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	---> 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

Three Days through the Northern Countryside

Although being a journalist always comes with the heavy burden of irregular working hours and harsh deadline enforcements from our Dear Editor, there is a trade-off from time to time. Yep, we get to go on many of these 'study-visit' trips. Some of them are really tedious, but once in a while, like this last time, they turn out - well, impressive.

What happened was we got an invitation from the Regional Public Relations Department to visit their network of radio stations in Fang District, Chiang Rai and Payao provinces: not too promising at first glance. However, the travel itinerary included a number of interesting locations I've been wanting to get to, but never had the opportunity to do so. But here it was!

Well, we did the required visit to the Radio Station in Fang district...Yeah, great, but I'll call you, ok? Then came the chance to get up onto the magnificent Doi Phahom Bhok, at 2,285 meters above sea level, a mountain second in height only to Doi Inthanon itself, this kingdom's highest. And as at this height, it's common for Inthanon or its close challenger to be shrouded in fogs and cloud much of the year, the name Phahom Bhok - 'Blanket-covered' - is thoroughly appropriate.

At the national park office here, we could have enjoyed a mineral bath, boasted to be unique, since to get at the hottest water they have to dig below 150 meters into the sub-soil. At that level the water temperature's some 100 degrees Celsius, but up on the surface it's maintained at 40 degrees before being released as an (artificial, pumped-powered) hot spring for visitors to bathe in. But bathing is only part of it. Visitors are also offered the further luxurious resource of a message parlour, with traditional services rendered by a group of well-trained locals. Sabai mahk!

Among many other interesting items of local singularity was the rather tragic but also all-too-predictable story of the Kaiser Butterfly (Kaiser-I-Hind, or in scientific nomenclature, Teinopalpus imperialis imperatrix). This specific species exists in very limited numbers from Nepal and northern Burma, across to Hubei and Sichuan in China. Doi Phahom Bhok is the only place in Thailand where it's been found in any considerable number. However, as its population worldwide has dwindled rapidly, so too in Thailand - owing to its exceptional beauty, which has led to it being in great demand by collectors and lepidopterists. Not more than ten years back, locals were being offered 20 - 30 grand for each specimen they could bring in. And guess what! It's now reckoned to be completely extinct in this and other national - that's to say Thai - locations.

Anyway, if you feel like touring in this part of the world, you should know you're allowed to camp up on the mountain, while there's guesthouse-style accommodation down at the national park office. Other sites worth visiting abound here, so if you love natural places like waterfalls and caves, don't miss out.

Our only experience with the Doi Phahom Bhok was listening to its sounds and admiring its its magnificent natural sites as presented in the slide show they put on for us down at the park office. Too bad we didn't have time to actually get out onto its slopes!

Anyway, all too soon we were shepherded into the van and moved on to Chiang Rai, where the fine accommodation of the Rimkok Hotel awaited us...you see what I mean about journalism having its up-side. Though after our long journey all we were fit for (after tucking in to whatever they put in front of us) was to hit the sack and visit dreamland.

On our second morning, our first stop was naturally another radio station, but from there we were taken to the Opium Exhibition and Information Centre of Golden Triangle Park. The centre itself a modern architectural structure, what it houses is an interestingly-presented history of the well-known (dare I say, notorious?) Golden Triangle in the days of opium trading and smuggling. The entire concept is well-displayed and the intriguing layout of the centre plays an important part in the audience's understanding and appreciation of the stories told. The exhibition consists of a 137-meter-long tunnel that leads from the lobby into the mountain, which simulates an actual opium farm and production facility, from which one can learn more about this dreadful/ magical plant that has played its part in more than five thousand years of mankind's history.

Too bad they didn't allow us to take photos in the centre. All in all, though, this is undoubtedly one brand-new tourism attraction that certainly shouldn't be missed. More info at hallofopium@doitung.org.

By the way, did you know there are more female journalists than males, according to population and social statistics? And do you know what several journalists do when they get together? They shop.

I mention this, meaning of course no offence to either gender, because I know when the name 'Mae Sai/Takilek' pops up in most people's consciousness, so too does the word 'shopping!'. And I have to say that if you go north from Chiang Rai and hit these border towns and you're not interested in shopping, you've wasted your journey. Look folks, apart from the fact that the first of these locations is on the southern side of the Thai-Burmese border, and the other's on the north side, and that there's an interesting little sashay across a small bridge and through customs and immigration involved, which may make you feel as if a little bit of Graham Greenery's involved, there's nothing else to be said about the place (though there are, according to friends, a certain number of DVDs available at low prices and in not bad condition. But pirated, tut-tut!) Anyway, if you do go - bon atelier!

That night before returning to the same hotel, we visited the Chiang Rai Night Bazaar. It may sound to you reminiscent of its Chiang Mai counterpart, but the range of commodities on offer is more limited: wardrobes, silverware, and some handicrafts, mostly. There are some restaurants, with ‘cultural shows', but in my metropolitan (born in Chiang Mai and proud of it) estimation, they've got a way to go before they even get within shouting distance.

If you're following our trail, one place you should visit is the famous Wat Rong Khun in Tambon Pa-or Donchai. The architecture of this recently-built temple is a radical piece of work designed and created by a high profile, extrovert artist named Chalermchai Khositpipat. Its white colored buildings and intricate sculptural details are considered either unorthodox and weird, or a supreme once-in-a-lifetime work of art. Judge for yourself, it's worth the side-trip.

Instead of driving straight back to Chiang Mai from Chiang Rai, we detoured to our make our final radio station visit in Payao. There we were treated to a luncheon at the side of Payao Lake. The atmosphere was superb, one could understand why this lake is quite famous, but the food was - let me be kind to it - mediocre. My advice? If you want to enjoy the scenery and eat, take sandwiches.

Just when it seemed that we were getting closer to making tracks for Chiang Mai, they took us to visit a small community in Payao called Baan Hauy Kien Nue, where local women gather to manufacture small chicken-shaped basketry from that ubiquitous and iniquitous plant (once you allow it to establish itself, you spend the rest of your life trying to eradicate it) the water-hyacinth. Nice to know it has some use, apart from gumming up our water-ways. At the reasonable price of 39 baht, this makes a lovely gift for friends when you're back home again.

For me, that kind of wrapped up the three-day long trip, so that it's there in my memory, waiting to be recalled - a nice little journey through the Northern countryside.

Tachyon & Terryl