This morning we rode even higher until we reached the town of Doi Tung. The town is also known as "Switzerland of Thailand" and is where the king's mother's mountain villa is located. Doi Tung is also home to a development program that continues the drug eradication mission of the king's mother who passed away in 1995.
The Doi Tung Royal Gardens were built to honor her and the work she has done. Her Royal Highness the Princess Mother is held in extremely high regard among Thai people and the gardens are 'the' place for Thai tourists themselves. The gardens were phenomenal! Interestingly enough they used hundreds of empty Johny Walker bottles to house the young plants during germination.
Next we hopped back on the bikes and headed to Thailand's most northern settlement, Mae Sai. We rode along the Thai - Burmese border stopping at several military checks as we got further into Thailand. For the sake of being there, we stepped into Burma inside a Thai army post located just over the border.
We reached Mae Sai for lunch where we had a view of the bridge that arches over the Sai River, the official border between Thailand and Burma. Half way across the bridge the flags change to signify the divide.
After some time at the markets we headed back to Chiang Rai Airport to continue onto Southern Thailand. While we waited for our flight I noticed an interesting sign that only further peaked my fascination, a special seating section for monks and those in training.
No comments:
Post a Comment