Chiang Rai for the New Year- Day 1

The New Year holiday fell on a weekend this year giving me a 3 day weekend. As with all 3 day weekends I began to wonder which part of Thailand I should explore. Chiang Mai is a favorite for ringing in the new year but I was too late for that as all the flights were sold out. So, I decided on a city just north of Chiang Mai...Chiang Rai. I had heard that it was a beautiful place with a cool climate in the winter and it's located just an hour from the Burma, Lao boarder. I booked a ticket, found a hotel and began planning out the trip.

Since I couldn't take time off work I departed on Saturday morning and arrived to the hotel around 11:30. I met up with a friend who had arrived a day earlier and learned that she had arranged for a driver to take us on a tour of a few sites south of the city. Off we went to explore.

The first stop was at a Karen Long Neck Village. This is a hill tribe group that still practices neck elongation by placing rings around a woman's neck. It is thought that this custom began years ago after several attacks by tigers. It was decided that if the women placed these rings around their necks it would protect them from the murderous teeth of the tigers. I had mixed feelings about visiting this village knowing that such experiences are often turned into something more like a human zoo than an educational experience. My fears were accurate as we walked through the village which was basically just a shopping trip. The walking paths were lined with displays of various mass produced handicrafts, very few of which were made by the Karen. At one point we were sat in a thatch covered area to see some traditional dancing. A group of about 5 men and 5 woman unenthusiastically walked and shuffled a rhythmic circle while a few played instruments. The music played drum, gong and cymbals seemed a completely different song than what was played simultaneously by the bamboo flutes. Each on their own would have been interesting to hear but the combination was not music to my ears. The complete lack of emotion by the dancers left me chuckling as I again reflected on the zoo type feeling of the visit.

Despite my discomfort I did manage to take a few photos and find some handicrafts to purchase which I watched the artisans craft. There were several women hard at work on their looms weaving scarves. Typically this would be up my ally but I find I have very few opportunities to wear scarves in this climate and I'm pretty sure my friends and family are looking forward to the day they get something other than a scarf from me. :-) One of the handicrafts I purchased was a mug made from green bamboo. Very unique.

Next on the agenda was my main

purpose for wanting to visit Chiang Rai. I'd seen pictures of a new Buddhist temple which began construction about 12 years ago. It is completely white and has the feeling of an ice castle to me. I was excited to actually get to see it with my own eyes. My experience matched my expectation. The sight was fantastic. The temple, so ornately constructed was happiness to my eyes despite the swarms of people in and around the temple grounds. I was surprised to see that the inside of the temple was not yet finished. The construction was complete but the painting of the walls was still in progress. No photos were allowed inside but I snuck a picture of the painters pallet. The paintings on one wall were humorous, depicting images of super heros such as Spiderman, Superman, Harry Potter and others on the lower part of the wall and above it were paintings of heaven. I'm not completely sure what the painter was going for but I was left with the impression that the message was to rise above the world and things that aren't real, a message I can relate to.

The last stop required an 1800 meter hike up a mountainside to a lovely waterfall. It was a terrific ending to the outing. We headed back to the hotel to prepare for the evening festivities celebrating and end and a beginning.

The plan for the evening was to walk up the street a block to the city center which had been blocked off to traffic for the celebration. Food vendors were lined up both sides of the street which was already packed with families and friends visiting and enjoying the various stages of performers. My pick was the center stage which featured traditional dance of both the Thais and the hill tribes. Before setting off the fireworks a story was told that I didn't understand a bit of. But it involved a dragon in Chinese style, dancing around the stage. It was a beautiful performance and ended with fireworks being spewed out of the dragon's mouth.

We headed back to the hotel, drained from the days adventures and listened to the fireworks from our room. Welcome 2012! Please be as good to me as 2011.