Despite the revelry on Saturday night, Phan is still a country town so we found the celebrations wrapping up just after nine and by ten, things were quiet.  We decided to call it a night so we could get an early start Sunday morning and see a few more sights before heading back to Khrungthep.

Sleeping on a coconut husk mattress, though, does not make for a good night’s sleep.  I awoke earlier than the sun and, recalling the stunning sunset the pervious night, decided to pull on some clothes and head to the roof to see if the sunrise was equally spectacular.  It was.

First the sky was very dark, then very pink, then the sky lightened and there was an intense contrast between the pink lined clouds and the blue sky.  Then the entire sky took a yellowish cast before the sun finally appeared on the hazy horizon.

Being on the rooftop all alone, listening to the birds and the insects and the barking dogs, filled me with a certain sense of peace.  Sunrises are beautiful things and, I suppose because I am a morning person, I find it very satisfying to bear witness to the start of a new day.  The moments just after the day breaks contain a whole world of possibilities and offer an open door to another opportunity to live our lives the way we mean to, rather than the way we sometimes end up living them.  If life is all about making choices, a new day gives us the chance to make new choices.

As hotel workers arrived to disassemble the remnants of last evening’s banquet, the reflective moment was shattered and so I headed back to the room and found Tawn stirring.  We met Kobfa in the lobby at seven-thirty, packed and ready to hit the road.

On the way out of Phan we stopped at a hilltop temple on the northern edge of town.  A ten-metre tall statue of the Buddha stands in front of the temple on an overlook, the entire town and surrounding fields lying under its gaze in the hazy valley below.

Interestingly, the posture of the statue is known as the “Preventing Calamities” or “Stop the Relatives Fighting” pose, with one hand raised with the palm facing outwards.  Does this statue protect Phan from natural disasters, keep family feuds to a minimum, or both?

Thais associate eight different Buddha poses with the different days of the week (two for Wednesday).  The most comprehensive information I’ve found on this in one place is at Richard Barrow’s website.  

Mr. Barrow is kind of the father of expat blogging in Thailand, a teacher who brought computer education to Samut Phrakan province southeast of Khrungthep.  Using the above link, you can explore all sorts of interesting entries and other websites he has been integral in starting.

Below, a view of what the Buddha statue sees in the hazy valley below the overlook, as well as a picture of Tawn practicing his yoga sun salutations.

We drove back towards Chiang Rai, Sophie Millman playing on the stereo and Tawn and Kobfa napping as I enjoyed the drive.

Time shifting just a bit – all the good stories have flashbacks, right? – we passed by Wat Rong Khun on the southern outskirts of Chiang Rai, which we had visited on Saturday afternoon before the banquet began. 

Known by many as “The White Temple”, Wat Rong Khun is the vision of Thai religious artist Chalermchai Kositpipat.  Khun Chalermchai, who turns 53 this Friday, is a native son of Chiang Rai province whose Buddhist art is known for its more contemporary look and feel.

This work in progress, which Chalermchai estimates will take several additional decades and for which he is training dozens of apprentices, is a work of passion and conviction.  It is a real temple, complete with monk’s quarters, which is being built bit by bit as a reflection of the artist’s vision of what heaven would look like here on earth.

The most inspiring piece, which is still only 70% complete, is the main shrine hall – the ubosot, pictured above  Strikingly white (symbolizing the Buddha’s purity) and outlined in mirrored mosaic tiles (symbolizing how the Buddha’s wisdom shines over the entire earth), the ubosot is as detailed as any gothic cathedral in Europe and is just so incredibly white in the mid-day sun.

Visitors walk a pathway over “hell”, symbolized by the upstretched hands in the moat pictured below, in order to reach “heaven”, which the ubosot represents. 

The detail work on the main building is incredible, shown below.

Inside the ubosot is a series of partially-completed murals.  The mural on the side with the main Buddha statue, finished in a matte silver color rather than the traditional gold, is more complete.  It is the mural on the back side of the entry door wall that is most fascinating, though.  It is a depiction of the evil in the world, sort of a coming armageddon, and in it you’ll find all sorts of interestingly contemporary images such as machine guns, mobile telephones, and a small picture of Keanu Reeves’ character from The Matrix.  It would be hard not to read his work as a critique of modern culture.

Below, Tawn and I pose in front of the ubosot.  The chedi on the back side shows you what the unfinished structure looks like – the clean lines are evocative of Japanese temple architecture.  The ornamentation is added later.

Two other interesting images from the temple.  To the right is the post near the entrance that warns against drunk people entering the temple grounds.  Below is the elaborate toilet building.  The entire grounds are kept spotless by the staff, making it one of the cleanest public places in Thailand.

There are several other buildings on the ground in various stages of completion.  In the end there are supposed to be nine main buildings, but the artist anticipates this will take as many as sixty more years to complete.  One of the final ones is to be a crematorium, a common feature at local temples, which he plans on using when the end of his life comes.

Flashing back to Sunday morning, we drove past the exit to Wat Rong Khun and could see the white spires reflecting the grey overcast as we continued on our way to Chiang Rai. 

Sunday mornings are sleepy in Chiang Rai.  Nearly everything was closed and it proved to be a challenge to find breakfast.  We finally ate at a coffee shop at one of the hotels, being served something that was called an American Breakfast but that somehow didn’t ring familiar.

Food had been easier to find on Saturday afternoon when we visited a well-known and busy khao soi restaurant, above.  This curried rice noodle dish (below left) is popular in the north, featuring a rich and flavorful curry broth that isn’t terribly spicy.  Usually served with chicken or beef, these noodles are very satisfying.  We had them with a side of sai oua – the herbed pork sausage, below right. 

With an additional side of som tam – green papaya salad – we had a complete meal for about 45 baht each.  There are still values to be had in Thailand!

After our “American” breakfast on Sunday morning we drove north from Chiang Rai to visit Doi Tung.  This peak is less than an hour away from the city and was the home of the Princess Mother from 1987 until her death in 1995. 

Her Royal Highness was the mother of His Majesty King Rama IX (the current King of Thailand) and one of her main activities was helping redirect hill tribes and other people of the north from the cultivation of poppies to other sources of income. 

In addition to stopping the deforestation of the Golden Triangle (as this area is known, owing to the convergence of Burma, Thailand and Laos), her works improved the health and welfare of people in this area as new cottage industries were created. 

Today you can purchase very good coffee, tea and macadamia nuts from this region along with a wide range of handicrafts such as silk and cotton fabrics, handmade papers, and beautiful pottery.

Her house, a two-level villa that combined aspects of northern Thai and Swiss architecture (she spent much of her life living in the Swiss Alps), features beautiful gardens and it showcases many of the development projects she oversaw in her life.

Below, the magnificent view looking northwards from the balcony of the villa towards Burma.

We could have spent another few hours there to fully appreciate the gardens and see more of the attractions, but our time was running short.  We descended the mountain and had just enough time for a second visit to Salungkam, the restaurant where we ate dinner on Friday night.

After we had filled ourselves once more with northern culinary delights, we headed to the airport to catch our Nok Air flight home.

Left, Tawn prepares to board “Nok Sabai” – the Bird of Contentment – for our hour-long flight back to Don Meuang Airport.

It was nice having a weekend get away and each time we take one, I’m reminded of how much more exploring we should do in Thailand.  Many areas of the Kingdom are easily accessed and each offers its own unique sights, sounds, and tastes.