July 29, 2017. Black, white and hot Chiang Rai

LOCATION:  Chiang Rai, Thailand in far northern Thailand

WEATHER:  Hot - 93 F with a 110 heat index.  

 

What a day!  Most tourists come here as a day trip from the more civilized Chiang Mai and take a packaged tour of the sites here.  But no, we wanted to save money, so we are on the DIY plan.  We took the regular bus up here and now are visiting the sites on our own.  We are doing the local bus and tuk tuks instead of taxis or tours.  

Let the adventure begin!>>>>>  

We went back to the bus terminal (aka the big mud puddle) and caught a local bus to the White Temple, Chiang Rai's most famous site.

This temple is rather new and is blindingly bright.

 

All the buildings in the temple complex are white, with the exception of the toilet which is golden, supposedly because the architect felt that the toilet was where the mot important functions take place~

After visitng the temple, we waited at the bus stop to flag down a bus returning to the city, about 10 miles away.

Back in town, we stopped at a sidewalk restaurant next to the bus station for lunch.  The menu was all in Thai, so we just pointed.  It was pretty good...  

Then, we took another bus, just like the first decrepit one, to the Black House Museum.  After the bus dropped us off, we had to walk about a mile to the museum in the blistering sun..  I thought I would faint.  The museum is a collection of about 50 buildings that this eccentric artist created in the mid 1900s.  

 

The artist apparently was fascinated by dead animals as there were skulls all over, and croccodile skins.  

This was the artist's bedroom...

And the meditation room...

See next post for more photos of today.