Out enjoying the crowds at Singha Park balloon festival again this year. 

 

 

On 1/18/2020 at 10:14 PM, villagefarang said:

The road there is not for the faint of heart or the timid. We first went to the Doi Tung Gardens and then continued on the mountain roads to get to this coffee shop and restaurant. 
 

สวนคุณปู่ Life Museum
ซอย 8 หมู่บ้านผาหมี Wiang Phang Kham, Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai 57130
061 267 8868
https://goo.gl/maps/wfmVbFjS3TdxUCqU9

 

Thanks for the tip.

 

I am going to CM with my family soon and would like to visit above place, can we get there in a (rented) sedan car or do we need 4W drive?

2 hours ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Thanks for the tip.

 

I am going to CM with my family soon and would like to visit above place, can we get there in a (rented) sedan car or do we need 4W drive?

I saw smaller sedans up there so I guess it is possible.  I am not sure how hard it would be on the engine and brakes.  I suppose it depends on how heavily loaded the car is, as well.

 

I have been to places which had signs limiting the kind of vehicles allowed but there is no such signage in this area, that I noticed.  Have a great trip.

22 hours ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Thanks for the tip.

 

I am going to CM with my family soon and would like to visit above place, can we get there in a (rented) sedan car or do we need 4W drive?

I did it in a small Toyota rented car. It’s uphill but easily doable in an ordinary vehicle. 
 

Pu chi Fa (spelling?) mountain road was a great deal more difficult in a small car ... so if you plan to go there too then get a decent engine sized car.

1 minute ago, Sansa said:

Is this festival during tourist season? I've never been to Thailand. Trying to convince my husband right now)

The balloon festival always corresponds with Valentine's Day and extends over a weekend, here in Chiang Rai.  There are other festivals around Thailand at different times.  A Google search will provide you with a list of popular festivals in this beautiful country.

Hello everyone!
I do love visiting Thai, and recently I got an opportunity to live there for every half a year (an old friend of mine moved to Pattaya). So happy and excited!
Any tips and recommendation for a person who wants to make Thai a second home?

18 hours ago, Alisia Hall said:

Any tips and recommendation for a person who wants to make Thai a second home?

Yes, DO NOT get a Non Immigrant O-A visa in your home country 

Please, let's not turn this into yet another visa thread or even worse a Thai bashing thread.????

6 minutes ago, villagefarang said:

Please, let's not turn this into yet another visa thread or even worse a Thai bashing thread.????

but rice bashing should be okay!

3 hours ago, Langsuan Man said:

Yes, DO NOT get a Non Immigrant O-A visa in your home country 

Thank you! My friend's already warned me about this.

At the moment things are not exactly beautiful up here.  The temperature is in the mid to high 30s and the PM 2.5 numbers reach very unhealthy to hazardous levels at least part of the day.  On top of that, one is confronted with covid-19 and the resulting health, social and financial concerns it has created.

 

Maintaining a positive outlook during these trying times is certainly not easy but without downplaying the severity of the situation, I think it is imperative that we do not sink into despair.  Be safe, be kind to yourself and others, and together we will get through this. One day, the world will be beautiful again.????

On 2/15/2020 at 8:09 PM, villagefarang said:

Out enjoying the crowds at Singha Park balloon festival again this year. 

 

 

Wow ???? I didn't know that Thailand have Hot Air Balloon Festival too! This is exciting!

On 3/24/2020 at 5:20 PM, scaldedfummy said:

On 2/15/2020 at 7:09 PM, villagefarang said:

Out enjoying the crowds at Singha Park balloon festival again this year. 

 

 

Wow ???? I didn't know that Thailand have Hot Air Balloon Festival too! This is exciting!

The crowds and excitement seem like a distant memory.  Things have gone very quiet.

We only have one Mayomchit tree but it has produced an abundance of fruit this year.  My lovely wife peels and slices it for me to eat but we have so much we plan to go for a drive today and deliver some to friends in town. We will maintain social distancing but there is no reason not to share our abundance.

 

 

 

 

On our drive today we happened to pass the White Temple.  It seemed a bit busier than usual so decided to take the opportunity to snap a few shots.????

 

 

 

On 3/30/2020 at 4:43 PM, villagefarang said:

On our drive today we happened to pass the White Temple.  It seemed a bit busier than usual so decided to take the opportunity to snap a few shots.????

 

 

 

This is Chiang Rai?

41 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

This is Chiang Rai?

Yes, this is one of our more famous attractions here in Chiang Rai.  It is called the White Temple or Wat Rong Khun.  Typically it is awash with tourists and busses parked everywhere.  It was so strange to see it deserted. 

11 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

This is Chiang Rai?

It’s certainly a different temple.

5 hours ago, HighPriority said:

It’s certainly a different temple.

Avoid. Ridiculous tourist trap. And you will be stranded there unless you have a vehicle.

 

They were still constructing it when I was there in late 2018.

 

Worthless experience.

 

Had to take a tuktuk for the 1st and last time to escape.

 

 

Nice photos, they sell Chiang Rai well, but you're not really presenting the full picture.

 

 

Chiang Rai region right now.

No matter how beautiful the views, no matter how cheap the housing, no matter how lovely the restaurants, I would not live in any place where breathing the air could shorten my life and the lives of those I care about.

 

No one with options should consider retiring full-time to anywhere in northern Thailand.

 

 

3 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

Avoid. Ridiculous tourist trap. And you will be stranded there unless you have a vehicle.

 

They were still constructing it when I was there in late 2018.

 

Worthless experience.

 

Had to take a tuktuk for the 1st and last time to escape.

 

 

Do you mean that somewhere there’s a temple that doesn’t try (succeed) in extracting Baht from all and sundry ? ????????

 

what I did realise when I visited this temple was how subjective (non standard) temples can be, but also as you noted, the tourist trap bit.

You can see how it’s a financial focal point for the district... 

It’s a little like the traveling carnival, they make “something” take it to where there’s nothing, have it set up like a business within a business and it makes work for everyone.

Good morning everyone.????  I usually look forward to comments on this topic but some of you have clearly missed the whole point of starting this feel good thread.

 

There are literally hundreds of topics out there proclaiming and championing the ugliness of the world we live in and filled with hateful combative language.  It is a virtual race to the bottom, to see who can be the most hateful, negative, vindictive and spiteful.  Look at how sad my life is, how mistreated and misunderstood my existence is.  Come one, come all, and celebrate my misery and affliction.

 

I have simply chosen to carveout a tiny space where I can share how I look at the world and live my life.  I am not selling anything or telling people what they should or should not be doing.  

 

@donnacha actually posted a rather generous image of the air quality these days as we have been touching hazardous levels most days far worse than shown, but those of us who have made Chiang Rai our home, we adapt and hold out hope for change in the future.  I have lived here long enough to have seen change others said would never happen.  I have also listened for more than forty years to the doomsday soothsayers proclaiming the end is nigh for Thailand.

 

Stay or go, live where you wish, it matters not to me but I choose to live here and even during these apocalyptic  days of pandemics I find love, happiness and beauty in my little neck of the woods.????

On 3/31/2020 at 1:06 PM, Result said:

Even rice fields can be beautiful.

Even rice fields can be beautiful.

 

 

On 3/31/2020 at 1:06 PM, Result said:

Even rice fields can be beautiful.

I've seen sad looking rice fields when they've been hit by drought, but apart from that they are always beautiful imo. When older I love to see and hear the stalks sway in the wind, and when young I love to see the reflection of the water.

On 3/24/2020 at 3:51 PM, villagefarang said:

At the moment things are not exactly beautiful up here.  The temperature is in the mid to high 30s and the PM 2.5 numbers reach very unhealthy to hazardous levels at least part of the day.  On top of that, one is confronted with covid-19 and the resulting health, social and financial concerns it has created.

 

Maintaining a positive outlook during these trying times is certainly not easy but without downplaying the severity of the situation, I think it is imperative that we do not sink into despair.  Be safe, be kind to yourself and others, and together we will get through this. One day, the world will be beautiful again.????

Upcountry, as usual, is the best place to be. Corona virus or not, there is always lots to keep one busy on a farm. Our chickens continue to lay eggs, the fruit trees insist on producing juicy mangoes and sapodillas, the vegetables keep on growing though the kale seem to be struggling in the heat. 

And our wonderful nephew-in-law continues to catch tasty snake head fish from a nearby pond 

Staying home and staying safe.????

 

Flowering tree on the trail yesterday.  A break in the weather gave us a window for a 12 km hike in the hills.  We also had our first rain in a long time last night.

 

Another hike today and another color.

 

Found some open billed storks enjoying the shallow waters of the Ing River today.

 

Any hornbills left up your way? Supposed to be in North Borneo right now spotting the fabulous creatures but will likely have to wait a year or two but all good.