Uber, As Columbus Did


Greetings from…an Uber! Everyone who knows me knows my level of OCD is the stuff reality television is made of—MTV’s My Strange OCD Habit coming to a television near you. In a 17 day trip to Thailand, I booked everything imaginable—two excursions a day, hotels, flights, airport transfers, dinner reservations, the works. The only thing I didn’t book was a bus ticket from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, as I had read it’s easiest to purchase it at a ticketing kiosk in Chiang Mai. So naturally, when we went to buy tickets this morning, they were sold out until 11 AM, when we were hoping to make the 8:45 AM trip. Tickets are a mere $6 for the 4 hour trip, but given that we are only in Chiang Rai for one day/one night, we didn’t want to lose 2 hours and 15 minutes. So here we are in a $40 Uber Chiang Rai bound. I know what you’re thinking—she’s really roughing it. 

Later that night...

I couldn't believe how quickly the car ride went--well for me anyways. The poor bastard who had to listen to Antonia and I sing Mariah Carey and other pop hits for 4 hours probably feels differently. We got into Chiang Mai just after 12. Perfect timing to get checked into the hotel and start exploring.

Priorities as they are, we started with lunch first. This lunch left a lot to be desired. Sadly we missed an opportunity to try Cabbages and Condoms, a Thai restaurant that came recommended from a friend. With it's eyebrow raising name, this restaurant donates proceeds to help fund safe sex and family planning--a cause that I feel is currently being neglected in the US. 

From lunch we started the tour of the temples, stopping in namely at Wat Phra Kaew, where we saw more lovely Buddhas. This particular temple is famous for being the original home of the Emerald Buddha, which you may recall me talking about as being the most holy in the Grand Palace in Bangkok. A replica is now kept here.



Next up was an hour pool side, feet dangling in the water.

The hotel arranged a tuk-tuk to take us to Wat Rong Khun--The White Temple. Interestingly enough, this 'temple' was built in 1997 and is actually a privately owned art piece in the shape of a Buddhist temple. This was the main highlight for our visit to Chiang Rai. The temple is lovely and encompasses many atypical features. The temple really is entirely white with lovely green grass and colorful flowers on the perimeter for contrast.


The Bridge of the Cycle of Rebirth: This is the first intricate piece you come across. Below the bridge are thousands of outward reaching hands, skulls, and anguished faces. The Sea of Hands signify the greed that is in the world, while the bridge is meant to symbolize the path to Heaven.



Gate of Heaven: After crossing the bridge you see two figures representing Death and Rahu, decider of fate.

Main Temple: The main temple is the most exotic of all--while smaller in size, the temple is filled with all kinds of symbolism through a mural. There is as massive skull over the door, a dragon, and odd images you wouldn't expect to find in a temple like Michael Jackson, Harry Potter, Angry Birds, Nuclear War, Oil War, Superman, and New York City's twin towers--one in flames. The mural is meant to represent the wickedness of people, but I didn't find it to be a clear message throughout the temple. You could easily spend an hour just debating the creative intention.


Following Wat Rong Khun we ventured back pool side and I caught up on some writing and postcards I'd neglected.

At 8:40 PM we took a short stroll to the clock tower which has music and a light show every hour from 5-9 PM. From there it was just a few more minutes to the night market where we dined on street food, Pad Thai and Hot Pot, browsed knick-knacks, and (my personal favorite) caught a Thai rendition of  Billy Ray Cirus's Achy Breaky Heart. I've proceeded to forward this video to anyone who has given me their phone number in the past decade.




Phuket tomorrow then a 2 hour ride up to Khao Lak before heading out on the dive boat. I'm heading for the islands, and New York is getting snow...maybe I should extend my trip.





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