S.P. Publishing Group Co., Ltd. 11/1 Soi 3 Bamrungburi Rd., T. Prasingh, A. Muang., Chiang Mai 50200 Tel. 053 - 814 455-6 Fax. 053 - 814 457 E-mail: guidelin@loxinfo.co.th

	---> MORE Destinations: _________________________________ New Perspective of Chiang Rai at Latitude 19 VISITING A BORDER TOWN: Mae Sot – then and now The Poy Sang Long Festival in Mae Hong Son The Samoeng Strawberry Festival Far Out and Cool in Fang District PICTURE PERFECT Mon Jaem Chiang Mai Reflections and a Night Safari Adventure Wat Palad: The Temple below the Temple The Bua Tong Waterfall Park The Cave and Hot Springs of the Mae On Area A DAY TRIP TO DOI INTHANON Two wheels good four wheels…er… The Sino-Thai Dragon Temple of Wat Tha Ton Doi Inthanon - Thailand’s Highest Mountain Kad Mua - an all-you-need market Chiang Dao High! Chiang Mai’s Red Cross and Winter Fair Loy Krathong at Tak A RETREAT TO... Kwan Yin Bodhisattva Hall Living with nature: Galyani Vadhana District Treasures of Myanmar A Journey to Shangri-La Pha Wing Choo – A Lover's Cliff Wiangtakan – The Past Remains Rural Life and Natural Mystery in Chaiprakarn Taking Aim at Chiang Mai's Shooting Gallery Chiang Mai - Maerim - Samoeng Route Hot Springs (and eggs) Ratchaphruek Festival 2009 The 5th Lanna - Japan Festival 2009 Make a Day of it at the New Look Night Safari Mae Sa Snake Farm Marine Lives in a Mountainous Zoo X-Centre Mae Hong Son, Pang Oong and much more along the way... Mae Kampong Village Tiger Kingdom Pai: The Hub of Joy Flower Festival Annual Bo Sang Umbrella Festival at Bo Sang Village Wiang Kum Kam: The Underground Ancient City Loy Kratong: The Town's Joyful Festival Monkey Centre Maerim, Chiang Mai Baankwai Thai Maerim Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden THE ROYAL PALACE ON DOI SUTHEP The Night Safari Ban Saonak Chae Son National Park Lamphun's Wat Chamathevi Doi Tao Lake Mae Sai Bai the Beautiful Wieng Kum Kam Mae Klang Luang Village Doi Pui - Hmong Tribal Village Nan Province Wat Suan Dok Chiang Saen: a city in myth and reality One Night in Chiang Rai and a day across the border A trip full of tour guides Two Days and a Night in the Country The Sumptuous Angkhang Gourmet Tour AWAY FROM IT ALL IN NEARBY MAE WANG Children's Day at the Westernmost Point of Thailand To Lamphun Along the Road of Histories ESCAPING TO PAI A WINTER TRIP ON THE PING RIVER To the Back of Beyond, right on your doorstep Visiting the Shrine of the Elephant-Headed God Visiting Samui Back to Nature at Opkhan National Park Lost in the Chiang Mai Zoo Three Days through the Northern Countryside DOING A NINE-TEMPLE KARMA TRIP - Right Here in Chiang Mai An Early Summer Trip to the Thi Lo Su Falls Nan: Forest, Temples and the Salt of the Earth TREKKING AND TUCKING IN: Wawee Coffee Plantation Mai Long Yee - Lovely Whatever Else You Call It Magnificent Creatures at Wat Changkham Off to See Some Mural Paintings in Lampang The Salawin and the People of Tha Tafang A Hike in the Forest A Journey back in time A Long Night of Luxury in the Chiang Dao Valley Ice-cold in Omkoy A Quick Visit to a Karen Wedding Strawberry Fields Forever A quick ride to Jaesorn National Park A Journey to Wawee A Birding Trip for Newbies Nam Bor Phi Cave A Breath of Sea Air Shopping With a Difference: Kad Luang Airport ELEPHANTS AND ORCHIDS AND THE SNACKS IN BETWEEN Monsoon Miscellany MAE RIM LAGOON AN IMPRESSIVE TRIP - to the Sukantara Resort Visiting Luang Prabang, the Pearl on the Mekong River Phrae: refreshing trip, auspicious visits Up on the Mountain (again) at Khun Wang UP THE MOUNTAIN TO THUNG LUANG SINGAPORE - City of Parks A Short Sight-Seeing Trip to the Monkey Centre GIVE PAI A TRY! You won’t regret it A BUSY DAY’S VISIT TO SANKAMPAENG A Rainy Day Outing to Phrao Monsoon Miscellany TRIPPING AND TASTING ALONG THE HANDICRAFT HIGHWAYS

One Night in Chiang Rai
and a day across the border

The first week of the month is usually the happiest time for all employees at my company, this being when wallets are once again full of money - well, relatively full.

That's what prompted one of my colleagues to say, "Why don't we go to Chiang Rai, spend a night there". Did we demur, think of our bank overdrafts? We packed that night, left Chiang Mai at dawn in the following day, staying two days and a night in Chiang Mai's northern neighbour, just a few hours drive out of our hometown.

Err. Did I say, `at dawn'? Well, some of us were up then and ready to go, but some of us weren't, and it was already 7.20 when we and our baggage piled into the van and got under way.

Fortunately, we have two guides accompanying us. Both are our colleagues: one an authorized guide while the other was born and brought up in Chiang Rai - knows it like the back of his hand - so we could be sure our welfare and safety would be properly taken care. So naturally we were in the best of spirits, bowling along the road out to Doi Saket and then up into the hills - not forgetting to give a hoot of homage to the shrine of the Mae Nang Kaew as we passed it - enjoying the fresh air and the verdant greenness of the forest that you won't find now in Chiang Mai's urban jungle.

Our first stop, at 9 a.m. was at the Mae Kachan petrol station, already half way to Chiang Rai, to breakfast on the various kinds of food as well as have some snacks available in a convenience store there. Clean toilets too - recommended! And refreshed, we continued, getting to Chiang Rai and putting up there at the Chiang Rai Inn.

Half the success of any trip is down to where you're staying, and the Chiang Rai Inn was ideal in every respect, more like a resort in its one-storey cosiness and comfort, and at the most reasonable of prices providing an array of excellent services - not just the clean and air conditioned rooms and the hot showers, fridge and cable TV on offer impressing us, but the environment also. The perfect base in other words for our foray out to see the sights: and believe me, as King Mengrai's original capital, Chiang Rai has an abundance to offer in this respect - among them the ancient temples of Wat Pha Sak and Wat Chedi Luang, greatly respected by the local people, as well as some ancient ruined temples in the Chiang San district. Among the listed ancient sites is a giant pagoda with a reconstructed roof over the vihara. Our guide didn't neglect either to lead us to Wat Phra Chao Lanthong which houses the city pillar. And you know what makes some of these structures unique is that many of them are tilted, just like Italy's Leaning Tower of Pisa.

On then with the recommendation of our tour guide to lunch at a Yunan-style restaurant by the Khong River. Reenergized by Yunan-style noodle soups, Gyoza and Xiao Long Pao, the steamed Chinese-style thin sheets of rice or wheat dough wrapped around minced meat, now all the trip members were ready to go to Mae Sai, our next destination, right up on the Burmese border. And you too can cross over for a one-day visit as we did, easily and conveniently. We showed our ID cards, but tourists have to produce their passports as well as pay a 30 baht charge, and another 10 baht on the Burmese side of the bridge, the same as we did.

Across the bridge and first-footing foreign soil, we found ourselves the target of Burmese tourist-touts, who offered to take us to - you won't believe this! - the Shwedagon Pagoda. A Shwedagon Pagoda, more like it, and at a far from reasonable price, so don't be persuaded. What you should do is what everyone comes here for - shopping. And it's heaven for film and music buffs, since there's a quite fantastic array of entertaining VCDs and DVDs on offer, including classic films, Hollywood and non-Hollywood movies, even the latest Korean dramas, together with numerous CDs by internationally popular artists. A word of warning though. Inspect whatever you're tempted to buy carefully, since the quality of the products varies. However, the prices are so low and quality in general so satisfactory that even if you do find you've got one or two duds, you're likely to feel you got fantastic bargains overall.

But that's not all. There are local snacks and toys and curios at really low prices, and what I love most of all - the fashion items. My friend and I entered a shop, spending hours there trying to decide which of the beautiful bags, purses etc we were going to get ourselves...and wound up with four very chic and reasonably-priced purses. Oh! Fashion, girls! Doncha just love it? That was it though. Back then to our native land, sweating in the heat of the sun's rays and carrying plenty. Five thirty by this time, and unless you want to be stuck in Burma for the night, you'd better get across the bridge before closing time - 6 p.m. We made it anyway, didn't lose even a single member of the party, and on the way back to the hotel we enjoyed looking at, admiring, in some cases wishing we'd bought ourselves, each others CDs, DVDs, sunglasses, snacks, purses, liquor and more. Also some of us bought low-price cigarettes, only to find they were - well, what do you expect? - fakes that scorched your mouth and had to be thrown away after the first drag.

But - oh boy! - were we bushed by this time. Back at our hotel we bathed luxuriously, rested and then went out for dinner in town....energizing us for whatever varieties of nightlife Chiang Rai had to offer...winding up - most of us - at the So Hub pub.

The following morning we really did hit the road at dawn, but not leaving Chiang Rai before breakfasting and saying farewell to this lovely city, as well as visiting a couple of temples on the way out - Wat Phra Kaew in the heart of town with the same name as the famous temple in Bangkok, and Wat Rong Khun, designed and still under construction by a famous Thai artist, exquisite in execution and unique in style. Don't miss it. For me this particular temple promises to be one of the great art works of our time and region.

And hurray! The vans safely arrived back at our office. It's true we were all wacked out but we returned with plenty of joyful memories packed in our bags.

Text: Ying & Fai
Photos: S.P.