Photo of the day

[Betti]

gate at Wat Po

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[Jasonkoh82]

Haha wat pho certainly sure bring back some of the fond memories i had...kudos for sharing

[Betti]

Wat Phrathat Haripunchai in Lamphun, just 28 kms from Chiang Mai

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[Betti]

my favourite cat at Wat Prathat Doi Suthep. it was lying smack in the middle of the courtyard without moving or reacting to the masses of people moving around. (yes it was still breathing.) I sat with her for a long while and patted her and she still did not move. a real Buddhist cat deep in meditation before all the hard work. I wonder what's happened to the kittens since. monks seem to adore dogs a lot more than cats.

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[Betti]

This month, I will be posting photos from my Mae Hong Son loop trip last October. I cannot really remember which ones I had posted before.... but I hope they will still be enjoyable.

These photos were taken between Pai and Soppong, the most spectacular section of the loop. The road goes up to the altitude of 1700-1800 metres several times and then drops back to the valleys. Easy and very fun to ride because the road surface is excellent. Just need to watch out for the stray buffaloes.

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[Betti]

A young Lisu mother at one of the viewpoints on the Mae Hong Son loop, who made some fresh hot coffee for me.

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[Betti]

elephants on the outskirts of Pai town. I know recently it is not fashionable to like Pai but I always enjoy it a lot. it is insanely green in the rainy season once you get out of Chiang Mai, and there is lots to see. I would also like to try the flight one day. after surviving all those domestic fights in Burma, the 12-seater that flies up to Pai should be a piece of cake!

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as for the elephant ride, you can take your elephant down to the river here and take a bath. just careful the whole animal doesn't fall on you when it decides to lie down! I think this may have been my last elephant ride, at least for a while. the next day, I heard about a friend who fell off an elephant in Kanchanaburi and broke his collarbone. the elephant had gone out of control, rushed into the jungle, the mahout couldn't follow, and he got knocked off by an overhanging branch. I guess still better than an entire adult elephant sitting on you. wouldn't like to try either, anyway.

[ravip]

Lovely photos - Thank you Betti

[Betti]

carved temple windows in Pai

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[Betti]

rafting on the Pai river

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everyone else came for the thrill, I came for the tranquillity and the scenery and don't really like the rapids. falling down a grade 3 rapid made me realise I don't want to come back here when the water is so wild and risk smashing my face. would be nice to go now for a leisurely float down the river. but you need a 4-day weekend to get there and back. not likely.