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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.

Police are needed to guide traffic
the smaller temple
A skilled musician at the entrance to the small temple
Kwan Yin
quite a few steps
we can go inside
rice collections for people in need
one level down from the top
from the top level. this is how the average people live
Beautiful artwork
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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.

ancient temple
you can see some metal supports to help preserve the structure.
but kind of abandoned
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.
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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.
This is the Pai River in the Village.
A curry spiced Italian noodle dish.
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.

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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.

you can see the stickers on the right side of the motorcycle. The owner didn’t bother to takeoff the old yearly registration stickers.
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Loving Pai more and more

It says this bridge was built by the Japanese army during World War II but most probably it was built by prisoners of war
the view on the way to some hot springs
Some of this pathway was washed out so I, with zoris, was not going to continue
This river comes from a waterfall
And they wanted 300 baht to get in so I just left. I have seen many waterfalls in Thailand
I these are daily motorcycle rental rates. If you want to go around the mountains I recommend the Grand Filano.
This was one of the 20 or so very expensive motorcycles from a group that came in from Bangkok. One of the BMW motorcycles cost more than 115,000 USD, according to one of the fellows in the bikers group.
This was highlighted on a Japanese new show. The red and yellow sign says “if you’re drunk, drive slowly”
The view from my bungalow
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Another Piece of Pai

Someone had something happen to him and needed something to help him do something
And this public toilet will cost you five Baht but some people might think there are five baths inside
This plant is very expensive
a friendly visitor
This is the walkway to Spirit bar, a very relaxing reggae style bar/jewelry store
Someone again believes they are cute. I am just getting slashed with lazers
Cornell Colors!
The owner returns to ask for payment
and now she won’t leave until she gets her money
Someone captures me having a Thai rum with tonic
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A Piece of Pai

As I explained previously Pai is a very beautiful place in the northwest mountains area of Thailand very close to the Myanmar border. Here are some photos and some experiences while we were in the village and traveling around the area.

Here is the true owner of the bungalows
I tried to scan her barcode to make payment but it seems you need a QR code acceptable to the bank app
This is a tuk tuk graveyard. You could probably get one very cheap and start your own taxi business
The scenery on the way up to the village
It’s really nice to see bees
Nice fresh air
the first Honda branded BMW I have ever seen. Honda prices, of course
Relaxing while copying my cousins style of holiday photos. The feet are I mean attraction
evidently someone is making enough money in this village to buy a Ducati
This is one way to transport people to the hospital
Don’t I look very fashionable?
I clever hotel name
We saw quite a few Vespas in this village. They are double the price of a competitive Honda or Yamaha scooter
Here is Roy framing his face to show how cute he is
Someone cut me working hard. Or was it hardly working?
I hate very nice Italian style cheese with vegetable burrito
a simple alternative to a car. It keeps most of the rain off
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Pai, Cake or Temple? I chose Pai and Temple.

Pai is a mountain tourist village up a windy road (over 700 turns) from Chiang Mai. It is known for natural scenery, hot springs and lots of Vespas zooming around. Here are some photos from the Buddha on the hill, Chedi Phra That Mae Yen.

Looking over and blessing the village below
Pai Village
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Flying High…On The Ground Coffee!

Snake café, and what is next; an airplane café? Exactly. In Chiang Mai there is an airplane cafe. We had to go on the way back from Pai! Everyone has to try it.

Roy has the right idea. Get a ticket first. So we had to first go to the ticket counter at the terminal.
120 Baht flight charge, includes one coffee.
we follow the crew onto the plane
all aboard!
OK, I got my ticket
They checked my boarding pass
now we order a coffee
We are required to sit in the waiting area
funny ladies come to entertain us
This is our airplane
Now we can enjoy our coffee in the spacious business class area
BUT THEN THE CAPTAIN INVITES US INTO THE COCKPIT TO EXPLAIN ALL OF THE INSTRUMENTS. HE LOOKS VERY YOUNG BUT HE ASSURES US HE HAS ALL OF THE QUALIFICATIONS.
The captain shows us a trick to flying a big plane. It has to do with very expert finger movements.
After we land at our “no coffee” destination we are greeted by the lamp man. He says “thank you for flying coffee airlines.
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There’s a snake in my coffee, dear Ting!

I have visited many thousands of coffee shops in my lifetime. And I have visited a few snake shows here in Thailand and snake Street in Taipei. But I have never been to a coffee shop that highlights snakes as its main attraction. This coffee shop is owned by a young fellow named Ting and it’s really more of a coffee booth right in front of his house on the street. He just started up last year, loves the two snakes he bought in Bangkok a number of months ago and highlights them in his coffee shop. They are very friendly snakes and he finds a local supply of mice for them to eat once or twice a week.

introducing spider and pastel
I love snakes, maybe because I was born in the year of the snake