Bill Smale

December 12, 2021January 15, 2022

The Buddha on the Hill

A little known temple on the top of the hill in Fang was the temple the snake coffee fellow directed me to. So, why not? It turned out to have some nice artwork.

The shiny tiles are now so prevalent in temple decor. You see a water bottle in front. Thai people drink only purified water although the head of the UN Delegation here in Thailand told me the tap public water is up to international standards.

This seems to be dedicated to the previous king, Rama 9, who was actually born in Boston.

always look up in temples or churches to see some major beauty

of course I couldn’t leave out a photo at the snake coffee stand.

December 7, 2021December 8, 2024

Don’t Get Caught by the Border Guard!

Joking! This road leads to the Myanmar border, which you really don’t want to cross right now. Some of these images are fairly large and load time may be “something”, not “nothing”. But the sights were so nice I wanted to keep some decent resolution (to be resolute).

what would a country road be without cows?

Is he managing his fishing net or doing something else?

this is an entrance to Myanmar you really don’t want to try to cross in a 160 cc motorcycle and without permission

December 5, 2021January 15, 2022

Fang had one last sharp point

Upon leaving Fang, a very beautiful farm and mountainous area in very Northern Thailand, I spotted this amazingly beautiful temple entrance and had to photo and video the visit. This is Wat Udom Mukhom.

the entrance shimmers as you pass through.

watch as I pass through

looking up and around in any temple is important. you see beauty and stories all around

these are great places to sit, relax and take a break from travels. if you like you can find also your own style of meditation. you don’t need to be a Buddhist to meditate.

there are wonderful stories in those walls. in black and white you will see credits for the sponsors of those spaces

December 5, 2021January 15, 2022

Nan is not a bread!

Nan is a district and town in Thailand that is kind of interesting and I encourage you to visit to see the sights. Getting here provides many beautiful sights along the way if by vehicle.

on entering town I turned into Wat Sri Panthon. These items are for parades.

these murals are very representative of temple story books

Old Grandfather Somchao Cowboy Restaurant is decked out in US wild west decor and has excellent Northern Thailand food.

even the marlboro man displays prominently

2 of my favorites, pig neck (Ko Moo Yan) and “waterfall pork” (Nam Tok Moo) with sticky rice (Kao Neau)

The Nan Museum is interesting as it taught me some of these northern districts were not part of “Siam”. Once incorporated the Thai people in this area helped in promoting the renaming of the country to “Thailand”.

The Explanation: “

Arts in Mueang Nan
In the remote past, Nan has long been considered as a small chiefdom, located in an embrace of a jungle and a mountainous range. Artistic style of Mueang Nan, from middle of the 4th to early of the 20th century, obviously presented an external source of influence, related to Buddhism. Over six hundred years, the arts of Nan artisans also reflected on the
Buddhism faith, history, and way of life of Nan people. According to different sources of artistic influence, the arts of Mueang Nan can be ategorised into four phases as the following details; The 1st Phase: During middle to later of the 14th Century, the artisans of Nan explicitly illustrated a similarity or stylistic art from Sukhothai, potentially because of a good and strong relationship between Nan and Sukhothai. The 2nd Phase: During 1450 – 1559, since Nan was conquered by Lanna, the artisans of Nan, consequently, reflected
a mixture between the Lanna and Sukhothai stylistic arts which commonly existed still in Nan. The 3rd Phase: During 1560 – 1785 Nan was under a conquer of Burma for over two hundred years which also resulted in a chaotic circumstance. Different battleships also came across during that period. Hence, it can be considered that Nan artisans was in a descent situation during this era. However, a local artistic style was appeared as a typical Nan style. In addition, Burmese art less influenced on Nan artworks, meanwhile, an influence from external art also appeared as a short-term existence. The 4th Phase: Nan had been ruled by Rattanakosin Kingdom since the reign of King Rama I. Nan stepped back on the right foot, and the art of Nan rehabilitated to its original. Also, it brought the other styles of art namely Rattanakosin, Lan Xang, and Burmese that imported by the commands of Great Britain to modify the traditional works of the native artisans. As a result, the significant integration in the art which branched out enormously. A visible sample was the wooden Buddha images which were very popular to make since then.

posing in front of the more significant artifacts, especially the Garuda.

December 4, 2021January 15, 2022

All around

at the crematorium Roy has a lot of dogs to take care of, dogs dumped off by unloving people

Roy is very happy with how he set up his new bike

got a sticker on the gas tank lid showing I want 100% gasoline (95 octane…no gasohol)

in Uttaradit guess the name of the restaurant I visited? you get one guess and the first one doesn’t count. they served mostly German food but the menu promised some steak and french fries. I guess that is the German idea of New York food?

my water bottle brand label. how good is it?

the restaurant name is “yum”. the rest you can laugh at.

spicy friend pork with rice at YUM was very delicious.

this sushi restaurant’s name is “ooishii” (delicious). I wonder why they have to tell customers the food is “delicious”?

remember the “push me, pull you”? This is one way to get people around town. hope the passengers are not all so tall the driver can’t see where he is going

my new saddlebag I placed too close to the exhaust. i had to tape up a hole in the melting plastic

December 3, 2021January 15, 2022

Another What Wat!

Wat Huay Pla Kang, in Chiang Rai, is an often crowded (not in Covid times) temple area highlighting a giant Buddha which is actually Kwan Yin (the Goddess of Mercy). Here are photos of this temple area.

A skilled musician at the entrance to the small temple

from the top level. this is how the average people live

December 2, 2021January 15, 2022

Chiang Mai road to Phayao

From Chiang Mai, on the way to Phayao, the view is fantastic, the road is fun to drive on motorcycle and you come upon some really interesting people and places.

you can see some metal supports to help preserve the structure.

during election time. boosters forming a line of over 50 trucks

the coffee shop has a place to sit where you can soak your feet in the warm hot spring water.

December 1, 2021December 8, 2024

That’s the last Pai!

Every trip needs to come to an end and every photo blog needs to have a last posting. This is my last posting for Pai. If you ever get the chance to visit this village I think you will find it very interesting to rent a motorcycle and drive around to see the Hot Springs, the temples and the other sites in the area.

I guess was my breakfast every morning, included in the 450
Baht room fee.

Going up the mountains you can see some very beautiful farming area.

The Karen refugees from Myanmar live in camps like this for tourists to visit. The women from this tribe have the cultural tradition of lowering the collar bones by increasing the number of rings they wear as they get older. This can cause some health issues over time. Women from other tribes will differentiate themselves from this tribe in a different way. For more information you can do a search. There is a lot of information available. I visited one of these camps before as a tourist and had mixed feelings. The Thai tour guides explained money from tourists helps the people survive. There are different opinions concerning the isolation of these people for the sake of the tourists. I did not go into this camp.

I parked next to a farmer and a water buffalo.

the bridge leading into the Karen camp.

The bridge is not strong enough to hold mini buses and cars so one fellow instructed that if I wanted to go into the camp I should cross here at the River, which I did not.

There was a park with a waterfall at the top of the road. They wanted 300 but as an entry fee for foreigners. I have seen and can go to many waterfalls at no charge so I turned around and went back down the hill to a place right next to the stream. There I sat for about 20 minutes with my feet in the nice cool water. It was a good morning refreshment.

Meanwhile back in the village someone was fixing a water wheel to a shaft for some purpose.

I bought some saddlebags for 400 baht and affixed them

Cable ties are an incredibly flexible way to attach a lot of things including the blue basket on my rack.

November 30, 2021December 8, 2024

Pai Outskirts!

at si don chai is an off the path temple but I like temples like this. I spent most of my time watching the temple dogs, left by those who didn’t want them.