Another great day, long but great none the less. We went to the Golden Triangle (สามเหลี่ยมทองคำ Saam Liam Thong Kham) is in Chiang Rai Province, in the far north of Thailand. The English name comes from the meeting of Laos, Myanmar and Thailand here, but to the locals it’s Sop Ruak, since this is where the Mekong meets the Ruak River.

We started the day with a visit to the village people of Chiang Rai, on the way we saw:

At the villages we saw:

Next stop was the Ancient City:

Then drove to the Golden Triangle where we had lunch and saw:

We then got a fast boat and went up river to Myanmar:

We left turn down river and headed for Laos:

After the boat ride from Laos we head to Chiange Rai market and saw:

Our last stop was Wat Rong Khun (White Temple), Chiang Rai

This magnificent temple, about half an hour from Chiang Rai town, is a living work of art. It is the culmination of the dream of renowned Thai artist, Chalermchai Kositpipat, Â who wants to take traditional Buddhist art into the contemporary world, make an offering to the Budda and create his life’s greatest work.

This project began in 1997 and is still under construction. Most of the funds for the project comes from Khun Chalermchai himself. Although the temple accepts donations, to maintain artistic integrity, nothing more than 10,000 baht is accepted.

On the way back to Chiang Mai we saw: