Nong Khai

      After our rickety 10 hour van ride through the night on back country roads we arrived in Nong Khai. Which is nestled along the Mekong River that flows wide and brown in the rainy season. It's the divide between Thailand and Laos. Here we found a mellow guesthouse that sits on the river bank called Mut Mee.  It has the best food, Eugene can't stop eating.  He orders breakfast and then lunch, back to back. He says he's getting fat and wonders why!  The day we arrived Eugene ate all day, while we recovered from our transport, and its a good thing it rained all day!
      After not doing much for two days when the rain let up we rented bikes and took to the streets.  We followed the map to one of the most interesting and weirdest sculpture parks we have ever been too. Apparently the guy was gay and loved snakes thinking he was one himself; he used cement from a U.S. project that never happened. Some sculptures were seven stories high!! After our walk through we got caught in the rain squall which soaked us to the core. I got a flat tire this time, and didn't realize it until we returned the bikes.  I was wondering why it was so hard to peddle!! 
       The next day we braved the streets, this time on a motorbike rented from a nice toothless guy named Sun. He was full of information and had details on how to start the bike if it had trouble.  Good thing Eugene is a California driver and spent the past two years driving for his job.  We cruised two hours into the countryside to a Historical Park called Phu Phrubat.  At one point it was a glacial terminal moraine depositing rocks that later eroded by rivers into mushroom shaped creations that were used 5,000 years ago by hunters and gatherers for shelter.   Some of the rocks displayed caveman artwork and the giant footprint of Buddha.  The history was fascinating, the park was well kept, and the people were friendly.  We met park employees, monks, thai students, and a monkey riding a giant pit-bull.  It was a great day! The ran has stopped for now and its blazing hot. Tonight we head to Bangkok to continue our journey south to a jungle national park and the beaches. 
  

Nong Khai Pictures

                                                       Thai work out next to the River

                            Massive Seven Headed Cobra at Sculpture Park (can you find Eugene?)

                                                         Rebirth Buddha Style

                                                     Thai Dance Pose with Students

                                                 Lifting up Mushroom Rock at Phru Bat

                                                            Three Faced Trickster

Chiang Mai Pictures

                                                                poopy elephant ride

                                                          trekking through rice fields

                                                        Chiang Rai white temple

                                                            Motorcycle rally

                                                        Hanging from the back of our ride

Chiang Mai

      So we caught a night bus up to the northern part of Thailand into the mountains.  Our bus was suppose to be really comfortable with food and pillows and etc.. and it was not and we did not sleep well, but we had a great view in the front row the whole time.  We arrived tired to our guesthouse where we took a nap and tried to re-cooperate before trekking.  Fortunately for us the trekking was postponed for a day.  The next day we went on a guided tour to the most unique temple in all of Thailand. It was all white with mirrors reflecting the sun, and was constructed by one man.  Then we carried on to a tourist trap hot spring place where we soaked our feet in hot mineral water.  After we traveled farther north to the Golden Triangle where China, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand meet on the Mekong River.  Here they use to trade opium for gold. We learned the history of it all in the House of Opium with free samples at the end!!!(just kidding).
      The next day we started our three day trek in the mountains near the Doi Inthanon National Park.  It began with an hour long elephant ride which was fun until our forty year old elephant decided to spray Eugene in the face with elephant shit.(It stains by the way)  I'm glad I was sitting on the other side.  Then we trekked into the forest with our guide where we saw mushrooms abound and swam in a beautiful waterfall before arriving to our camp four hours later.  The next day we hiked to more waterfalls and there were only four of us.  We ended the trek with a bamboo raft float down a river where the most interesting part was at the end where we saw an elephant completely submerge itself in the river and then buck off its trainer.  Little fat Chinese boys were screaming with fear as they floated pass.
        After trekking we returned to Chiang Mai where we rented a motorbike and braved the crazy streets of Thailand.  Eugene drove us up the mountain overlooking the city where the weather was cool and misty and the vibe was mellow.  We hiked to the top of the Doi Suthep mountain and then went to the most sacred temple near the top with great views of northern Thailand.  Today we head out of Chiang Mai on another night bus to the border of Laos and Thailand called Nong Kai.  After further research we decided to skip Laos and stay in Thailand.  

Bangkok Pictures

Golden Buddhas

Keeper of the Palace

Wat Pho

Fishy Fish

 

Eugene is loving it!

                                                              Giant Reclining Buddha

Bangkok

We made it to Thailand! We arrived at about 2am in Bangkok after a long, but not so bad flight.  The time change was a little rough the first day but we still got out and wandered the streets.  Bangkok is a colorful city full of interesting smells, and extraordinary architecture.  We hit the most famous Buddhist temple, the Grand Palace.  Here we saw the Emerald Buddha which was discovered in Laos before 1435 and was brought to Bangkok many years ago.  They thought it was Emerald, and later decided it was a huge piece of jade.  After the temple we got ourselves some Pad Thai.  The food has been delicious.  We headed back to our hotel and ran into the fish tank, where you can soak your feet and legs and let little carp looking fish eat off all the dead skin.  I went first and then made Eugene join and he did not like it.  After about five minutes you get use to it.  Then we got a Thai massage half hour for four dollars.  Just what the doctor ordered!!
The next day we checked out the temple What Po where the Golden Buddha and the Reclining Buddha live.  After checking out the temples a monk approached us and took us to view a ceremony for a deceased monk.  He was very nice.  After leaving the temple our day turned into a Celestine Prophecy style. We needed to make a plan so we decided to head to the train station to scope it out and buy a ticket to the next destination; on our way we ran into a nice fellow who told us it was a holiday weekend and that we needed reservations for everything, then he put us on a tuk-tuk to a private temple where we met another guy who told us the same thing and told the tuk-tuk man to take us to the Tourism Authority office to make our plan. The whole time we are thinking this could be bad or it could be good.  So we went with it and then we did something we never do....we booked transport, lodging, and trekking to six different destinations for the next two weeks.  So we will see how it goes and tomorrow we head out to Chang Mai.