This topic is meant to be the medium we use to inform each other about all kind of exciting, uplifting and mind-expanding spectacles which take place in Chiang Rai.

It will be a mixture of things we absolutely shouldn't miss and things we missed.

Brotherly united these categories will give us an idea about social, cultural and normal life in Chiang Rai .

Limbo.

Rice harvest.....loads of fun for the entire family!!! It's free....and....you don't have to wait in line!!!

Soybean planting will be in the first half of January so talk to you local farmer now to confirm a date and pencil it in on the calendar today!!!

Yeah, rice harvest. Thanks chownah, you mentioned it once or twice before, I think.

Any specific location worth travelling to in your opinion?

Soybean planting? Do farmers have a specific date for this?

Let me know, so I can make an online reservation.

Is there are party when the work is done ?

Limbo.

Not much happening in Chiang Rai today....except for the biggest event in all of Thailand at this time of the year....RICE HARVEST!!!

Once again, the rice harvest is the most exciting thing happening in Chiang Rai today....Enjoy!!!!

The last two days, Nov 25-26, saw the Handy Indy fest in the square with over 1000 people enjoying music, theater, crafts, art and workshops primarily provided by youth. It was very refreshing and serendipitous. I hope you folks got out to see it.

Is there anything else like this planned?

My girl friend (who speaks thai) and I spent the morning looking for a listing of events in CR for today...SUnday..but no luck. So I guess that CR doesn't have a daily newspaper which would list events. The tourism office is out of that monthly tourist magazine....

So where do folks go to read about the events in town? We saw the sunday bicycle club rolling by...but they must be listed somewhere....

Puzzled...in paradise...

We've got 3 days in the area before we head back to CM...anymore festivals or interesting events this week?

Thanks.

So where do folks go to read about the events in town? We saw the sunday bicycle club rolling by...but they must be listed somewhere....

It might have been 'The Chiang Rai Bicycle Club For Health'.

I think they ride Sunday morning and Wednesday evening.

For information:

'For Lens Travel' (travel and much more) agencies.

Crossing Mae Kon (Paholyothin Rd/Superhighway), the colorfull building.

The Chief is Khun Choosak Traisrisin.

I became a member long time ago, but didn't ride with them for at least three years. They were too slow (whole families). And they started extremely early on the Sunday morning, too early for me.

But I didn't get faster either through the years, so I might join them again. I hope they start a little bit later now.

Limbo.

So where do folks go to read about the events in town?  We saw the sunday bicycle club rolling by...but they must be listed somewhere....

Banners over and along the streets are the best source of information.

And mouth to mouth.

Limbo.

I guess the rice harvest is still the most exciting thing happening in Chiang Rai province......but time is running out so better get out there and "get it while you can" as Janis Joplin used to sing. In our little part of the provinced all the rice is tied and stacked....all that is left is the threshing. Some will be done by hand and some will be done with a big threshing machine that slogs from field to field and turns a few days of manual fun into a few hours of motorized ecstacy with a loud moaning sound as it runs and rice straw spewing up to 10 metres in the air and forming an old style hay stack its sure to be a big hit with the kids...so be sure to bring them along.

Farmers east of Mae Jaan said this year they expected to bring in B40,000 (before my wife made a big purchase...) while last year they got B100,000. Then my wife's mother said the rice wasn't so good. Any idea why last year was better than this?

Farmers east of Mae Jaan said this year they expected to bring in B40,000 (before my wife made a big purchase...) while last year they got B100,000.  Then my wife's mother said the rice wasn't so good.  Any idea why last year was better than this?

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In my neighborhood everyone had a problem with the kao chow (for steamed rice). I haven't threshed mine yet but it will yield half of what it did last year if we're lucky...it had some problem....maybe a bug. The kao neaw (for sticky rice) did fine. Maybe the farmers you heard about were all raising kao chow.

Quite right, though I didn't know that term khao chow. Only use the terms khao suai and khao-neao. My wife also said the sticky stuff did fine. I was wondering, though, as the farmers behind my house only put out their rice late in the season (and are still harvesting it!) and I thought the rains started early and lasted long without being voluminous... don't know anything about agriculture beyond simple gardening, but as I live here... anyway, thanks for the response!

All you tourists who are thinking about coming north...come on up...its great fun here...the only thing to do is harvest rice but you'll be so tired at the end of the day that you won't want to do anything else....as if there was something else to do!! If rice harvest isn't your thing then might as well go to an island or hang out in Bangkok. In a couple of weeks rice harvest will be over....but don't fret because soon they'll start burning the fields in preparation for planting garlic...and shortly after that will be the soybean planting time....so come on up for some great planting fun!!! This year if we're lucky the soybean planting will coincide with New Years Day so we'll have something to celebrate besides falling down drunk and passing out in our own vomit!!!

The rice harvest continues as the top billed attraction for Chiang Rai...but it won't last long so get out there and tresh your little bootie off now or forever be known as lard a55!!!!

Got it now: Khao jao is rich people rice, Khao plow not sticky stuff...

but was the insect problem related to changes in the rains (longer duration this year, though not heavy as usual at first)?

were the rivers so full in part because last winter was so dry (hard ground)?

Inquiring minds want/need to know!

Got it now: Khao jao is rich people rice, Khao plow not sticky stuff...

but was the insect problem related to changes in the rains (longer duration this year, though not heavy as usual at first)?

were the rivers so full in part because last winter was so dry (hard ground)?

Inquiring minds want/need to know!

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Don't know why but I'm hoping to find out whatever I can after the harvest is done...

Well the rice harvest started up again today after a few days rain break...although the pace is pretty relaxed. All of the rice has been stacked into piles and is waiting to be threshed....when its stacked like this a small piece of plastic at the top is all thats needed to keep the grain dry...so the dab of rain we got is a mai pen rai sort of thing.....if you've been procrastinating better wake up and smell the rice straw now because in a couple three days it will be all over and it will be your turn to cry for having missed the culturally rich and blissful activity of the Rice Harvest.....best thing happening in Chiang Rai....I mean, what else is happening?

I listened to Neil Young Harvest this afternoon.

From all over Thailand and from Malaysia they came: The heavy motorbikes!

Where? In Maesai this weekend (10 and 11 December '05).

Beautiful machines, HD's, BMW's (the 1200 cc, wow!) and their Japanese brothers.

A real circus

Didn`t you see the BIG bikes at the food festival last week opposite the Rimkok. Some serious bikes. Due to my ignorance I`m not sure if these guys were from Chiang Rai or not.

I hope they were.

Didn`t you see the BIG bikes at the food festival last week opposite the Rimkok. Some serious bikes. Due to my ignorance I`m not sure if these guys were from Chiang Rai or not.

I hope they were.

Thanks Chiang35Baht!

BIG bikes, that's what they are called. In Holland we call them 'heavy' bikes.

They are actually 'heavy' in both senses of the word. Chiang Rai has one VERY BIG bike, about four BIG bikes and about ten RATHER BIG bikes. When you have seen more bikes then it might have been the club from Chiang Mai, the Rotors, which were invited to visit by their local comrades.

I don't know where the lake of Doi Hang is. I mean you pass Hong Or, then you get the road to the 'new' prison after some kilometers and then, straight on, you arrive in Doi Hang, don't you? With the temple at the right side on the hill?

Saturday 10 December about five kilometers after Ban Lao (on the road from Wiang Chai to Chiang Khong, about 33 kms from town) there is a Tantawan (???) event.

Enormeous fields with blossoming sunflowers, not the Mexican ones but the BIG (heavy) ones. Thai-boxing, music, dance, trips on rot-i-teng and all this sprinkled with alcoholic refreshments. They have snacks, ice-water and coke as well.

I'll be there at about three o'clock!

See you!

Limbo.

Didn`t you see the BIG bikes at the food festival last week opposite the Rimkok. Some serious bikes. Due to my ignorance I`m not sure if these guys were from Chiang Rai or not.

I hope they were.

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Thanks Chiang35Baht!

BIG bikes, that's what they are called. In Holland we call them 'heavy' bikes.

They are actually 'heavy' in both senses of the word. Chiang Rai has one VERY BIG bike, about four BIG bikes and about ten RATHER BIG bikes. When you have seen more bikes then it might have been the club from Chiang Mai, the Rotors, which were invited to visit by their local comrades.

I don't know where the lake of Doi Hang is. I mean you pass Hong Or, then you get the road to the 'new' prison after some kilometers and then, straight on, you arrive in Doi Hang, don't you? With the temple at the right side on the hill?

Saturday 10 December about five kilometers after Ban Lao (on the road from Wiang Chai to Chiang Khong, about 33 kms from town) there is a Tantawan (???) event.

Enormeous fields with blossoming sunflowers, not the Mexican ones but the BIG (heavy) ones. Thai-boxing, music, dance, trips on rot-i-teng and all this sprinkled with alcoholic refreshments. They have snacks, ice-water and coke as well.

I'll be there at about three o'clock!

See you!

Limbo.

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After Hawng Awe, go past the police check point, turn rightto go to the jail. Go down the hill right past the jail. At the bottom go straight on to a dirt road and follow it round to the right for about 500-600 yards. I`m sure you will see all the cars parked there.

After Hawng Awe, go past the police check point, turn rightto go to the jail. Go down the hill right past the jail. At the bottom go straight on to a dirt road and follow it round to the right for about 500-600 yards. I`m sure you will see all the cars parked there.

See you there!

The bua tantawan festival in Ban Pong (4 kms after Ban Lao) is great!

Beautiful environment and a great atmosphere.

Take the tour on the rot-i-teng, it is an experience of the first order.

Ignore the rather obscene dancing of the girls on stage, but enjoy a dance with a village beauty for 2 Baht.

And look at the muai thai boxing. The girls did great!

Untill Tuesday!

Limbo.

Didn`t you see the BIG bikes at the food festival last week opposite the Rimkok. Some serious bikes. Due to my ignorance I`m not sure if these guys were from Chiang Rai or not.

I hope they were.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks Chiang35Baht!

BIG bikes, that's what they are called. In Holland we call them 'heavy' bikes.

They are actually 'heavy' in both senses of the word. Chiang Rai has one VERY BIG bike, about four BIG bikes and about ten RATHER BIG bikes. When you have seen more bikes then it might have been the club from Chiang Mai, the Rotors, which were invited to visit by their local comrades.

I don't know where the lake of Doi Hang is. I mean you pass Hong Or, then you get the road to the 'new' prison after some kilometers and then, straight on, you arrive in Doi Hang, don't you? With the temple at the right side on the hill?

Saturday 10 December about five kilometers after Ban Lao (on the road from Wiang Chai to Chiang Khong, about 33 kms from town) there is a Tantawan (???) event.

Enormeous fields with blossoming sunflowers, not the Mexican ones but the BIG (heavy) ones. Thai-boxing, music, dance, trips on rot-i-teng and all this sprinkled with alcoholic refreshments. They have snacks, ice-water and coke as well.

I'll be there at about three o'clock!

See you!

Limbo.

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hi Limbo ,

i miss all the good stuff ??

keep some left thill i get there !

my last bike(9 °) big bike , suzi gsx 1100 f , 135 bhp , too much fun , and one car tooo close

(13/05/2005) , end of big bikes for me

'Khang' harvest ! It is only done every three years and lasts less than a week!

Khang is a fungus (?) growing on trees, used as a purple dye.

Strained my shoulder climbing trees....ouch!!!

just found this link ,

7th Thailand Chang Rai International MTB Challenge

any help in translating please ,

from 28-29/01/2006 ?

anybody know already more about this ?

link of last year :

Maxxis Sponsors 2005 Two-Day Mountain Bike Challenge in Thailand

You're too late! Rice harvest is over.