When I'm in New York, I hike in the Catskills. When I'm in California, I explore the Redwoods. Apparently when I'm in Chiang Mai, I venture to Doi Inthanon. In November 2010, I went on a fantastic 3 day/2 night trek through
Doi Inthanon. I met
Astrid on that trek! And now Astrid lives in Thailand! And I still love Thailand very much so (some things don't change).
Of course last time the reason I wanted to go to Doi Inthanon was to go to the highest point to see these amazing temple/stupas in honor of the king and queen. Of course I was told that was where the trek was headed but we never did get there. It was ok though. This time I was determined. Eda and I met Pele "Pele Thai" while walking around Chiang Mai in search of the right tour agency to do business with. Pele was a monk for 20 years but is now retired. He has quite the story. He was/is great and we were very lucky to have found him. He answered all of our questions about Buddhism, monks, Thailand, and anything else. He even taught us a song called, "
Mai pen rai!"
It was not a real hike, we walked a bit (discovered how unfit we are), drove a bit, walked, drove. The weather was not conducive to a proper trek anyway what with the rain and the fog at the very top of the mountain.
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| I was told this was galangal. Not true. Beautiful, though! |
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| Don't go chasin' waterfalls... |
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| Wachirathan Waterfall! |
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| Sweet and sour filled with Vitamin C |
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| Lunch! |
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| Nabhapolbhumisiri Shrine - for the queen (See us lookin' Queenly) |
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| Nobhamethanidol Shrine in the background. |
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| Queen's shrine inside |
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| King's shrine inside |
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| I like to go to the highest spots! Finally made it ! 2,565 meters = 8,415 feet! |
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