Off to Thailand January 30

We left Phnom Penh on a morning flight on Thai Airways to Chiang Rai, Thailand. We had reservations for a hotel in the mountains that was in the middle of a group of hill tribes.

This was the one time on all our travels that we felt like we might not make it home alive. This pickup truck carried 13 people, all their gear and about 300 pounds of rice up the mountain to the mud cabins we were staying in. The road was incredible steep and the truck in need of an upgrade. As the driver kept down shifting to get up the hills we were concerned that he would stall the truck and the brakes would never hold. One side of the road was a steep drop off. After a harrowing 1 hour ride we made it to the top.

The group of us who rode up the hill together celebrating that the driver had arrived safely to the top.

Looking down at one of the hill tribe villages.

A walk in the jungle to a waterfall.

View from our deck.

We stayed here (Akha House) for two nights. We took the morning truck ride back down the mountain to Chiang Rai village.

In the afternoon we caught the local bus to the White Temple. This is a new temple, about 10 years old, which is being built by a wealthy man. 

All the buildings on the groups are white.

There were many interesting sculptures around the temple.

We returned to town by catching the local bus on the hightway. 

That night we went to the Saturday night market in town. A number of streets are closed and the vendors set up their stalls to sell their goods.

We had our portraits drawn by a local artist. Each picture was completed in 15 minutes. Do we look young or what!!

In the morning we took the bus to Chaing Mai.