The two countries of Thailand are North and South. Part 6
Part 6. In which elephants are not elephants, a waterfall is not a waterfall, a hot spring is not a hot spring, and a hot tub is not a hot tub.
November 24, Saturday. Chiang Mai - Chiang Dao - Mueang Na
Plans for the day:
-Wat Suan Dok
- Wat Ban Den Temple
-Wat Tham Chiang Dao
- hot springs Pong Arng Hot Spring
- Sri Sangwan Waterfall
Total mileage 126 km
Map of movements, for clarity.
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Today is the first day of a five-day trip to the north. A car with a driver, a driver with our list, everything is listed point by point. The hotel is not booked for this night. We go where we go.
We leave at 8 am. The cafe is also open from eight, although when my husband left for cooking classes, he managed to have breakfast until 8. Today we are not lucky. All closed. We are discussing what to do. Go look for a cafe, then wait there for the order is too late. Moreover, almost certainly everything around also works from 8. The husband offers to wait for coffee right here, and then eat at the first stop. We decided on that, especially since coffee is already being served)
The minibus that came for us stops on the other side of the street. The driver does not find himself in any way, I go to him myself. He eats breakfast while driving, apologizes, jumps out to pick up our things. We leave at 8:15.
We have a different driver, not the one who went with us to Doi Inthanon. With this, communication did not work out right away. There are such people - and they are not rude openly, but all the time you feel unkind from them.
We immediately stop by the Wat Suan Dok temple. It is located in the city, not very far from the square, on the west side. I had thoughts of going to him by bus. Good thing I didn't go. Judging by the bus we took yesterday, we can wait half a day for it. In principle, it is not difficult to get there on foot, if walking, but in the cold)
What is this temple famous for? It has a chic cemetery (if you can talk about cemeteries at all), that is, a whole complex of white chedis.
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I think it's beautiful.
But, you know, I don't quite understand the very idea of burials in Buddhism. The body is burned and where are the ashes stored? Chedi is the privilege of famous people, saints. Where are the main people buried?
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I read that urns with ashes are taken home. There they create an altar and bring all sorts of gifts to the spirit. And this is where my cognitive dissonance nests. After all, if the soul goes to rebirth, to a new circle of earthly life, to a new level, then how can it need offerings and reverence after death? She also closed this level, the points are scored and counted. If someone knows the answer or has their own thoughts on this matter, then please comment.
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When you walk among these chedis, then such peace falls on the soul!
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We went around the whole territory a couple of times and left further.
Next stop is Wat Ban Den.
If you are not planning long trips from Chiang Mai, then this temple is still a must-visit. About an hour drive from the city. The beauty is simply incredible.
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This temple was the first in our ranking for a long time (until we got to Chiang Rai)
What is this? Elephants? Birds? Dragons?
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The temple has not yet been completed, in some places there is no mosaic. But the overall picture is great.
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I don't even have enough words to describe it all.
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The only inconvenience is that there are no places to sit. We sat down on some steps, among the chedis. Here again I have a question - and who is buried in this completely new place?
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Did so many people worthy of such a burial die during the construction of the temple? It is also embarrassing that there is not even a hint that it will be possible to bury someone else here. The entire area is tiled and looks finished.
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Figurines of various animals are very common in temples. I don't know what it means, but it seems to me that roosters are put up in honor of the military.
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For a long time, about two hours, we just walk around the territory of the temple, and in one place we go inside. The Buddha is lying, all in gold, people are sitting on the floor, maybe they are praying, or maybe they are just relaxing. I sat there too. I like to sit)
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Already before leaving, we find where they sell food and have Thai tea with some sweets for breakfast. In line for tea, an elderly Thai woman teaches me the correct pronunciation. Kap Koon Ka-ah- thank you) I guess I sound funny because she laughs and repeats the same thing over and over again)
The next temple is old, cave, very famous. Wat Tham Chiang Dao.
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The yard is decorated with lanterns.
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Huge fish, apparently catfish, swim in the pond. The size of a crocodile.
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Before going to the cave, we walk around the territory for a long time.
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The cave is very stuffy. Almost nothing to breathe. Entrance to the cave costs 50 baht. Inside you can take a guide for an additional fee, I do not remember exactly, it seems 200 baht. We did not take and did not go further.
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Where a ray of light breaks through, it is very beautiful. The rest is cave and cave. It might be interesting if it's your first time in a cave.
In general, we liked the temple, especially the nature around)
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Then the driver takes us to the hot springs, but misses and brings us to the Sri Sangwan Waterfall. This is a national park, the entrance is only 40 baht, the ticket is valid for hot springs too. As my mother says - a cheap fish, a worthless yushka. This is exactly the case) The waterfall is poorly visible, almost nothing. We wander, among the thickets, below. Then we go upstairs, we walk there a little. Not impressive.
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It was necessary to choose a sticky waterfall near the Wat Ban Den temple, but I didn’t know if we would have time for the waterfall at all, so we hoped to take a longer bath in the hotspring.
In the national park, houses were offered for 800 baht. We went to look at them. Already on the way, I realized that we do not need to be here. We walked and walked, at first sharply uphill, then through a large utility yard, then we came to some completely overgrown cliff and there they showed us a house. The place is disgustingunpleasant. Inside the house, nothing like that, you can live - a couple of beds, a shower. But it's hard to even imagine how to stay here for the night)
We refuse the offer and leave for the sources.
Sources of Pong Arng Hot Spring. Our sad sadness)
I was asked why I chose these particular sources. Now I can say for sure - the demon beguiled) For I have never seen a more stupid hotspring in my life. The bath is practically one, there are a lot of children and several adults in it.
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The rest of the territory is abandoned, worms with legs are found in the water.
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The cold pool is generally dirty and doesn't look like anyone has ever swum there at all.
The valley of geysers looks good, but the geysers need cold air, that is, early morning. We will definitely not stay here until morning)
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I'm trying to find employees to ask about massages or private baths (I've seen bath houses, but they're locked, of course). Unfortunately, I didn't find anyone. So they left dissatisfied.
It was already necessary to think about where to spend the night, and then where to eat. You could think the other way around, but you still didn't feel like eating)
In preparation, on the Google map, I outlined for myself one of the overnight stays - the Baan Famui hotel. 1500 baht per night, exactly the same as in the hut on chicken legs, on the terraces. But this hut differed from the previous one like a Mercedes from a Cossack)
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Half past three, there is another option to get to Ang Khang, there is only 53 km, it's no more than an hour and a half, given the serpentine. But we did not see the need to drive somewhere. I just wanted to relax. If not in hot springs, then at least in the jacuzziin the room.
We go to the hotel. The only person we find there is a guy of about 25, a little slow, minus zero in English.
Check-in is fast, the guy just called an English-speaking friend (or boss) and took our things to the house on the mountain. In principle, all the houses there were high on the mountain, but ours is above all)
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The area is very beautiful, albeit a little run down.
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The flowers are amazing all around. They don't seem to be well looked after. Maybe it's just the off season?
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And there is a jacuzzi, yes) But such a sad sight - uncleaned for a hundred years. The guy was not greedy, included it as it is. This dirty, cold Jacuzzi gurgled like a real one, calling and beckoning us. We did not succumb)
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Well, things don't always go according to plan. Sometimes like this - and the waterfall is not a waterfall, and the hot spring is not a hot spring, and the hot tub is not a hot tub.
The driver was released as soon as the things were taken away. Somewhere at 14:45. Let the person rest, even though he is not very affectionate)
The room is wonderful, nothing to complain about (although we had such an opportunity in the morning))
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Half an hour later, when we realized that today we had not had lunch yet and there were no hopes for dinner, we began to look for something edible. They immediately tortured the guy and his friend, who is on the phone. Nothing happened, we went to the track, first to the store, and then along the track on foot, about a kilometer, to a strange-looking edal.
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It was just a hut with a couple of tables. Very cluttered but with delicious food.
My husband says:
-And how do we explain what we need, they probably don’t speak English?
-Yes, what is there to understand? I laugh. We didn't come to dance. It's clear to have dinner.
The girl is busy near the pots. I ask:
- Padtai?
Well, how else to ask, we don’t know how the food will be in Thai)
The girl shakes her head. Do not fall from her, we can see for ourselves.
-Tom Yum?
Also no))
I remember another word from the field of cooking:
- Kao Tom?
The girl finally realizes that we will eat what they give and seats us at the tables.
The soup is very tasty, similar to the one that was in Chiang Mai at the top. We eat already behind the ears.
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We roll back slowly, we go to another store. Here a girl of five years old speaks English with us. He speaks better than me. Her mother asks us where we came from and where we are going. We answer that Ang Khang.
-Ltd! It is very cold there, she warns us.
-Ltd! We know - I answer)
I have with me, so you understand, tights 100 den, for such a case. And the jackets in which we left Kyiv. I also wanted to take my hat with me, but my husband booed me.
-To Thailand, Tanya, let's go, to Thailand! Not to the North Pole.
Northern, not northern, and in the evening I went out to smoke in a jacket, wrapped in a scarf. And tights 100 den.
Again, the hotel is amazing. The views are awesome. And everything is so cute.
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We went to bed very early. We only had time to eat a little fruit, as it got completely dark. No stars, no lights.
Well, what to do? TV, however, was. I do not remember that we included it at least somewhere)
Tomorrow we move further north, to where it is even colder)
