Wat Phra Sing is the most renowned temple in the inner city/old city of Chiang Mai. The Naga's (snake/dragon- like creature) can be found at the stairs. These are small compared to the ones next to the stairs leading to the most famous temple of the North : Doi Suthep. (We'll see those later)
In the afternoon we went to a tiger petting zoo. You can choose between 4 sizes. We went for the safe option : 3 month old cubs. Other options : 6 month, 2 years, adult animal. You have to sign a waver before you go in.
There are lots of national parks scattered over the entire country, but we visited the first national park in Thailand on this occasion : Khao Yai National Park (established in 1962). It covers an area of 2.165 sq km across 4 provinces: Prachin Buri, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Ratchasima and Saraburi. The park is a large area of forested land along the Phanom Dongrak mountain range, which seperates the northeastern highlands from the central lowlands of Thailand. Elavation ranges from 30 metres above sea level to 1.351 m at the peak of Khao Lom in the park interior. Nice for mountainbikers!
There are lots of spectacular waterfalls. Deer, gibbons and macaques can be seen while driving through the park. Wildlife observation towers allow you to see elephants and other large mammals in a natural habitat. Some 315 bird species are also active in the area.
These butterflies are about the size of 3/4 of a hand!
Now that we've made the transition to our permanent residence, we'll keep our blog in shape again. On 24-25 August we spent some time in Pattaya, also known as the 'Sodom and Gomorra' of Thailand. Although we tried to stay clear of any exposure to the 'dark side', it's hard to avoid it completely. Even during the daylight hours. On the second day we made our escape to an island.
The central pier for the Chao Praya river is under the Tak Sin bridge. You can take an express boat that stops at fixed/numbered points along the river. But you can also charter a private longboat. We took the last option this time.
The Chao Phraya river seems to be full of fish. And the Thai at the taxi-boat stops exploit this by selling old bread to get them into a feeding frenzy. Jules and Jonas had a go at it!
H.M. King Rama V (1868-1910) purchased the compound upon his return from Europe in 1897. The construction of his residence was finished in 1901: Vimanmek mansion. A three storey building made only of teakwood without the single use of a nail; two right-angled wings, each 60 metres long and 20 metres high. A bedroom, throne room and bathroom maintain the atmosphere of Thai past, whilst the other exhibition rooms display gifts received from visiting royals and diplomats or Thai art including silverware, ceramics, crystal ware and ivory. Certainly worth to spend some time here! There are 16 buildings you can visit on the site.
Wat Po is not only the biggest, but also the oldest temple in Bangkok. A lying Boeddha of 46 m covered with gold leaf sheets is the main attraction. It depicts the dying Boeddha at the point of entering Nirvana. The site is also known for the most renowned massageschool of the city. Malaika en Jules enjoyed a 50 min. foot massage.
Today we went to the outskirts of Bangkok to visit the Thailand version of "Bokrijk". Some of the buildings are originals; others are reconstructed. You can visit the site with a golfcart, by bicycle or with a tram. Since we only used the tram and the bicycle, we will certainly return to drive around in the golfcart.
Visited Lumphini Park in the center of Bangkok. And these guys run around free over there; and I don't mean the kids. Notice one swimming at the right of the boat. Beats feeding the ducks!
The recent month has been a rollercoaster of events and emotions. We had the goodbye-party on the 18th June. Thank you for making it a memorable evening! And we quite enjoyed all after-parties and other invitations that followed the event.
The moving company at work on the 22th and 23d of June. An empty house is not that funny, but Jules and Jonas seemed to enjoy the camping experience during the last week of June.
The departure of Malaika on the second of July.
and our own traveling experience (with the 10hr delay in Istanbul).
From now on we'll keep you posted on our experiences. Greetzz!
