Chiang Rai Hotels
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Drivers, drugs and Doi
Entry 14 of 25 | show all | print this entry |
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The Rimkok Resort is kind of our in the middle of no where. We could do the optional tour with the group today. They were going to a "local" village to see the hill tribe people. Most of the tour books say that these hill tribes are pretty much a tourist trap. Authentic tribes, living as tribes, are not ones to hock beads and trinkets to curious tourists. They even hint at the fact that tourism is slowly destroying the traditional lives of the hill tribe people. There is a catch 22 about tourism. I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to see the world and learn about different cultures but the same tourism has an effect on what becomes of the gap between cultures. In a world where McDonald's is popping up in the most unlikely places the world is starting to become homogenized and the one thing that we tour the world for is slowly disappearing.
We decided to take the day on our own. The Rimkok Hotel had a tourist office in the lobby They had tours available but the best option was hiring a driver for the day. They gave us a few ideas of places to visit in the area and arranged for the driver to pick us up.
He picked us up in front of the hotel. He didn't speak a lot of English but loved American Movies. He was a huge fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Wayne and a couple of other stars. We were able to deduce that he moonlights as the Lobby Piano player in the Rimkok Hotel.
Our first stop of the day was Mah Fah Luang Garden. It is the Royal Gardens in front of Doi Tung Palace on top of the mountains in Chiang Rai. It is so beautiful. My favorite was all of the Orchids. They were everywhere. They even have a building dedicated to the propagation of Orchids.
It is fascinating how they grow so many varieties of plants and flowers. The gardens are a little reminiscent of Chinese or Japanese gardens. There are water effects and architecture built into the gardens. www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAVmemQ3zH4
As we entered the gardens we passed a little clay pot with a ladle hanging next to it. It was full of the freshest water kept cool by the clay pot. I know that tourist really shouldn't drink the water but we have had no backlash from anything that we have eaten or drank. Maybe our trip to Egypt made us immune.
We learned a little about the history of Thailand and its royalty in the Princess Mother Commemorative hall. I was very impressed by how well rounded the Royal Family is. The hall told of their interests in religion, art, health, pubic works and nature. I gained a new respect for the Princess Mother and her two sons that were to become the first two kings of a Democratic Thailand.
We had met a couple at the Rimkok Hotel who had rented a vehicle the day before and they recommended the Opium Museum. I am glad that they had suggested it. We drove to the museum and we almost missed the last English tour of the day.
You enter the museum and go through a long hallway that represents the destroyed lives of those that have been involved with Opium and creates an atmosphere of the contradictory moods associated with opium, mystery, danger, fear, sleep and dreams, ease of pain, or suppressed suffering. It leads you into the lobby.
The Golden Triangle evokes images of opium poppies, of hill tribes, of the mighty Mekong River and tropical forests. But most of all "Golden Triangle" evokes images of opium and heroin made from it. The Golden Triangle, source of over half of the worlds illegal heroin.
In 1988 her royal highness princess Srinagarindra initiated Doi Tung Development Project in the northernmost point of Thailand. This Project was aimed at ending the dependence on Opium in the Golden Triangle. She also wanted to educate the people on the fight against illegal drugs and the Opium museum was part of this initiative.
The museum covers the 5000 year history of the opium poppy. The Light and Dark Hallway present contrasting characteristics of opium On one side a plant with products of great use to humans and on the other a plant that can cause considerable suffering. There is coverage of the Opium Wars between China and Britain.
I was impacted the most by the stories of those destroyed by heroine and opium. The museum does a great job of showing that drug abuse can happen to anyone of any age, race or religious belief.
Our driver wanted to show us a few more areas of Thailand. He took us up to Wat Phra That pu Khao. There is a beautiful view of the area where Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and way in the distance, China, meet. To stand in one place and see 4 very important countries was wonderful.
There was a group of the local children dressed in Tribal costumes just waiting for a visit from tourists. They wanted a few baht to pose for a picture with us. There was one little girl that was quite a pistol She was working it like a champ. After the handing out of change I was handed the youngest, whose diaper was soaking wet, and they all posed for a photo.
Next he wanted to show us Doi Wow. The Scorpion mount. We ran into some Buddhist monks who were enjoying their vacation. They were taking photos and were happy to pose with us for a photo of their own. Knowing that they are forbidden to touch a woman during the time that they are a monk I feared tripping and falling into one of them. I was so very cautious. It was a small victory but I didn't do anything clumsy.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9BFIW_LO-k
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