Wachirathan waterfall.
Highest peak in Thailand which...
...is also the beginning of the Himalayas! (The gateway).
You've seen the washing powder advert?
The King & Queen pagodas, this is the Queen pagoda.
Doi Inthanon (2hr drive from Chiang Mai)
- Wachirathan waterfall
- Highest peak in Thailand
- Gateway to the Himalayas
- King & Queen Pagodas
- Royal project rainforest and waterfall
- Karen hill tribe village
We spent today travelling arounf the huge Doi Inthanon (national park) of Chiang Mai. If you haven't gathered already it is also the gateway to the Himalayas, which explains why it was much cooler up there.. think English summer..
The highest peak is where the last ruler of Chiang Mai is buried, but then we were taken on a short ride to an amazing mountainside park, containing stunning gardens and the huge pagodas commemorating the King's 60th birthday (to the left) and 5 years later the pagoda built for the Queens 60th birthday. They're huge and what makes them special is the modern take on traditional temple's and archtectural influences. The views alone are fantastic.
Next on to the royal projects - the rainforests here were originally the opium gardens way back when. The projects aim is to teach the people of the mountains new ways to make money through agriculture and education, it was originally subsidised so they made the same amount of money as when they sold opium! They now have a booming business in organic products and food.
Not far from the royal projects live the Karen hill tribe.. similar to the tribe we met previously, but their main source of income comes from weaving. They also have a 'guard pig'.. lol.. it's the only pig Bev has ever met that growls and barks at you if you try to stroke it (as she soon found out).
Later on in the evening - beer from 7-11 (by the way it's 25p for a beer over here!!) and food from the night bazaar, but this time eating where the locals eat.. total cost for 2 meals = 40p.. real cost = "happy days" :-)
On to Phuket tomorrow so the blog might fall behind a little as we go exploring the islands and rest our tired feet! (Very excited).
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