On Thursday a brand-new Hyundai eleven-seater minibus turned up on the hotel driveway, and it was all ours. Trouble is, it came with a young driver who thought he was in a Formula One Grand Prix race, all day. He certainly didn’t like having anyone in front of him, but he smiled constantly; though we’re not sure if the smiling was him being friendly, or because he just loved his brand-new wheels. As you can see from the fact that I am writing this, and you are reading it, we obviously, miraculously survived the trip.
Our personal ‘Michael Schumacher’ whisked us down the highway to Wat Rong Khun, also known as The White Palace. A Thai artist, Chaloemchai Kositpipat, has designed the most amazing temple and although, still not complete, it really is a sight to see. There are various buildings in the compound and most of them are all white with fragments of embedded mirrored glass and silver painted decoration. For us, the lightness as it glimmered in the sunlight, seemed to lift the spirits and, despite the number of tourists, it really was quite breathtaking.
To challenge our happy mood, ‘Mr Schumacher’ then drove us to the other side of Chiang Rai to Baandam Museum, aka The Black Museum. Here we found about thirty buildings dotted about on well-kept lawns and each one containing ‘creations’ by Thai artist Thawan Duchanee. It was weird, repetitive and rather depressing. Every building seemed to contain chairs, tables, pictures, etc. made out of dark wood and bits of dead animals; horns, skins, feet, claws, skulls and skeletons. I think we were both a little intrigued, but glad to leave that place.
The next stop was quite a distance north, but it didn’t take too long with ‘Mr Schumacher’ at the wheel. The Doi Tung Royal Villa was the occasional residence of the late Princess King Mother, HRH Princess Srinagarindra, who spent much of her life in Switzerland. The elegant villa is situated in a very picturesque spot, high up in the hills of northern Thailand, with views across to the hills of Laos and Myanmar. The princess was apparently very well-loved by the Thai people and did a lot of good work for charity and for the local villagers. She apparently loved Switzerland and hence the villa looks like a lovely Swiss-style chalet but with a quirky Thai twist. There are a few of her belongings and examples of her pastimes in cabinets, and curiously she is credited with introducing the game of pétanque to Thailand and their team is now among some of the best in the world!
Spreading down the slopes below the royal villa are the Mae Fah Luang Gardens, a botanical park and arboretum. A fabulous display of flowers and plants grow among rock formations, all with views across to the rolling hills. It’s a lovely corner of the world and despite the pouring rain, our spirits lifted again ready for the next leg of the grand prix race day.
We chanced our luck with a last stop at the very interesting Hilltribe Museum and Education Centre, back in Chiang Rai, before getting ‘Michael Schumacher’ to drive us back out to our hotel. It was a big day out, a very mixed day out and definitely a ‘fast’ day out; one we’ll remember for quite a while.
