Fossicking Around The Top North

[DavidFL]

After a nice soak in the hot springs at Pa Tueng it was time for a slow mender home.

Hot Springs North Thailand

A good long soak in a steaming thermal pool is Mother Nature's ultimate gift to a tired body, aches and pains and built-up tension. The thrmal wonders of New Zealand, Japan, Iceland etc are world-renowned, but that such things exist in tropical Thailand is perhaps less well known! How many hot...

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The Pa Tueng bathing house & gardens

2kms further west along R1089 & 500 metres south of the road is Wat Chantaram

An interesting litle wat with some nice colurs and architecture

Wat Chantaram · 4Q6H+C7G, Mae Chan, Mae Chan District, Chiang Rai 57110, Thailand

âââââ · Buddhist temple

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Then heading home along R1089 I made an obligatory stop at the Panor Coffee for a cuppa + a coldie with the delightful Miss Nid

Roll on the next visit & another fossick around the top North, there's a few more spots to go in this fabulous country.

 

[DavidFL]

On a meander home from Chiang Rai after fitting new spotlights, I took the road to Hell City.

A not so subtle reminder of what may come in the after life if you don't behave yourself while alive - karma will get you in Buddhist Hell?

Blood & Guts rule...

Should you want to go, be astounded & perhaps learn something, Wat Chairat Samran is the place to be

Wat Chairat Samran · VWP9+55, Wiang Chai, Wiang Chai District, Chiang Rai 57210, Thailand

âââââ · Buddhist temple

goo.gl

 

[Lakota]

I didn't know about the Kham river. I will have to explore it sometime. Huay Mae Kham is a very interesting place and famous for a (I think) flower festival. Thai Sunflowers. I do recall visiting a Temple there with Horses and a Kung Fu monk years ago.

I took a Scenic route home from Chiang rai this morning.

The rural road 4017 runs from Ban Don which is where the large Limestone Karsts are on the 1152 towards Phaya mengrai.
It crosses to Mae Ai which is between Phaya mengrai and Thoeng.
It's a very nice twisty road , great surface and very little traffic.

At the highest point of the road is a little viewpoint with a strange tree decorated with Thai women's traditional dresses. lots of them.

I'd be interested to know why !? They have been there for as long as I can remember 20+ years.

This Viewpoint is actually at the head of the valley where I live. I tried to connect it a few years ago on my KLX250S but I couldn't get through the last 5kms of jungle and cliff face. It's a bit more of a challenge now as we have recently had a huge Dam built at the head of the valley. Another Trail crosses the road from the viewpoint and goes down to a very large lake . It's accessible by Scooter but better on a dirt bike.

I've sent some photo's to David GTR as I have been having difficulty uploading them.
I don't normally (if ever) take photo's . So I got a coffee on the go and took some.

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[Heineken]

At the highest point of the road is a little viewpoint with a strange tree decorated with Thai women's traditional dresses. lots of them.

I'd be interested to know why !? They have been there for as long as I can remember 20+ years.

That is my backway to Chiang Rai City, and yes a very quiet road, after the chicanes heading towards Thoeng that road has all been resurfaced, I think it was completed about the middle of lastyear, great views on a clear day from the lookout


Regards the dresses I had a monk explain the reason too me a while back, he spoke great English and from memory the dress will come from a nearby village Thai Woman who has passed away, the dress is usually her traditional or her best outfit.................this is left at the sacred spot, or in somecases in the onsite wardrobe and is supposed to bring goodluck to her spirits...................................that wardrobe has been moved from that big tree in the centre of the carpark to over towards the back, a couple of years ago from memory.

 

[Heineken]

A few photos from Ban Don and the scenic lookout where Lakota was a few days ago...............................................I met my mate Ozzy Pete on the 118 one morning about 3 x years ago and we rode across to just nth of Tha Ton and up to Doi Mae Salong then down to Chiang Rai and then across the backway via Ban Don to my place. Pete was riding a hire X-Max from Pops in Chiang Mai, his 1st time on a X-Max

 

[DavidFL]

En route to seeking out a new hilltop temple I passed by Wat Nong Pueng & had to take a quick look.

Wat Nong Pueng

The temple property backs onto a lake out the back.

The giant Buddha being constructed will certainly be impressive when completed.

Wat Nong Pueng · Highway 1098 , Chan Chwa Tai , 57270 Mae Chan , Chiang Rai, 57270, Thailand

âââââ · Buddhist temple

goo.gl

A few kms further on I found the turn off to the hilltop wat & made the turn.
Wat Sri Yang Chum was on the corner, just after the turn, so it was time to make another unscheduled stop.

Wat Sri Yang Chum

And then the rain came down. Play stopped for an hour!

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An hour later, time to move on in search of the hilltop temple complex with a view.
It is another 4 kms roughly to the hill top wat.
The narrow concrete road winds its way through the fields.

Make turn & the road turns to dirt, & runs through a rubber plantation.

And then the road turns to a track & heads somewhere up the hill.

The old GTR fellah calls it quits for the day, not wanting to get stuck on possible snot & trying to turn the Vstrom around alone on a steep slope.
I shall return....it should only be another 1 or 2 kms up there somewhere, I think

 

[DavidFL]

Wat Mae Loi Rai - R1292 - Thoeng to Phayao via Pa Daet.

A stunning wat that is a work in progress....when will it ever finish?

And I'm damn sure I've posted photos from this wat before, but I cannot find the thread.

Wat Mae Loi Rai · H3V7+XPW, Mae Loi, Thoeng District, Chiang Rai 57230, Thailand

âââââ · Buddhist temple

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[Jurgen]

Visiting the "Golden Horse Temple" during Covid times

As popular “attractions”, in North Thailand, had to be temporarily closed, the “Golden Horse Temple” (Wat Tham Pa Archa Thong) also reduced its public activities [1]. From December first, 2021, however, life is slowly going back to normal and visitors are again expected to flock in. When I called at the temple, in November, everything was very quiet, but the area was not strictly locked.

Google map

View through the temple’s entrance arch toward the parking compound

A golden stallion greets visitor at the entrance

Reminiscent of times when young people where trained in Thai boxing, by the temple's Abbot, a statue features a boxer mounting a dragon


During my November visit, the possibilities to take pictures were limited, but I was lucky to arrive at a moment when a family made merit and a monk was briefly riding his horse and was chanting while circling the compound.

A monk accepting merits from visitors


Normally a “riding” alms round is organized on the compound at about nine o’clock in the morning. Monks probably sometimes also ride in the fields, toward neighboring villages, at earlier hours, but I have no reliable information about this for now.

A monk riding around the temple’s compound

Riding and chanting after visitors made merit (giving binderbaht)


Phra Kruba Nuea Chai Kosito, the Abbot and temple’s main personality is severely ill and not appearing in public anymore. With this iconic figure missing and all Covid restrictions, the temple has lost some of its glitter. Boxing training has been suppressed some times ago but there are still a good number of horses, a couple of monks and some novices.

It will be worth to assess the situation again and pay a visit once the tourism situation is more relaxed in North Thailand.

A monk from the Golden Horse Temple –(not the Abbot who is ill and do not ride anymore)

Some novices (4 these days) live in the Golden Horse Temple

After his chore of circling the temple with the monk, the horse is rewarded with some food

The souvenir shop is open but, these days, caters to few visitors

Large elephant statues greet farewell to the guests

A bridge crosses the Mae Kham River, at the temple’s entrance

Picturesque rice straw balls along the road

Rice straw balls


A couple of kilometers before the Golden Horse temple, another beautiful small temple is worth a visit: Phrathat Nang Khoi. It is a Phra That monument as it conserves relics of Nang Khoi, a lady revered for her love and patience as she desperately waited for her never returning husband.

Phrathat Nang Khoi

Google map

----------------------------

Note:

[1] stories about the Golden Horse Temple have been published in various GT-Rider reports:

Monks on Horseback - Ordination of Novices.
The Legend of the Golden Horse Temple
Fossicking Around The Top North (this thread)

 

[DavidFL]

Wandering along R4005 I stumbled across Wat Phra That Nang Khoi, a work in progress.

Unsure of what was up the track, lung walked up the hill, rather than tempt fate; & survived. 55

There's no shortage of cement or Buddhas

A massive chedi with multiple Buddha images is under construction at the very top.

Check it out sometime.

The finished product in another year or two will certainly be impressive, with sensational views.

Phrathat Nang Khoi · G2MC+XF6 Unnamed Road Pa Daet, Pa Daet District, Chiang Rai 57190, Thailand

âââââ · Buddhist temple

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[DavidFL]

The stunning white coffee shop out in the rice paddies - Thailand never ceases to amaze you.

Cafe Satyr

A place with a difference, out in the "middle-of-nowhere."
Opened 12 months ago just as covid hit, their plans for accommodation - tents & bungalows - are on hold for the time being.

Well worth a look if you haven't got much to do & enjoy a selfie or two or three.

Cafe' Satyr' / à¸à¸²à¹à¸à¹à¹à¸à¹à¸à¸à¸£à¹ · Unnamed Road, Ta, Khun Tan District, Chiang Rai 57340, Thailand

âââââ · Coffee shop

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[DavidFL]

En route to a GTR Dinner in Si Satchanalai I discovered the fabulous old film movie museum.

The Retro Film Preservation Center

A private museum with classic old movie projectors & 16 - 35mm films.

In addition to the old projectors there is an amazing collection of movie posters

The oldest projector in the museum is 80 years old

The happy proprietor - Manit Worachat- with the old GTR fellah

Born in Kalasin, but raised in Bangkok. His family owned a cinema in Bangkok & he grew up in a movie house.
Movies became his life. In the old days with no soundtrack he did the voice over narration for the movies @ the cinema.
He still has a collection of 40-50 movies for which he can do the narration.
The collection includes old cowboy movies, to which GTR enquired if he could handle a GTR cowboy movie sitting.

Yes is the answer. So who's interested for a GTR dinner with a difference? It can be set up! This would be a unique little event & loadsa fun.

Location: on R1, west side. 40 kms south of Phayao.

à¸à¸´à¸à¸´à¸à¸ ัà¸à¸à¹à¸«à¸à¸±à¸à¸à¸¥à¸²à¸à¹à¸à¸¥à¸ (ศูà¸à¸¢à¹à¸à¸à¸¸à¸£à¸±à¸à¸©à¹à¸ าà¸à¸¢à¸à¸à¸£à¹à¸¢à¹à¸à¸à¸¢à¸¸à¸) · 24/2 หมู๠9 à¸à¸à¸¢à¸à¹à¸²à¸à¸à¹à¸²à¹à¸à¸£à¸´à¸, à¸à¸³à¸à¸¥à¸à¹à¸²à¸à¸£à¹à¸à¸ à¸à¸³à¹à¸ à¸à¸à¸²à¸§ à¸à¸±à¸à¸«à¸§à

âââââ · Museum

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[DavidFL]

The Aquatale Coffee Shop & Art Gallery.

A hidden, charming establishment, nestled on a forested hill nearby Chiang Rai international airport.

Indoor outdoor seating. Multiple options on split levels.

A winner for a discreet romantic hook up.

Conveniently located of the eastern airport bypass R5023.

Aquatale Café - อควาเทล คาเฟ่ · 9 Nang Lae, อำเภอ เมือง Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand

★★★★★ · Cafe

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[DavidFL]

On a run to Cocoa Land only to find they weren't open on the day, I looked for somewhere nice to chill out for a while.

Ban Mai Prai Mek
A charming coffee shop - restaurant - resort overlooking the small Mae Tak resevoir.

A pad krapao moo & a bit too oily I thought. I will try another dish next time.

The coffee however was good & served at the right temperature.

It is a very suitable family place to take the kids for a play & run around.

The accommodation

The final access is a short gravel driveway

Worth checking out if you're cruising round the area.

à¸à¹à¸²à¸à¹à¸¡à¹à¸à¸£à¸²à¸¢à¹à¸¡à¸ · 117 หมูà¹14 Don Sila, Wiang Chai District, Chiang Rai 57210, Thailand

âââââ · Coffee shop

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