Wat Rong Khun (White Temple)

To call Wat Rong Khun bizarre would be quite the understatement.  At this point, living in Thailand for almost a year now, I feel like it takes quite a bit to turn my head.  

I live just down the highway from some old fighter jets left over from what I am going to guess is the Korean or Viet Nam war parked on the side of the road.

There is giant dinosaur just a few hundred meters from that.

Things here are so bizarre at times that I have started to fail to notice just how... unique... Thailand really can be visually.  

Wats are just the same way for me at this point.  They are quite beautiful, and range from the very old, to the ultra modern.  Some have trees growing out of them, and some are on pristine manicured grounds.  After living here for a bit of time, they have all started to blend into one stereotypical Wat, one that is both beautiful but equally indistinguishable from any other in my memory.  There are a few that will always stand out in my mind, such as Doi Suthep, or perhaps the hike to Thom Suea, but that is more for the journey than the actual Wat itself.  

Wat Rong Khun is going to be burned into my memory until I am old and senile.  I think that the best way to describe it would be to say that the artist had his own definition of Buddhism, and it defies what any outsider might say. 

It is unique, bizarre, full of pop culture references, reverent, and rebellious as the same time. 

Honestly, there is no other Wat that I have seen quite like it in all of Thailand.  

Due to a mishap in timing, we were lucky enough to have the Wat all to ourselves for about an hour and a half, to watch the sunrise.  The Wat is covered in little pieces of glass and bits of gold, and watching the east facing sunrise while sipping a coffee in the calm before the tour bus companies arrived was an amazing experience.  

While I know that the website says that Wat Rong Khun opens at 8am, do yourself a favor, and get there at sunrise.  Watching the birds that live in the upper levels of the Wat slowly wake up and head out for the day, and seeing the color of the Wat change from a dull eggshell to a brilliant white is amazing.  

Now, you might be wondering why I added such a bit about how bizarre Wat Rong Khun is in the introduction, and honestly from the photos, you would be right in saying that I made an outlandish claim.  While you can see some of the detailing in the photos that are a bit... different... from normal Wats, I have saved the photos that really set this Wat apart for last.

And yes, of course, after you notice the demon pooping in the last photo, that is indeed a boat bike.

Rubbing the tummy of a tiger

I suppose I should start of this post by being fully transparent. No, I do not know much about tigers besides the fact that they are bigger than me, and would gladly eat me for lunch. 

Also, they have huge teeth and claws.

There was also one in Jungle Book. 

I doubt that last fact was relevant, but you never know.

So, we finally broke down and went to a place that makes you sign a waiver, boasts that their tigers are not sedated, and says they cannot guarantee you will get the photo you want, because... tigers.

We went during the hottest part of the day, so our kitty friends were a bit tired. Now, when it cooled off an hour or two later, those furry beasts were running around, playing in the pool, and beating the hell out of each-other. 

Calm to bat-shit crazy. Typical cats!

After steeling my nerves, we stepped into the cages. Now, they have had trainers their whole life, so they are used to people, and these trainers were there the whole time, but that first touch was a bit terrifying. Soon though, I was belly rubbing apex predators like it was the latest fad. 

Now, I have seen mixed reviews of all of the tiger places, and I was hesitant at first. 

I do not like or condone abusing animals.

Yes, I eat them, but I don't believe in suffering. 

To answer the quick questions, should the tigers have had bigger enclosures? Sure.

Should tigers be handled by humans? Depends on your perspective.

Does the Tiger Kingdom make money hand-over-fist?

Obviously.

Here is what I am left with though:

Did I leave with a new appreciation fir these cats?

Unequivocally yes.

Tigers are disappearing. They inhabit some of the most poacher filled and lawless areas of Asia. Parts of a tiger are worth more than someone in Southeast Asia can hope to earn in years. Tigers kill people and livestock. 

Humans can and do kill tigers. Many times they are worth far more dead than alive.

I know that people will be offended by this post, but remember that the world does not always fit into your little black-and-white box.  As much as we would like people to always share our perspective, that is just not the way it works.

Sometimes it does take the captivity of a few tigers to bring the reality of their nature, existence, and survival to toe forefront of a persons mind.

Is Tiger Kingdom perfect? No.

Could it be better? Of course.

Does it raise awareness? Yes.

Rubbing the tummy of a tiger made me learn more about them, and appreciate them far more than any discovery channel episode could have.

It took the abstract and brought it to shaggy orange-and-black life.

Temples at breakfast and bugs for dinner

- Lots of videos in this one...-

Sometimes the best plans fall apart at the last minute. We were left in Chiang Mai with about three hours to spare. Now, this is not that big of a deal, but I was charged with finding something to do. I presented the question to everyone: culture or coffee?

My thinking was simple, either we kill some time drinking coffee, or we go and find a random temple and explore it.

Thanks to a fast-talkig cab driver, we ended up on top of a mountain, climbing a bunch of stairs, and getting blessed by a monk. 

Guess days can start fairly random like that.

We wound up at Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, and I could not have been happier that we had circumstances delay our plans.

I absolutely love public transportation in Thailand. Tuk-Tuk, cabs, and those awesome converted pick-up trucks. We grabbed a converted pick-up truck, ans headed up a windy mountain road.

I don't know how we did not die, the road was windy, we were passing traffic, and the bed of a truck is not known for being the best on a crash test dummy.

Eventually we made it, only to find stairs. Now, this was only a little over 200 stairs, but still, stairs suck. Not sure why everything in Asia is vertical, but there must be a reason. 

After making it to the top, and taking photos, my wife had the idea to get a blessing. We watched one group, and then pantomimed them later. Not sure really what happened, but I now am sporting a white piece of string around my wrist. Pretty sure that means I am all set for a while. 

Be jealous, be very jealous.

After a three hour bus ride and a small rainstorm (first of the season), we went to the night market. I managed to find a stall that sold various bugs, and I had the chance to prove the age-old idea that anything fried tastes amazing. We dove right in!

Hiking in Pha Chor

There is always a sense of calm when I am finally able to make it out of the city and spend some time walking through the forest. We have friends in town, and decided that we wanted to visit a very beautiful location that has been on our list for quite some time.

Pha Chor is a canyon of sorts that is formed through sandstone. Now, I am no geologist, but sandstone is my educated guess. Feel free to correct me if you know more than I do about the subject. 

The great thing is that we managed to get a guide that has a truck, so we were able to cut our time walking, (and getting heat-exhaustion), in half. 

A series of stairs led us down into the canyon that was absolutely crawling with cicadas. Their chirps filled the morning silence, as they made their last calls before the sun decided to hit them full force, and probably cause them to burst into flames. 

The trail meanders up and down, over what I am guessing is a creek bed during the rainy season - following the natural course of the water up to where it must originate and pool.

When we reached the top if the little canyon, I was delighted to see that we had it all to ourselves. All of the photos of the location show it swarming with tourists. Luckily we were able to enjoy a half hour of silence in that beautiful local. 

After a meandering hike down the river, we finally made it to some more stairs, and back up to the parking lot from where we came.

Some advice for anyone who wants to go here:

1. Take a lot of water. When we went, there was a little store at the parking area, but as it is Thailand, that all can change in an instant.

2. Bring toilet paper. There are bathrooms at the top, but like anywhere in Thailand, they are never equipped with much more than a squatty potty and a bucket of water.

3. Consider doing the hike in slippers (flip-flops) in the rainy season. 

4. Get someone with a bigger car to drive you there, just so that you can drive halfway in.

5. The hike takes about an hour to two hours depending on how many photos you take, and how tolerant you are to the oppressive Thai heat. 

If you find yourself in Chiang Mai, and want to see something that is not a touristy event, or one of a million Wats, consider visiting Pha Chor. It is a great half-day trip, and you certainly won't regret taking the opportunity to escape the city. 

Plus, with the driver taking us there, it cost us about $60 for the whole group of people.  Not bad at all.  

Elephant Polo: Ballet on a Stick

Coming from a background where my parents were not considered landed-elite, nor having any experience spending time in Martha's Vineyard, I have obviously never seen a polo match.  The closet thing that I know to this lovely experience is a polo shirt, and perhaps a huge distaste for tonic water.  Now, while I did envision  sipping cold beverages in chairs while discussing the might of the empire, and chortling about my vast quantities of money, I can honestly say that elephant polo was entertaining beyond my wildest dreams.  Also, I did try and chortle, but I am not quite sure that I did it correctly.  

Here are some thing to realize thought before I go into this story:

1. I have no freakin' clue how polo is played.

2. I can count the times I have been around horses or other such animals that would play polo on one hand.

3.  I have no real experience watching elephants play a game, nor do I really know the rules that would be involved in such a game... if it were changed to be all... elephanty...

Now, before anyone gets all PETA up in my business, I want to state, for the record, that this is not some show for tourists.  This is put on by a elephant rescue group that hires out elephants that cannot work, along with their trainers for the time period of the elephant polo competition.  They give them medical treatment that some of them might have been lacking, feed them very well, and only have them play two games a day.  That is a total amount of work of about one hour.  These elephants are used to working upwards of 10 hours a day.  The trainers get paid, and the elephants don't have to do any hard labor or do much at all beside... trot (not sure if that is the right word), up and down the field playing polo.  

Now, elephant polo might seem like a trivial or silly sport, but as the announcer stated time and time again, in a British accent no-less, we were "watching world-class elephant polo" and that elephant polo was like "ballet on a stick."

I can honestly say that elegant would be too simple a word for watching four elephants compete with two riders to play a game that seems like soccer for rich people.

I am pretty sure that those photos speak for themselves.  Yes, those are super long polo... sticks?  clubs?  Whatever.  And those are elephants broken up into two teams.  They are cute, the game is very lighthearted, and there are major penalties for any infraction that might harm an elephant.  

Plus a lot of the time the elephants just wanted to come over and say hi to the people watching.  Of course we had to take photos with them.  

I did not know that we all had the same face as the elephant.  I absolutely love this photo for so many reasons.  I mean, what is not to love?  That is the three of us with an elephant all making the same face.  

Now, just in case you wanted to really see the elephant polo action, I made sure to take some videos.  Enjoy!

For more information about elephant polo, check out the official website - or to donate to their amazing foundation, click here.

Amphawa

Ever since I had the opportunity to go to Amphawa floating market with Eddie and Khwan a few months ago, I have wanted to take my wife there to show her the really exotic style of market, and eat some amazing seafood.  Needless to say, when you see shrimp like this on ice, with a grill set up a meter or so away, you know it is bound to be delicious.

We decided to kill some time walking around, and ended up finding random dogs and taking photos of them.

Plus, Danielle was able to find a few cute bugs to take photos of to pass some time.  I think that she was taking a photo of a spider that happened to have a nice rainbow/metallic sheen on the shell.  

My cell phone camera was not quite good enough to catch the spider on the tissues here, but just make a note - in the tropics, always look before you blow your nose...

Now, our main purpose of this trip, besides getting some delicious seafood, was to take a nice tour at night of the market area and the surrounding river system.  I did not know at the time, but we had signed up for the firefly tour, which was very pretty as we have not seen fireflies since we were in Japan. 

The boat trip was lovely, and everything was going well until the motor died...

Then we just started floating with the current.

So there we were, in the middle of the river, at the whim of the river, in a boat that really was not going to be comfortable to be stranded in.  

All I could think about was Apocalypse Now, and not getting off the boat.  I just kept remembering the scene about the tiger.  

It might be a bit off reality, but it is possible in Thailand. 

Plus, snakes...

I really did not want to drift into trees, bushes, swamp, jungle, etc.

I like my nature controlled sometimes, this was one of those times.

So, we floated...

Then we floated some more...

Eventually we made it to a little dock a bit away from the market.  After helping people up the 1+ meter gap, we were free.  Just was time for the long walk home.

Here is a photo of us after we made it off the boat.  Honestly, it was more funny than anything else.  

I am just glad that the tide was flowing into the river and not out into the Gulf at that point.  

If the tide was going the opposite direction, this would have been quite a different story indeed.