed them, and then after much trouble with translation managed to explain my situation and one of the hostesses attempted to call Jira (the owner of Jintuaree Guesthouse where I was staying). She got a hold of him on the second try, but the connection was really choppy, and I could barely make out his English. I gathered that he wasn't able to help because he was somewhere with his daughter, and couldn't leave. I told him "no worries" - I would try to find help elsewhere.

In my mind, I was having a small meltdown, but I was determined to remain calm and collected. I went back to the motorscooter, and started to gather my belongings. I was planning on trying to make my way back to the guesthouse somehow and then arrange to have the motorscooter picked up or have the flat fixed at that location. Just then, a man wearing heavily creased slacks and a white tank top wandered out of the building next to the driveway to the restaurant. He greeted me in broken English and asked what was going on. I explained what had happened, and he told me he was a policeman, and could help me get the scooter back to the guesthouse. Apparently, I had broken down in front of a small police station, and not realized it. He told me to wait, and after a couple of minutes, came out - now wearing the neatly pressed official khaki-colored shirt. We lifted the motorscooter onto his truck, and I gave him the Jintuaree card that I had. I had not thought to grab the one in Thai script, so I had to show him in my little notebook the name that I had written myself in Thai with Jira's help the day before.

When I had first arrived to Chiang Rai, Jira had explained to me that he also had some apartments in another part of town, available for longer term stays. This policeman who was so very kind to offer help only knew of the apartments, and that is where he took me initially. I could recognize that we were going the wrong way, but was unable to explain it to him, and he only understood when we stopped at the apartments. The reception person there was able to understand that I wanted to go to the Jintuaree Guesthouse, not the Apartments. When we finally arrived, I was greeted by Jira's wife Tutu, and his mother, as well. After unloading the motorscooter, I asked Tutu if I should give some money to the man - whose name I never got - and she told me that he was insisting on my simply accepting his kindness. She told me that I had now learned the meaning of "Kon Thai jai dee", which translates to "Thai people have a good heart." I thanked the man in Thai as best I could. He was grinning almost as though he was very proud to help. He nodded to me and then drove off.

Tutu asked me if I was hungry, and of course I was starving at this point. I hadn't eaten in over five hours. She made some chicken fried rice and a little soup, which I had to try very hard not to vacuum up too quickly. I shared the story of my day with her, and she was impressed that I had covered so much ground on a motorscooter in one day. I looked at the map, and calculated my round trip at over 180km. I was overwhelmed at how very gracious and attentive Tutu was, and I thanked her many times before retiring to my room.  ¶ 8:39 AM