Chiang Rai, Thailand (Nov 2012)

After leaving footsteps in Bangkok, we moved north towards Chiang Rai. I was thinking of traveling on the overnight train but we took a flight instead due to convenience. We landed at the Chiang Rai airport after approximately one hour of flight. It seemed that there was only one cab operator at the airport and we don’t think there were other services around to take us to our guesthouse. So, we opted for the cab at 100 baht and it took us a 20 minutes waiting time.

Chiang Rai is a small little town famous for its Wat Rong Khun and it was the main reason of our stop-over. We chose to stay at Baan Norn Plearn after reading so much of good reviews and we were not disappointed at all! This guesthouse is approximately 20 minutes drive away from the airport (we are not sure if there are other transportation available, so we took a cab at 100 baht - faced a waiting period of more than 15 minutes due to the lack of car) and located in the heart of the town - very near to all other temples and shops.

We requested for an attached bathroom and we simply love the guesthouse for its cleanliness and quiet location. We spent most of our travel staying in boutique guesthouse and we found that this one offers an experience most similar to a home! We prepared our breakfast in the morning (raw ingredients are spread out in the kitchen every morning for your cooking pleasure - yup, you'll need to prepare your own and wash the dishes please :)) ) and every morning, the owner would prepare different local dessert for the guests. My favourite was the taro sticky rice. Awesome..really!

Baan Norn Plearn (room #7)

The cleanest bathroom throughout my entire journey in Thailand..LOL

WIFI and bicycles are available free of charge while motorbike is on rent for 250 baht a day (the owner will be able to arrange that for you). A bike is good enough to explore the entire place - all the way to Wat Rong Khun and Central Plaza (don't trust the locals if they tell you that these are very far..HAHA..you can even take a bicycle there if you are fit...30-40 minutes drive..so probably an hour to cycle?). It is quite easy to get to the temple actually and don’t believe it if the locals tell you otherwise…HAHA...we were shocked by a shopkeeper when he told us that the temple is approximately an hour away from town. We were like,”Seriously?!” We actually rented a bike and we thought that we could take the motorcycle and cruise our way there but he told us that it will be quite dangerous to ride on the highway for the non-locals. My impression of highways is those 3-lanes road where cars go at 110km/h.  So we parked and took a bus at the Bus Station for 20 baht. We were not too sure which to go on with but we met with a nice French couple who told us that we could take the 20 baht bus – not anything higher than that price. The journey took 20 minutes on a 2-lanes road which is safe for motorbikes (not that they have a dedicated lane but it is neither a difficult nor dangerous to cruise on that road) and the temple is visible from the roadside.  

Wat Rong Khun is a really astounding temple which takes you on a day ride to Hell. From a far view, it looks like a white temple that reflects purity and radiance but at a closer look, it shows you the other side of the coin, anger and hollowness of the underworld. Buddhists believe that each realm is guarded by a Buddha and it is the same for Hell. This architecture gives me a lasting impression of 地裝王 (Di Zhuang Hwang)overlooking the wandering souls. 

The ticket lady on the Bus to Wat Rong Khun

The magnificent Wat..it's really gleaming under the sun...very beautiful

Would you like to have this head in your backyard?

Looking at it made me feels like if the hands are going to pull me down...deep down..any time...it's so real...

We are not allowed to take any photoin the temple...so, I guess we just have to respect that

We took the jeepney back to the bus station...remember to press the bell and not miss your destination (20 baht per person)

Going back to the town proves a little tough without your own transport though. We were told that there are buses/cars going back to the town every minute and we should wait by the main road. We waited…and waited…under the shed of a seemingly abandoned building for…say..30 minutes before a jeepney stopped by. It is the jeepney which goes to town! YAY! At 20 baht, we hopped onto it and after we took our bike, we went on to Central Mall. I was hoping to look for some cute T-shirts but there is none there. It is a modern mall with really cheap food in the food court. I had a large bowl of soup noodles with a generous portion of add-on (vegetable) for 450 baht. We went for our coffee break at Starbucks and we were happy that they are having a buy-one-get-one free promotion for fly-in guests. If I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get that Christmas edition ceramic mug elsewhere, I would have bought it at that time…although, it is quite pricey for my taste (850 baht…justtttt because it carries a Starbucks logo…bleh...but now...  T___T  i want THAT one...).

Our night at Baan Norn Plearn was splendid! It used to be a kindergarten and it was later converted into a boutique guesthouse. It has a homely feel to it and the best part was the attached bathroom (upon request). I sound like some hygiene freak but I really enjoy a clean shower place with good water pressure and hot water after a day of moving around doing my sight-seeing. I will probably end up with a sore feet by the end of the day and hence, a welcoming massage or good shower is seriously a wonderful way of ending a day.

In Chiang Rai, I was looking forward to dine in Cabbage and Condom due to the photo posted by friends on FB. I guess it was over-rated and the experience there was at most a normal. My favourite was the seafood souffle and besides this dish, others are OK. The restaurant aside, we had quite a funny moment when we were looking for the place. We went on bicycle on our first day and we went past C&C quite a number of times, so we thought that it'd be easy to go there again at night for our dinner. Well, it turned out that we cycled and cycled and never found the place. HAHA. We were smarter on the second day and went there on a motorcycle. 

Food-wise, if you have a vegetarian on-board, it's not quite easy to get vegetarian lunch in Chiang Rai. We spotted one somewhere opposite Wat Doi Tung and that's the only one we saw in town - unless you travel to Central Plaza (also, one stall spotted in the food court). Not many varieties as at that time of visit, they only serve two types of noodles but again - it's delicious. However, Thais are very accommodating and you may ask them to prepare veg for you:)

After two nights, we are ready for Chiang Mai. We bought the bus ticket (Green Bus) one day before at the same station. Time-table (below) is correct at the time of visit - which is in November 2012 :)

It took 3 hours to reach Chiang Mai on a smooth road (well-paved with no animals crossing) across the countryside. It was a pleasant trip with cooling weather and I was watching the TV on-board until I finally doze off...

Next up: Chiang Mai (Yi Peng Festival)

Cameron Highlands, Pahang

Cameron Highlands is a sleepy valley in the state of Pahang, Malaysia. Before you reach the little towns, you will first be required to conquer the long winding road up to the hill. Road upgrades are now ongoing and let's hope that the work progress is fast, else you will seriously suffer from a stretch of bumpy roads. Not an uncommon sight in Malaysia but it is not appreciated when the road is so narrow!

There are a lot of local stores along the way, selling petai, duku, other local fruits and handicrafts. That's like a good 65km of travel before you reach Tanah Rata. I have been to Cameron before this but I still fidget like a small child in the car. The journey seems like Forever...and I didn't know Forever stretches that far...hmmm...when can I see the silhouette of the hotel??

Anyways, we reached at long last and we had tea at Lord's Cafe upon strong recommendation from my friend. I was told that this place has got the best scones in the whole Cameron. It only then that I realized that Cameron is famous for scones. I never knew and I thought steamboat was what the place was well-known for.

Scones and hot chocolate..and oh, hello to vanilla ice cream and pie too!

The cute kids of the owner of the shop

After lunch, we drove ahead further and FINALLY! The hotel! We spent the night at Equatorial Hotel - though there are more charming ones along the way such as Cameron Highland's Resort, well, Equatorial has a better price for a weekend getaway. The hotel comes with a tiny pool, a less than inviting size but it is huge for a 2 years old (that said, it's good for a family's short vacation). The room is not new but it is clean (Rating of 8 in 10) and it has got a few channels to choose from - which is good because we have been to Cameron for several times throughout our adulthood and after dinner, we retreated back to the hotel for a quiet and relaxing time watching the TV. 

Steamboat dinner (review and address: http://www.happycow.net/reviews.php?id=36113)*

*There are a few restaurants that cater to vegetarian and most of them are located in Brinchang. A lot of us, locals, enjoy renting an apartment unit and prepare our own dinner when we are in Cameron especially if we went in a big group.

Other highlights of Cameron are Mossy Forest and the many tea farms. I have not been to the Mossy Forest before but my friend gave a good rating for that one. This time round, we went to the Boh Tea Plantation instead; we went there for our breakfast and enjoy the calm scenery with coffee/tea and pastries.  This is one place to avoid during festive seasons though because it is located 2 km from the main road and the road leading towards the tea house is winding and narrow. It can hardly fit 2 cars - let alone if you are driving a 7-seaters. It took us quite a while to drive out due to the in-coming cars. Anyways, after we bought our supplies of fresh corns, vegetables and flowers, we head back to Kuala Lumpur...our beloved congested city...