Day Two.

The time difference means that we are up at 5am. Today should be fun as we are heading into the mountains to check out one of the most beautiful temples at Doi Suthep before trekking to a remote village to visit the White Meo tribe to see how they live with Jan from Destination Asia. Apparently the journey is quite rugged  and we will make the distance in an open top truck called a Songtaew.

Wow. Back from the tour. It was truly an amazing thing to do. From the very beginning we were enthralled. Jan our guide met us at the lobby and showed us to our cushy van, Just Jan, the driver and the 5 of us. We exited the city crossing though the ruins of ancient Chaing Mai's fortified walls and moat.  Then it was a relentless climb up into the mist shrouded mountains of Doi Suthep National Park. After about a half hour of climb through what looked a lot like the Dandenong tourist road, the driver parked and we left the comfort of the van for a Songtaew. We branched from the normal tourist route and the road narrowed to a single lane each way. Then it narrowed to just one lane for both ways, then it became a dirt track. The stomach churning steep drops were made all the worse when the driver had to pass a vehicle coming from the opposite direction.

We were driving to meet the White Meo hilltribe. Where as the Black Meo hilltribe is a well trodden tourist trap flanked by shops and concrete houses and satellite dishes, the White Meo live much as they have for centuries. Only recently has power come to their village with the introduction of solar power.

Along the way we made a stop at the most beautiful rustic coffee plantation you could imagine. We met the old couple who worked there and were totally alone with the wilderness and birdsong.

The lady who served us in her open air shop above the plantation.

Coffee plants at the plantation.

Looking out from the balcony.

Drinking excellent fresh Arabica coffee.

We drank their coffee and tea and were invited to walk down the narrow steps to see the beans drying on racks in the sun. Magnificent all around. It was so incredibly tranquil. The average wage for a worker there is $300 THB a day and our coffee was $150THB, around $4.50 Australian.

We bid them farewell and continued our climb to the White Meo.

When we arrived we were a little uncertain; it was a quiet village and I think all of us felt that we were somehow imposing on them. Jan, our guide walked us from the village school to meet a grandmother whose husband had recently died and who was caring for her daughter and grandchildren.

The grandmother and granddaughter working by a fire.

They were embroidering by a small fire and welcomed us into their house. It was very simple living; dirt floors, a grubby battery collecting the sun, and a simple wood fire all in one room... for all of them.

Simple cooking. Only the bare necessities here.

Inside their one room, dirt floor house. Jan tells us about their lifestyle.

Sharon walking outside where we bought sewing from the family.

Brad outside their house.

One of the granddaughters checks on the pigs asleep under the grain store.

The children were charming little imps and we bought some of their woven wrist bracelets ad an embroidered bag.

We really didn't mind buying from the family. They were charming and inviting. Sharon's bag cost about $4.00.

Slowly we walked through their village spotting lazy dogs, pigs and piglets, beautiful birds in wooden cages, cats sleeping on corrugated iron roofing and people going about their business, which wasn't much as it was a Sunday.

Wandering through the village.

A family mug shot at the top of the village.

In the Songtaew, ready for the steep journey back.

We left in the Songtaew, educated and a little humbled by these folk, and retraced our steps down the mountain, past the steep jungle plunges and misty coffee plantations to the fork in the road dividing the White Mao from the conga-line of tourist cars and scooters.

We followed the road more well traveled to our first temple Wat Doi Suthep. This is a temple holds a holy relic of Buddha, a piece of his hair I think..?? :)

The king of Thailand set a urn containing the relic on an elephant and let it decide where to bury and enshrine the relic. The elephant walked far into the hills and stopped still on the spot that the temple now stands. The elephant died later and it was cremated and enshrined beside the temple. Cool story.

The path up was one massive staircase and at the top, we paid the $1.00 entry and were surprised by the spectacle before us. Gold and bells and pennants everywhere.

At the base of the staircase flanked by two dragons whose ceramic tiled tails flanked the stairs all the way up.

Bells bought and hung by visitors to the shrine

We received a blessing of holy water from a monk and performed several of the rituals for peace and well-being.

Sharon gets a cotton band from the monks that provide good luck.

This fabric will be wrapped around the shrine on Chinese new year. We all wrote a message on the golden sheet.

The place was quite a spectacle. Jan clued us in on much about Buddhism and the stories behind many of the smaller shrines.

Another family mug shot. This time in front of an enshrined relic of Buddha.

We ate ice-cream and had another good coffee before walking down the many, many stairs to the base of the temple where street hawkers sold fruits and skewers and clothing. We tried some banana fried in coconut mild and sesame seeds which was caramelized and delicious.

Soon enough we were back in our rooms where I am now, waiting for dinner with traditional Thai dancing.....

One of the varied dances during our meal.

Went to a rural part of Chaing Mai for a sit down banquet and traditional Thai show. Naturally there was the long fingernail type dance but also regional dances, traditional "waiting for the tea to dry" style dances and a guy spinning about with swords. The food was great and no sooner was a bowl running low of curry pork, deep fried chicken or sticky rice than it was refilled. Sharon had a vegetarian banquet of her own with Tofu that looked and tasted like pork crackling. All topped of with Cokes and scotch and Singah beer. Sharon and I just had water (that Bradley can hold his liquor) :) . Jan commented on the bus ride home that the dancing girls kept eying off the boys. I had noticed it myself and when we left the cast lined the stairs down to the car park. One of the girls wearing a decorative mask gave Chris a great big hug and blew him kisses.

Here is the day in video...

Good night from day 2.