Day 12 Chiang Rai

Today we took a full day guided tour. We were collected at 08:30 am and had two other couples on our mini bus. Our Thai guide spoke English. Well I think it was English some of the time but then he spoke it a lot better than I spoke Thai.

First stop was the White Temple. This was the main reason for coming to Chiang Rai and was certainly worth the trip. What a magnificent site. Made from white marble but covered in mirrors which made it sparkle in the sunshine. It was very strange in places as you will see from the photos but still beautiful all the same. It claims to have the worlds most beautiful toilet block (well from the outside anyway). It is photos no. 3, the gold building. It was damaged in a recent earthquake and some of this was visible.

The next stop was the Black House. This is a museum that shows how Thailand used to be many years ago. Quite amazing.

Stop three was at Long Neck Karen which is a settlement of a Burmese tribe. The females have rings put on their necks from childhood which are replaced annually. The story says they did it to stop them being attacked by tigers when the men went hunting. They would also put them on their legs to stop them being raped but I am not sure how that would stop it happening. They were happily weaving scarves.

Stop four was a tea plantation.

Tea as far as the eye could see so probably just enough to keep me going :-)

After a stop at another temple we headed onto the Golden Triangle where Thailand borders with Laos and Burma.

This shows Laos to the top right, Burma to the left and Thailand at the bottom.

Another stop was at the Opium Museum. And a short walk to the few stalls selling their wares.

And so the main part of our holiday comes to an end. Tomorrow the Magnificent Seven, which became the Famous Five will become the three as Nigel and I head back to Bangkok for one night before flying home.

It has been a blast! We have had the most amazing, fun time ever. Thanks Babs, Di, Steve, Daryl and Kerith for making this the best holiday ever. Enjoy the rest of your trip relaxing on the beaches as we head home to a cold and wintry UK.