DIA 29 (14-12-2018): CHIANG RAI UN DÍA ANTES DE LO ESPERADO

Hoy parece que nos levantamos con energías renovadas. Kim parece que está mejor y hemos contratado con el hotel un conductor que nos lleve a los sitios que teníamos contratados inicialmente con Thailand Hilltribe adventure.

Como en este hotel el desayuno empieza a las 6.30, quedamos en empezar el tour a las 8.00, ya que nosotras de todas las maneras madrugamos. Así que a la hora acordada bajamos con nuestras maletas, que metemos en el coche que nos va a llevar de ruta (una ventaja que al acabar el día nos deje en el sitio que solicitemos, en nuestro caso en el hotel que teníamos reservado originalmente para la última noche de nuestro No-tour).

Y empezamos el día con el Templo Blanco o Wat Rong Khoun, que yo tenía entendido que es un templo reciente, pero parece ser que no, ya que las primeras reconstrucciones del templo, datan de la década de los años 20, solo que se quedaron sin fondos y no se pudo terminar. Es en 1996 que un arquitecto local, lo toma como reto personal y comienza su restauración que aún no está acabada.

 Así que empezamos la toruné, nos paramos en el “puente de la reencarnación” para hacernos una foto y se acerca Kim a devolverme la cámara y vuelve atrás para hacer una foto con su cámara, entonces me dice una señora que no se puede ir hacia atrás, que la entrada al templo es un único sentido porque representa la reencarnación, el paso de la muerte a la vida, superando las tentaciones de la vida con la religión budista. 

Básicamente Kim estaba yendo al infierno…..pero bueno…ella dice que no es muy creyente….

La verdad que el templo es muy bonito, y compagina elementos actuales con las creencias budista. 

Seguimos con las fotos y a la hora volvemos al coche…..

Próxima parada el Templo Negro o Baan Dam Museum, que no es un templo sino un museo compuesto de 40 edificaciones principalmente en color negro, color favorito del artista tailandés Thawan Duchanee.

Cada "casa" tiene en su interior muestras diferentes de arte: tallas en madera de teka

Pieles de cocodrilos, serpientes, cuernos de mamiferos...

De aquí ponemos rumbo a una “atracción turística” total. La que hemos ido evitando en todo nuestro viaje, pero como no queríamos irnos del país sin saber algo más de sus tribus de tierras altas, incluimos la visita al poblado de las 5 tribus. 

Y al escribir esta parte de la entrada, empiezo con mis dificultades memorísticas, porque no recuerdo si la primera tribu que vimos fueron los Ahka u otros, Kim dice que fueron otros, pero como no he podido descargar las fotos de la cámara no lo recuerdo.....En fin...imagino que en su parte estará esto mejor explicado.

Ahka

Pueblos de ésta tribu se encuentra en las montañas de China, Laos, Mianmar y en el norte de Tailandia aunque son originarios del Tibet.

Cada pueblo Akha se distingue por las tallas de madera de la puerta de entrada a su poblado

Lahu

También se localizan unos 2000 poblados de esta tribu en las tierras altas de Chiang Rai y Chiang Mai, aunque también se pueden localizar en Mianmar, Laos y China.

Big Ears

Fijaros en los dilatadores de las orejas

Long Neck

En esta tribu a las niñas a partir de los 5 años se le ponen estos "collares" que se can cambiando con los años a mayor numero de cuentas y hay que decir que pesan un quintal. Esta tribu no la quería visitar a conciencia porque en muchos sitios he leído que se está manteniendo esta costumbre por los turistas y la verdad es que de ser así, yo no quería participar de forma activa.

En teoría nos dicen que las gentes de éstas 5 tribus, viven aquí, y será cierto, porque antes de ir a cada “poblado” vimos gente cogiendo leña, limpiando, pero la verdad es que es algo muy muy turístico.

Terminada la visita, que bien nos llevó la hora entera, pusimos rumbo al Triangulo Dorado, que es el área donde las fronteras de Tailandia, Laos y Mianmar se encuentras en la confluencia de los ríos Ruak y Mekong

En esta zona desde principio del siglo XX hasta aproximadamente 1980, era la región más grande del mundo en cultivar papaver somniferum, la especie de la que se saca el opio.

Nuevamente fotitos y ya que estamos, porque no visitar un templo….WAT PHRA THAT PHUKHAO

Después comidilla a pies del Río Mekong, que bien podría sonar, pero al ver las aguas marrones, se quita de la mente la idea idílica de comer a pies del río….jajajaja

Y para acabar el día, teniendo en cuenta en la zona en la que estamos, vamos al Hall of Opium. En este museo no permiten hacer fotos y es una pena porque mi memoria no da para toda la información que dan (de hecho cuando tenga wifi confirmaré que incluso lo que pongo a continuación es cierto), desde que hay unas 23 especies de plantas del genero papaver, pero solo la especie papaver somniferum (Adormidera) es la que produce opio. De hecho para sacar el latex, hay que "sangrar" la cápsula de adormider y se deben hace dos incisiones de pequeña profundidad y separadas por pocos milimetros, y que dichas incisiones se hacen por la tarde para recoger el latex al día siguiente. 

Que debido a la pobreza de la zona, el cultivo de esta planta se extendió en el siglo XX de forma vertiginosa, siendo la zona de mayor producción del mundo, pero actualmente ha sido sustituida por Afganistan e India.

La verdad que nos paramos en todos lo carteles informativos (que no eran pocos) y en todas las películas que nos ponían. 

Me impactó la escenografía que montaron con las camas del opio, con una pequeña exposición de las pipas, de las cajetillas donde se guardaba el opio, las balanzas para pesar el opio.

También en las “almohadas” para los fumadores, que indican que las ponían incómodas, para que lo que fumaban no estuvieran muy cómodos y una vez pasado el efecto se marcharan.

También sobre el primer Convenio Internacional sobre el Opio firmado por distintos países para luchar contra el contrabando y en el segundo, firmado en 1925, es cuando aparece España

En fin….una pena no recordar toda la información….pero fue enriquecedor. Y cuando salimos nuestro conductor estaba preocupado, porque habíamos tardado un montón.

Ponemos rumbo al hotel que reservamos inicialmente “Phowadol Resort and Spa”, donde nos íbamos a dar un supermasaje al llegar de nuestro super tour por las tierras altas Tailandesas….jajaja

Llegamos, nos despedimos del conductor que la verdad fue super amable, correcto, y siendo conductor, que no guía nos dio más información en un día, que nuestro guía en dos. 

En fin, hacemos el check-in y nos dicen que nos suben a una habitación de categoría superior, a un cotagge…yujuuuu pensamos…

Así que tras la bebida de bienvenida, nos dicen de ir a un tuk tuk….pero nosotras no nos vamos a la ciudad….(ya que tienen traslados al centro en tuk tuk) y nos dicen que no, que es para ir a la habitación….casi nos meamos de la risa….y para allá que vamos…

Llegamos, me pongo a hacer fotos, descubrimos que el baño tiene…ventana…

Como tenemos wifi en la habitación, decidimos actualizar un poco el blog, que con los últimos acontecimientos, lo tenemos un poco retrasado.

Y decidimos ir a cenar en el mismo hotel, porque ya es tarde y estamos cansadas como para ir al centro, pero , ay amigos, ¿por donde se va? si nos han traído un tuk tuk y ni nos han dado un mapa del sitio ni nada….

Pues salimos y yo sigo a Kim porque si tengo que llegar yo,….vamos apañadas, de repente vemos un mapa,,…se ubica y paseamos, vemos la piscina, seguimos paseando, vemos otro mapa, seguimos paseando….y llegamos al restaurante ….que hambreeeeee

Y la verdad que vaya fracaso. Las caras que nos pusieron al llegar…y el servicio dejó mucho que desear, pero nuestro cuerpito serrano ya no daba para más….así que tras la cenita, damos otro rodeo para llegar a nuestra fabulosa habitación que está donde cristo perdió el gorro y a dormir mi estrella.

Day 10, 14-12-2018: 5 Stops in 1 Day = Whirlwind travel.

Lots of sleep for me and I get a bit of a bounce back in step. Feeling roughly 75% is good enough for me to hit the adventure and exploring road again.

Breakfast at the restaurant in pretty good – fresh food, eggs to order, espresso drinks, very friendly staff. I have plain food in hopes to manage the day. 

Bags packed into the car and we are off!! We have hired a car and driver for the day from the hotel so we are hoping for a good day of adventure ….. and it has to be better than our last driver and guide.

STOP 1: WHITE TEMPLE

This is a temple and pagoda complex that is modern. Interesting design and concept along with having modern touches like Disney characters in murals. You are either going to have to visit to see if we are speaking the truth about some things or trust us as there are parts where photography is not allowed (poor paparazzi ☹). It is designed to go one way, from hell to salvation.

We see many interesting things as we walk around. They are still working on several different locations so it would be interesting to revisit in a few years to see the changes. There is the sculpture room where there are miniatures of all the sculptures (and they are mini). Beautiful area with very interesting architecture.

STOP 2: BLACK HOUSE

Our driver knows this city very well and takes back roads to avoid the traffic – nice and sneaky!! We suddenly appear at the Black House. Our driver tells us a little about it – guide information, what a nice surprise!

I thought this was an actually temple and pagoda but it is more like an art installation. The artist died about 2 years ago but there are some artists still working on wood carvings and items. This area comprises of 40 buildings on the land, each with a different theme and art items. Beautiful wood carvings. 

As we look around, I am being to think that the country is obsessed with phallic symbols as once again we have run into them – and they are all over this location.

Cris approaches with caution as she does not know what she will find!!!

After an hour and many interesting and different art items, we take our leave as we have many more stops and time is marching on.

STOP 3: 5 HILL TRIBES VILLAGE

Now, originally, we were to visit several hill tribes with the past guide. However, as you know, that tour did not pan out well. So, we have decided to add the this to our day. It is very touristic but we are now out of options of we wish to see how some of the tribes live and mark their handicrafts. Our driver takes us to the entrance, tells us a bit about the place and tribes – maybe he should become a guide as he has already given us more information than the last one!!

We pay our entrance and begin our walk down the path. We are to see parts of the Akha, Lu-mein Yao, Lahu-Musser, Palong, and Long-neck Karen tribes. Here is the entrance to the village.

First tribe is the Akha. We look at their handicrafts and the paparazzi goes to town with her camera taking pictures of the ladies in their traditional wears. As we walk through this part of village, the Akha decide to make music for us. They do this by using bamboo of different sizes and hitting the bamboo on the ground and a log.

After they are done, we move onto Lu-mien Yao tribe. They also make music and dance for us. From their expressions, this is not something they are very enthused about and now I start to feel bad. These people have been reduced to becoming side show events for work and it makes me sad.

We then move on to the Lahu-Musser tribe. More handicrafts and no more music. Here they are weaving scarfs and items. The tribes almost blend together now. 

We arrive at the Palong. This tribe is noticeable because of the large gauge earrings that they wear. The women are also weaving.

The last tribe is the Long-neck Karen tribe. This is the hill tribe that places brass coils around the neck and just below the knees of the ladies. They start this tradition when the females are just 5 years old (I suspect sometimes soon as we saw a child of maybe 4 with her coils started). More weaving.

By this time, I am very disgusted with myself for having joined the pure tourism trade on these people’s lives. This is what we had hoped to avoid with the hiring of the guide from hell.

STOP 4: GOLDEN TRIANGLE

We drive up to a location that is referred to as the “Golden Triangle”. This is the location where Laos, Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand borders meet. This area was described that way when opium was king as a crop.

Interesting place. You can see the confluence of the rivers at the Ruak and Mae Khong Rivers (the Mae Khong is the wider, muddier one).

The Chinese are starting to take over Laos now too. They are building large hotels and casinos across the river. I am guessing that the landscaping will be changed in just a few short years, if not before. Our driver had told us that China is building a highway from the China border through Laos to Chiang Rai – so sad.

Our driver said that we had time to visit an old temple located at the Golden Triangle. It is beautiful! You can see the age, which is nice compared to the others we have seen that look so pristine.

It gives you a sense of the long culture and history of the area.

STOP 5: HALL OF OPIUM

After a lovely lunch along the river of more Thai food, we head just down the road to the Hall of Opium. Note: no photography was allowed in the building and the paparazzi obeyed the rule as she did not even take one photo with her cell phone!!

This is a one way in and one way out so our driver leaves us at the door and says he will see us at the exit. We enter, pay the fee, and start down a long corridor that has interesting figures in the walls. This portion of the hall is built through the hillside and it takes you up a slope.

The tour starts with a short film about how the hall was started and why – basically the queen decided to start it to help bring notice about the Opium trade in the area and the dependency of drug users and how Opium has been part of our life’s fabric for many years.

Very interesting hall full of information from the beginning of time with Opium in history to current times. It explains how the western countries, including America and the UK, helped to progress the Opium trade in the 1700’s and the 1800’s. The progression of the Opium trade lead to 2 separate Opium Wars in an effort to control the trade and money that came from this cash crop. At this time, Opium was widespread in many products and very legal through out the western countries. Opium was seen as a great medicine for helping to cure teething babies to treating wounds in the American Civil War to treating depression. Opium houses were all over Europe and America. This was a cash crop for the region and a major supporter for the hill tribe economies. In the early 1900’s, it was decided after the second Opium war that Opium needed to become illegal, so it was banned all over Europe, country by country, and by America. It was still used during war time as medicine but the recreational use was banned and all legal Opium houses were closed. This caused major disruption to the hill tribe economies and forced the area into the black market as use was still demanded by people, mainly addicts. Over the ensuing decades, the Opium trade has moved from this part of the world to the middle east, where the poppy can also grow. Money from the illegal Opium trade has helped finance wars (middle east) and countries and still remains today. Opium is not as prevalent in the Golden Triangle as once before but illegal trade (and legal trade) still happens within the region.

We have a nice drive back, even with hitting some traffic. We made our driver late so did the non-traditional thing of actually tipping him. He was a great driver, a better guide than the last one, and we did make him late.

He drops us at our new hotel. We check in and are whisked away in an electric tuk tuk!! About time someone had an eco-friendly item in this country. We have been upgraded for some reason (no complaints here) and we are now in a cottage. The tuk tuk takes us and our baggage to our place for the night. Lovely little cottage with room to move around (welcome change). We settle in and decide to just take dinner in the restaurant.

We set off for dinner and discover on very important item: Where the hell is the restaurant? Which leads to another question: how the hell do we get back? Well, it is a resort so we walk a bit (it is good for us anyhow). Along our travels, we find a map that tells us where we are (good thing) and where the restaurant is (hopefully we can find it). We set off again, walk a bit more, and finally find the reception area then the bar and finally the restaurant.

We order some dinner. Cris has a soup, I have a fish, and we share a salad. Now, just a note that I have noticed over the last few weeks: Thai servers may or may not be the most congenial people and the timing in the restaurant with the getting of food may or may not be what one would expect. That being said, the salad arrives. Then the oil arrives for the dressing. Finally, the vinegar arrives (this is after Cris asks for it and the server snaps “It is coming”). Then Cris’s soup arrives. We share the salad. Cris eats on her soup. We wait. We wait. We wait a bit more. My fish arrives: steamed with ginger. Something light and tasty for the stomach. Small fish with many, many, many bones!! I basically have to make fish mush when finding the bones so I do not ingest one for fear of getting one stuck in my throat!! After I while, I just give up as the promise of a good fish dinner has gone out the window with a bland fish (remember it is steamed with ginger so it should be tasty) that is very over cooked and I have to work way too hard to get even a small bite. So now we wait …. And wait …… and wait …… and Cris risks the rath of the server by asking for the check (“It is coming”). We pay and start to leave. Now, luck for Cris, the server is all that rude as she does chase after us to give Cris her bag that has her money in it!!

We start our walk back to the cottage …….. now, where did we leave it?? More walking around, more discovery of the grounds ….. and we turn a corner ….. and we find a familiar road and it will take us to the cottage …… salvation!!

Showers and settle in for sleep as tomorrow we take a flight to Krabi, the south part of the country.