Wachiratan falls with three rainbows

The previous post in this series about our thanksgiving trip is here..

We started day 7 with a long drive.. but first we had some logistic trouble. Given the dip in falls and other hiking sessions that involved a lot of sweating, I was clearly out of clothes. The hotel laundry service was minimum 5 days out. Thankfully Joy and Goy knew a laundry service nearby. So we went and dropped our clothes there and they told the owner to drop the clothes back at our hotel if possible. They were nice and agreed to do so before 6PM. After this brief stop, we had to drive close to 2 hours to Do Inthanon national park. We told Joy we were happy his wife was joining us. He told us that she will not be hiking with us. Apparently the hike starts in one place and ends in another. So she will drive the car to the other lot and wait for us there to save time.

We went through the gum tree road.. where the trees are 150 years old to exit Chiang Mai city area. Once we reached the National park, our first stop was Wachiratan waterfalls. I was like a little kid. San promptly told Joy about her brave and stupid husbands escapades in Camodia a few days ago. Joy looked at me and diplomatically said we should go see the falls on our own and come back. He have us 30 minutes. We got a lot of yoga pictures as well…

Here are some landscape photos as well. Taking steady shots to get the long exposure was not easy with the hand with the wind. Enjoyed the falls thoroughly.. We did get wet and were worried about making the cold worse. Then again, we were on an adventure and were not going to miss out on anything!

A video highlights reel..

Our next stop was a drive away to do a hike from the park guide stop to the village..

Dinner, massage and a tuk tuk ride

The previous post in this series is here..

After the Wat Phra Singh temple, Joy told us that he would drop us off at Raj Darbar, the most popular Indian restaurant in the area among his clients. After dinner it was a 5 minute walk to the night market. We could hang out there and get a Tuk Tuk to go to our hotel. Our hotel was a good 30+ minute walk at least from this area but a 4 minute Tuk Tuk ride along the same road.

We had a really nice dinner at the restaurant. The waiter was too nice and courteous. Came and checked on us every 10 minutes.

Walked around the night market and after 30 minutes decided to go for a massage at Cloud Massage. It was a full body Thai massage for 10 USD. The place was small but nice and the people were super nice. San and me both enjoyed the massage.. Was worried at one point that the full dinner was a bad idea before the massage.. but nothing bad happened. Would definitely recommend this place if you have an hour plus for a massage. Will also recommend you go before dinner..

We walked some more and San made a mental note of things she has to eat before leaving this place. There was no more room in the tummy for that evening. Got a tuk tuk and went back to our hotel. Given how we had started the day in a pharmacy, we were both feeling great. The herbal lozenges did wonders!

Here is a short video highlights reel..

The next morning we told him to just get me enough miini croissants and orange juice boxes and we are happy. We were to leave at 6:45 to a place that was 2 hour drive.

Wat Phra Singh Waramahavihan - getting used to long Thai names

The previous post in this series about the Dai Suthep temple is here..

We drove down from the hill top past many recent temples in Chiang Mai city and finally reached Wat Phra Singh. SIngh is same as Singham (Lion) said our guide Joy. We didn’t get the lion connection to the temple.

The temple predates Doi Suthep temple. This one was built in the year 1345.

It is beautiful !

We ended up in the shrine when they had just finished a special ceremony. It was interesting. They tied three bamboos together to make a tent and at the base of each tent they made offerings for the steeds or vahanas of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.. a swan, an eagle (Garuda) and a Nandi (bull) respectively.. some symbolism to take a person to god you need these three vehicles that the gods use. It was interesting to see the intersection and intermixing of Buddhist tradition with Hindu tradition.

We also got blessed as part of the group when they were all leaving which was a plus. We took our time soaking in the architecture and decorations. The place was getting crowded. Do not miss visiting this temple when in Chiang Mai.

A video highlights reel..

This was our last stop for the day. After this Joy told us that he would drop us off in the area with all the hotels and restaurants and night market. From there we take a Tuk Tuk to go to our hotel. He would meet us again the next day at 6:45 AM.