Thailand grants citizenship to half a million people – but not farangs

[BwindiBoy]

VF, When I grow up I'd be more than happy to be you. Thanks for sharing. :-)

[jacko45k]

Looks like a good life.

[chiang mai]

Excellent pictures of course but what's striking for me is the gap between what one person sees on a daily basis versus another who can't even begin to relate to this version of Thailand, more a chasm than a gap.

[kinmaew]

Very beautiful thanks for sharing

[akentryan]

My favorite is the yacht club photo.

[chicowoodduck]

About a 15 minute hike from my room....?

[villagefarang]

I am completely overwhelmed by the response to this thread. It is especially rewarding that so many of you took the time to write something as well as click the like button. It is hard to say why my life has turned out like this. Someone mentioned Karma or it could just be good luck. Others may even say it is nothing special. Whatever it is I am very grateful to be living this life and very happy you don’t mind my sharing it with you.

[samuijimmy]

You are not the only one overwhelmed .... you have really, helped bring this forum to life!

[DrDave]

Your photos are absolutely stunning! Thanks for sharing.

My wife is from an area about 90 minutes south of CR, and I've been avoiding making the trip up there for quite some time. Your photos and posts here have inspired me to get out and explore more of the CR area on our next trip up north.

[maingmoom]

Beautiful Photo's, thanks for sharing. I have traveled all over Thailand and up as far as Chiang Mai. and have not got as far north as your area. On the cards for next year

[Ron19]

This is the worst part of the year when we are blessed with hellacious heat and thick suffocating smoke. Everyone is just hoping for the rainy season to begin so we can breath again.

This is what our area has been looking like for many months although over the past few days it has hinted at lifting. Keep up the postings of what you have seen and hope to see many more of them.

Edited April 24, 2016 by Ron19

[Bunter]

Great to see all the beautiful pictures of the North Western Thailand and has encouraged us to come up that way again.. Keep up the good work...

Sent from my SM-P605 using Tapatalk

[Katipo]

These make me want to pack up my bags in Ayutthaya and move up there ASAP. Wonderful shots.

[villagefarang]

Lovely photos Village Farang. Brings back memories of a trip to north Thailand a couple of years ago. Very scenic and peaceful with changes of terrain and seems to be a great area to live and relax. I did visit the Royal Villa and border station picture looks familiar. Was frequently stopped by checkpoints in those areas as close to the border but never any issues. A very interesting place to visit which is quite unlike other tourist venues is the Hall of Opium outside Chiang Rai. Another impression was that all land seemed to be farmed in some manner and surprised to see corn grown in very mountainous areas as harvesting would be difficult and only by hand.

I have heard good things about the Hall of Opium but I have never taken the time to visit.

Checkpoints are something you get accustomed to up here. I am now recognized by a few of the guys who setup random checkpoints around Chiang Rai and if there is no line of cars we may even say hello.

As for your observation on corn being grown in the mountains, that is a major bone of contention here in the North. With something like 7 or 8 million rai of that stuff being grown on contract for a major corporation the health impact and tourism decline caused by the burn off of fields and husks only makes things more difficult up here.

We have a fair amount of corn being grown in our area and all that you see gets burned.

[chrissables]

This is a shortcut I take to visit Phu Chi Fa. By going over Phaya Phi Phak and down this road it cuts the distance in half.

Great photo's!

The shortcut is that road 1152 that goes through Phaya Mengrai? Then across 1174 and left on 1020 towards Khun Tan follow by a right up towards Phu Chi Faa?

My map is old and does not show Phaya Phi Phak.

[villagefarang]

This is a shortcut I take to visit Phu Chi Fa. By going over Phaya Phi Phak and down this road it cuts the distance in half.

Great photo's!

The shortcut is that road 1152 that goes through Phaya Mengrai? Then across 1174 and left on 1020 towards Khun Tan follow by a right up towards Phu Chi Faa?

My map is old and does not show Phaya Phi Phak.

Yes, you have the correct directions. With the 1020 being a divided road now, you have to go past a half kilometer or so to make a U-turn and I think the sign still says Phu Chi Fa. The last time I went up it looked like the roadwork was pretty much finished too. If you are interested you can find it on my map listed as Doi Yao or Phaya Pipak. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1gkBFmqpmNLqlCt3xPbdReNXE2p4&usp=sharing

The above photo is the road on the back side coming down from Phaya Phi Phak, eventually connecting with the 1155.

[chrissables]

This is a shortcut I take to visit Phu Chi Fa. By going over Phaya Phi Phak and down this road it cuts the distance in half.

Great photo's!

The shortcut is that road 1152 that goes through Phaya Mengrai? Then across 1174 and left on 1020 towards Khun Tan follow by a right up towards Phu Chi Faa?

My map is old and does not show Phaya Phi Phak.

Yes, you have the correct directions. With the 1020 being a divided road now, you have to go past a half kilometer or so to make a U-turn and I think the sign still says Phu Chi Fa. The last time I went up it looked like the roadwork was pretty much finished too. If you are interested you can find it on my map listed as Doi Yao or Phaya Pipak. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1gkBFmqpmNLqlCt3xPbdReNXE2p4&usp=sharing

The above photo is the road on the back side coming down from Phaya Phi Phak, eventually connecting with the 1155.

Many thanks, i have ridden to Phu Chi Faa a few times, but always followed the Mekong river from Chiang Saen the the Laos land border. Next time i will spend some more time exploring, so beautiful there.

[jongunnar]

Wonderful photos! Lives in Isaan and is happy here, but I visited Chiang Mai and really fell in love with this northern part of the Kingdom. I even felt safe on the road compared to what I'm used too :-)

Planning a to drive up north in may, something I really looks forward to.

Thanks a lot for this view into this beautiful part of Thailand.

[xtof2]

Amazing pictures.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to post...and to entice us to visit your paradise.

[dogpatch55]

Great photos!! Just goes to show there is a lot more to Thailand than sitting in a bar day and night!!

[chiang mai]

The shots in 104 do it for me as they are simply excellent, plus the dog of course, I always fall for the dog pictures.

[villagefarang]

The shots in 104 do it for me as they are simply excellent, plus the dog of course, I always fall for the dog pictures.

Strictly dirt trails in that area. I was looking for a new route through these hills on my mountain bike but the trails got the best of me and I had to turn back. Hot and defeated, the only saving grace of that day was the pictures.

I took this shot on the same day.

Edited April 26, 2016 by villagefarang

[villagefarang]

Sometimes I am drawn to quiet scenes in a rice field.

[villagefarang]

Sometimes there is this one tree making an interesting shape in the sky.

[villagefarang]

The chaotic sky contrasting with the linear nature of the newly planted rice field caught my eye.

[villagefarang]

This is a favorite view from one of my mountain bike trails looking down in the direction of our house and on to the mountains beyond. We would be near one of those smoke plumes on the right.

[villagefarang]

I haven’t been out on the bike since February but today I ran out of excuses. Smoke was gone and the temperature, though hot, was bearable. This is what I saw on my 58 km ride. These shots were taken with my iPhone 6.

Edited May 2, 2016 by villagefarang

[villagefarang]

Here is a little collateral damage from the recent burning.

[villagefarang]

Singha Park is one of my favorite places to visit but not every day is perfect. Even on a dark cloudy day you sometimes get lucky like I did with this shot. We were about to leave when the sun burst through just to say goodbye. I grabbed the camera from the car and jogged up the hill hoping for a shot and this is what I got. Moments later the sun was gone.

Edited May 8, 2016 by villagefarang

[villagefarang]

Here is an old shot of mine looking down on the road to Doi Pha Tang.