A small portion of us chose to leave Doi Ang-Khang at 6:30 this morning to visit a hill tribe in order to get a better idea of what it is like to live in the mountains. The people there wore traditional Thai clothing and made traditional Thai goods. I was so sad I didn't bring my money, there were so many beautiful hand-made things.
The tribe was surrounded by Burma on three sides. We walked to the border where a wooden fence seperated Thailand from "no-man's land". That was only a small strip. Then there was Burma. We would have been able to see it if not for the fog.
We toured bits of the research station that morning after breakfast and packing up. This included a vegetable garden which was so neat and then a flower garden. The Thais are so funny. They love taking pictures! They have so many photos in front of those flowers.
After our tour we traveled through the mountains once more to Chaing Rai. We all through back motion sickness medicine and rode in a blur a sleep for the ride. We stopped for lunch, and then hit the road again to make it to Doi Tung. There we visited the Doi Tung Royal Villa which was the "Home on the Hill" belonging to the Princess Mother (the King's mother). Her home was absolutely gorgeous. We did an audio tour, and I was amazed about how wonderful she was. She had a deep love for astronomy, so her ceiling featured a replica of the solar system. There were bits of her things in display boxes explaining how she appreciated time and felt it was wrong to waste it. She knitted for the needy and held classes for women to learn crafts to help support themselves. She also had a great appreciation for reading, seeing how so many Thais in the country can grow up illiterate. Her staircase featured the Thai alphabet - the way the elementary school kids learn it. This featured the 44 consonants and 20 vowels that make up the language. Can you imagine?
We left her home to a breathtaking view of Chaing Rai. After the rain, the sun looked brilliant and everything shimmered. The five of us could hardly take our eyes off of it. Photos didn't do it justice.
We ate dinner that night at Doi Tung and sat outside of our hotel rooms drinking and putting pumeria flowers in our hair, looking out at the sparkling lights of Chaing Rai.