We enjoyed a leisurely Chinese/Western breakfast at the Lau Lee; a surprisingly tasty pork congee, toast (of a sort) with marmalade, and a cup of instant coffee. Then, it was on the road again.

Golden morning view from our balcony.

We drove down into the valleys via a series of narrow switch-backs. And once we reached the bottom, we were rewarded by a water-front view of Lek’s favourite fishing lake.

Pastoral valley.

Mae Soy Lake.

And what would a day on the Thai roads be without some strange sights…

Bags of corn.

Laying hens in individual crates.

Our next point of interest was the famed “White Temple”: Wat Rong Khun (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Rong_Khun). This contemporary, and thoroughly unconventional Buddhist Temple is located in Chiang Rai. With apologies for sounding irreverent; my best description for this structure is that it is akin to being the Disneyland for bling-starved Buddhists. All other Wats we have visited, regardless of being derelict or newly restored, have given us at least some sense of reverence. Not so with this place. This temple is stark white with most every surface also covered with a myriad of tiny mirrors to reflect the light. It is garish, jarring to the senses, and exemplified the “taste” of the nouveau riche (or wannabes) – it was the perfect backdrop for the legions of “Hongers” and Mainland Chinese visitors taking their selfies. What an absolute “gong-show” (nudge, nudge, *wink*). While on this subject, I must report that the era of the old “Ugly American” tourist has been indeed, eclipsed. The newest version are an instantly identifiable group of tourists who are even more arrogant, self-important, mannerless, demanding, loud, and ever-entitled: presenting the “Ugly Honger” or the “Ugly Chinese”. We have been running into this new travel-irritant over the past few years in ever-increasing numbers. Unfortunately, Thailand has been invaded by them as well. And before you start sending uninformed comments; check out the photos of me from previous blogs… I am a Canadian of Chinese ethnicity. Well, enough of that, here’s a few images of the White Temple to check out.

Wat Rong Khun; the “White Temple”.

Macabre statue at Wat Rong Khun.

One of many macabre masks at Wat Rong Khun.

The main path into the temple is flanked by legions of the damned.

More strange statuary at the temple.

Giant Monkey-Gods guard the entrance.

Bizarre post-tops at the temple.

Mythical creatures abound at the temple.

More mythical beasts.

White Temple decorations.

Even the men’s public restroom was blinged-out.

We were more than ready to hop back into the truck and head out after the somewhat surreal experience of visiting this particular temple. First things, first though – lunch. We had a very nice, authentic Thai meal at a roadside noodle restaurant.

Kitchen of the roadside noodle restaurant.

Then, it was back out into the rural areas… and up into the mountains. In the area we headed into, the mountains meant tea farming.

Doi Mae Salong 101 Tea Plantation.

Hard to understand sign at the 101 Tea Plantation.

We also stopped at a road-side “market”; in reality, no more than a half-dozen covered tables at the side of the road. The most interesting items they had were locally harvested wild honey and honeycombs.

Wild honeycomb with larvae.

Somehow, I don’t think we’ll be getting those past the “food-police Beagle” at YVR.

It was now approaching late-afternoon. So, Lek dropped us off to check into our hotel for the night; the Mae Salong Flower Hills Resort (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g297920-d2067733-Reviews-Mae_Salong_Flower_Hills-Chiang_Rai_Chiang_Rai_Province.html). Not unlike the Lau Lee, this resort boasted some spectacular views but is rather “odd”; in a “hard-to-put-a-finger-on-it” kind of way. What it did have was the best shower we have used in Thailand. It had an actual door to the shower area, hot water, and great water pressure.

View from the Mae Salong Flower Hills Resort.

Another fantastic vista.

At about 5 PM, Lek picked up for the next part of the trip. A visit to Wat Santikhiri (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g2557661-d2557663-Reviews-Wat_Santikhiri_Temple-Mae_Salong_Santikhiri.html). This temple sits atop a hill and dominates the namesake town below it.

Wat Santikhiri.

Wat Santikhiri door detail.

Moonrise over Wat Santikhiri.

View of Santikhiri (nee Mae Salong) from Wat Santikhiri.

The town of Santikhiri (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santikhiri) is still referred to by most of it’s residents as Mae Salong; it’s name until the late 1980’s. As you can see from the blue marker on this map, the town is located smack-dab in the heart of the old region once infamous for it’s Opium production and lawlessness; the Golden Triangle.

Blue marker is where Santikhiri (Mae Salong) is located.

Akha market part of Santikhiri.

Buddhist Monks at a tea shop.

Eventually, we found a nice little restaurant for dinner; the “Shin Sane”. The food was very tasty, the beer cold, and the company most pleasant.

Lek and Eron at the Shin Sane Restaurant.

I smoked a nice cigar… we drank few more beer… then it was time to head back to the resort. But as we walked back to the truck, we spotted this rather peculiar sign…

Shin Sane Guest Horse and Bungalow.

We think they meant “Guest House”… but then, you never know for sure….