It is a park featuring gigantic concrete structures inspired by Hinduism and Buddhism. The sheer size of these structures cant fail to impress any tourists. We took a tuk-tuk from our Hop Inn Hotel (20min ride) and we spent about 1 hour just browzing around this park just amazed at the size !
Some of its statues or structures tower some 25 m above ground and those include the monumental depiction of Buddha meditating under the protection of the seven-headed Naga snake !
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| the " Medusa " |
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| taking a break....having fun with the selfie camera ! |
playing hide n seek with selfie camera
Perhaps the most enigmatic part of the park is the Wheel of Life, a circular multi part group of sculptures representing the karmic circle of birth and death through a progression of tarot-like characters.
and another temple in NongKhai, the WAT PHO CHAI
Hop Inn Hotel has their regular tuktuk guy named Juk. He is a very nice man and speaks very good english ! In this region, very few locals understand English and so we have to be a bit more patient trying to communicate or ask directions but generally they are very friendly and willing to help.
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| Juk with his TukTuk |
Before we headed to the Wat, Juk suggested we have breakfast in a local market on the way.
And it is in this market we had this strange thingy - steamed minced meat inside
, quite tasty.
we also had the popular Thai favorite - koay teow soup pork 
and on we went with Juk to the Wat Po Chai
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| nice doors |
along the Isaan route from NongKhai westwards and combing the Mekong, we stopped at a few "sightings" , this stretch of Mekong called Nong Pla,(Young Fish) is filled with rocks crops. And did I mentioned the roads are in such good condition, even the little Mirage (prob a 1.3litre engine only )we rented has no problems at all.
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| dunno why there is a shark !!! nobody can explain in English .. |
and so we went , along the highway, we see huge bicycles and sunflower fields. Thai people seem to have a fascination for gigantic structures
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| Gigantic bicycles |
and after a pleasant 2hr drive, we reached Chiang Khann, unlike the villages we drove thru along the highway, this little hidden gem has an ambience so delightful and peaceful and filled with art and creativity. Makes you feel like a set from Hollywood in the 70's...... Cute old wooden houses converted to eating places street fronting and upstairs are boutique accomodation. Facing Mekong, the room rates are double or more and those facing streetview drop half the price. Most hotels were fully booked but the place was deserted.We ask where is everyone but nobody could tell us in English.At night, the Chiang Khai street comes alive - with night bazaar and many tourists browzing for either food or crafts.Magical place.
A sight to see in this Chiang Khan area is the Sunrise at PhuTok.
and waking up at 4:30am and 20 min drive from Chiang Khan town to Phu Tok Mountain to see the sunrise ! Is it worth it ???
Struggled to get out of bed at 4:30am.... drove in the dark, luckily there was a tuk-tuk with tourist also going the same direction so we followed.... after about 20min we came to a check point. Had to park the car and bought a ticket (20baht) to get on to their 4 wheel drive to take us up to the top of Phu Tok.
The crowd starts to roll in after 5:30am and soon a glimpse of the sun rise at the horizon and we realised the whole look-out area was packed with tourists already.
and one more thing to eat or see is the Bamboo Rice making, which is just othe corner of Soi 0 and highway. We found it after circulating around the Soi0, 3 times before we realised it is just there !
And it was closed !
the ecological adventure at Khaeng Khut Khu about 15 min drive from Chiang Khai Street. Kayaking is a new sport and do not need much effort along Mekong, from Chiang Khan 5km to Khaeng Khut Khu. Kayaking usually starts at dawn. this part of the river is about 1km wide. Many people call it the "Sahara of Thailand".
The legendary story behind this place is something like that of a tiny monk who made a giant lie down in the river to create a reservoir to control flooding.Story was in thai.You can almost see the giant lying down in the far distance.
The legendary story behind this place is something like that of a tiny monk who made a giant lie down in the river to create a reservoir to control flooding.Story was in thai.You can almost see the giant lying down in the far distance.
at Khaeng Khut Khu, many stores set up for tourists to try their local specialities like the fried caramelised coconut, which we found to be very yummy. Wish we had bought more cos outside this region, nobody sells them ! and so were the little peanuts.....cant find them elsewhere....a big regret that we didnt buy more...
and so off to Phureau, we ventured up to the Loei mountain areas and spent a day in the beautiful lake of Huay Nam Man, a natural forest reserve. This lake is surrounded by beautiful mountains, rent a raft on the lake for a day ranging from 200baht to 350 baht depending on the number of people.
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| driving into the Forest Reserve to Huay Nam Man or Huay Krating |
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| beautiful Huay Nam Man / Huay Krating |
rafts for rent
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| our lunch delivered to our raft |
How it works is ....we rent a raft depending on the number of people you have and separately ordered our meals before we went out to the lake ie tea or lunch whichever and let them know the time we wanted to eat. They then take us out to the middle of the lake with their speed boat by tying their speed boat to our raft ..... and leave us there in the middle of the lake. Not much languange communication required. After dropping us in the middle of the lake, we realised OMG .... how to communicate or call them to let them know we need anything or if we want to go back .
A passing boatman signalled to us to raise the white flag whenever we need assistance and the operator from the lake-house should see our flag and send the boatman to our raft. And the system was proven when we actually caught a huge golden carp and really need help then....
.... It was a surprise catch as we use only a tiny little left over from our lunch - a corn bit. And it caught the bait !
and another place of interest is , the Thai call it the Flower Route up to Phureau Peak.
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| Welcome to Loei |
and on 25th Nov we headed to Loei for the Loy Kratong festival .
Before that night of Loy Kratong, we had to venture in search of the mysterious "Dancing plant "
We found it in a orchid plant nursery called The Sunshine Fragrant Orchid Farm
and here you are..... she is singing Christmas song to it ! wait , wait..... watch carefully....the little leaves start to dance ! yes ....its true ...
And night falls.... at Loei we made our way to the Mekong riverside. Hundreds of people dressed in their best all along the Mekong , many shopping for the best "float offering" , some having dinner and snacks at the riverside restaurants...
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| Loy Kratong in Loei |
Thailand's festival of lights. Held yearly on the evening of the twelvth lunar month. It is the time of the year where the waters around the country come alive with candlelights.
This festival falls in the "not to be missed" category if you believe in luck...joining in is a must do !
the queue to go down to the water edge to float your " kratong "
and we finally chose our "kratong" after almost 30min walking round and round the many many stores that were selling them...
and comes our turn....to well wishes and good luck
and the race on ON ! look ...look....look the one burning on fire is Hel's
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