First stop: Chiang Rai hot springs. Quiet a tease to be honest. All the fuss is this blow hole that shoots out hot water. There is nowhere to bathe in the warm spring while enjoying the pleasant scent of sulphur ;) although not a highlight, it is still worthy of a picture as it did mark our first stop of the day.
Second Stop: Definitely the highlight of the tour. Wat Rong Kuhn otherwise known as the white temple. It was magnificent! There are pieces of mirror embedded in the building so it glistens in the sunlight. It was magical! Unfortuntaely, pictures weren't allowed to be taken inside the temple so I will have to rely on my memory for this special moment. Inside stood 3 buddahs in decending order of height one in front of the next. A huge gold buddah was painted high up on the wall, next in line was a white buddah statue and next was a gold statue. Last was a monk (live monk!) sitting cross legged directly in front of the three other buddhas. He sat so still. I entered the temple, took off my shoes, kneeled in front of the monk and felt total peace. This was the first temple I have been to so far on my trip that I had a deep connection with. There were no thoughts passing through my mind. I was totally present. I could have sat there for hours!
Third stop: Golden Triangle. This is where Thailand, Burma/Myanmar, and Laos meet. We took a ride in the Mekong river where the countries border. The tour guide decribed the water as a chocolate color. And indeed she was right! Definitely wouldn't have wanted to fall off that boat!
She told us we were going to stop on an Island in Laos and kept on taking about how there is special whiskey made there. See below to see what she was referring too!
Ready for the whiskey?
Yep the above picture are bottles of whiskey marinating in snakes and scorpions! I was tempted to buy them as souvenir presents for my loved ones. (YA RIGHT! Yuck!)
Fourth and final stop: a visit to hill tribes.
Another wonderful day that I am grateful to have had!
Click on this picture if you want to see more pictures from the tour!
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