Chiang Rai is in no way lacking for things to do. If you look at a map of the area around Chiang Rai, there are dozens of dots strewn about – temples, waterfalls, caves, an elephant camp, hill tribe villages. A recent visit from friend from New Mexico served as the perfect opportunity to spend a lazy Saturday on motorbikes, exploring the areas around Chiang Rai.
Win and I had our motorbike, Jenny and Ansel had one rented for several days. Our itinerary was ambitious, but plausible: the nearby Buddha Cave, a waterfall, the Black Temple, and the longneck Karen tribe.
The air was heavy and wet, the sun forcing the moisture into the air, but moving along on the motorbike the breeze was cool. We took a circuitous route through rice paddies and open fields, past the prison, eventually winding up and around jungle hills. It involved a heavy amount of guesswork, as maps in Asia aren’t especially nuanced, and therefore often prove themselves to be somewhere between confusing and useless. One roadside fuel fill-up (poured from repurposed whiskey bottles) and several wrong turns later, we found the cave we were looking for.
Stray dogs lounged about on the steep staircase, but let us pass with little worry. Set in the side of a lone rock formation jutting from the rice paddies, the Buddha cave was inhabited by all manner of Buddha statues. Reclining, seated, standing, small medium and large. Even placed in gaps and natural skylights in the ceiling, there were Buddhas galore. And, the part I found most delightful, a number of stray cats lazed around, basking in pools of sun, and absorbing the quiet calm of their cave home.
After once again consulting the map, we ventured out, waterfall-bound. Now, there are a number of waterfalls in the greater Chiang Rai region, so once we found our way to the main road and the right general direction, we simply started following signs. Left, right, up, down, through residential neighborhoods, hill tribe communities, and lush, green jungle. Often, we would lose the signs and have to guess our way along, but the signs would almost always pick up again. The road meandered and wove through beautiful, diverse scenery, taking its time as it led us along.
It wasn’t the waterfall we were aiming for, but we found a waterfall. We headed off across a rickety suspension bridge over a river, assuming it would lead somewhere, which it didn’t. So we crossed back over the bridge, careful to avoid precarious or dangling boards.
Then we tried the trail with long, flat steps leading up small patches of bamboo forest. The Thais seem to build staircases to any and all natural or man-made points of interest, so it was a brief, easy trek to get there. It also wasn’t overly impressive, the water murky brown from the season’s high rains, but it was still a waterfall.
After a quick stop by a hilltribe museum --just one room filled with old tools, clothing, and accessories used by the local people -- and an attempted drive to a view point, which ended with us rolling backward down the hill, skid marks spooling out before us, we were ready for the second half of our adventure.
Then, it started to rain. And not just a little. I’m talking about the rains that wash, dump, and flood Thailand many afternoons during the (aptly named) rainy season. With Jenny and Ansel not being used to driving motorbikes or Thai traffic, let alone when complicated by monsoon rains, we figured it was time to throw in the metaphorical towel. Second half, canceled. It was a rain delay of the monsoon variety. We arrived home soaked and ready for an afternoon nap.
So, it looks like Win and I will just have to postpone the Black Temple and Karen Tribe until we are feeling ambitious and touristy, or until some other friends come visit us.
