Today, we joined a tour to explore the region north of Chiang-Mai. The tour includes the white temple, the golden triangle and the long neck village. We didn't have a lot of time, so we couldn't go around ourselves, but we really wanted to see the long neck village, therefore we decided to go with this tour.
First stop: Natural hot spring
We have 20 mins to walk around. There are stores for tourists, and the "hot spring"! It really is just a really hot pond looking thing. They sell eggs, and people put the eggs in the hot spring to cook it. Honestly, nothing too exciting.
Second stop: Wat Rong Khun (The White Temple)
The white temple is still under construction, and it is 10 years from being finished. It opens all year round and it is free admission. This is probably the whitest building I have ever seen in my life, and the carvings are amazing! They are so detailed. As you can see from the picture below, there's a bridge leading to the entrance of the temple. It is called the bridge of "the cycle of rebirth". You can see, below the bridge, there are all those skeletons, hands reaching out, symbolizing temptation, greed and desire. After you cross the bridge, there's the "gate of heaven", guarded by two creatures representing Death and Rahu (someone who decides the fate of the dead). It is soooooo crowded here, and it's not even open yet!
Third stop: the golden triangle
Basically, this is where the three countries meet, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. Historically, this is an area for growing opium. Because the currencies are different, so they used to use gold for trading. The tour includes a boat ride on the Ruak river to Laos. The part of Laos we went is really just for tourists. They have a bunch of stores for different clothing, scorpion whiskey, etc. Nothing exciting. The very first thing I saw and made a huge impression on me is the child beggars waiting on the pier, begging for money. It really shocked me. I knew these countries are poor, but child beggars? This just reminds me of how lucky I am. I should really stop whining about my life. After the boat tour, we went to the Myanmar border, and there's a gate! And that's about it.
Last stop: Karen Long Neck Village
It is just unbelievable to me that there are still people doing that! They are originally from Myanmar. In their culture, the longer the neck, the prettier you are. And you know how women are, we all want to be pretty! Whatever it takes! They start putting on the brass coil around the age of 5, and more rings get added on every year. According to the tour guide, kids that were born there have a choice of receiving an education or becoming a long neck, but if they don't go to school by the age of 5, then they will have to be a long neck. Those coils are SUPER heavy! I held one, and I underestimated the weight and I almost hurt my wrist! Because of the weight, you can see from the picture below, their shoulders are pressed down. They only take it off when they shower or sleep. This is probably a very touristy version of the real long neck village, but it's still fascinating to see these people with my own eyes.
This tour started at 7:30 and we were back in the hostel around 9:30. It was a whole day tour and most of the time, we were in the car. When we were out, most of the time, we were in places with a lot of tourist-oriented stores. Honestly, I wasn't very happy with this tour, but without the tour, I could not have seen the long neck village. Anyways, I can't get everything, right?!