SOP RUAK @ GOLDEN TRIANGLE
by balhannah
SOP RUAK, is the small town where you hop into your Tourist boat, and head up and down the Mekong River.
Just near the Town, is an unusual looking Temple, shaped like a Boat.
You are told details about it (I since have forgotten) and can't find out info on it!
They point out the water line on the edge of the building showing that the River does get quite high, and it must look like this Temple is sitting in the water!!
From the boat, you see where the Ruak River joins, making this the "Golden Triangle" (Thailand/Myanmar/Laos)
Myanmar, there is a riverside Casino, said to be very popular with the Chinese, also, Mountains and a Temple spire in the distance.
Along the edges of the River are some Chinese & Lao Junks.
On the Lao side, they are also building a Casino.
The Boat stops at Lao, and you get off, all it is......is a tourist souvenir stop!
You can say you have been to Lao though!
......HUGE MOSQUITOS HERE!!!.......
Back on the boat to Sop Ruak, and this concluded the Boat tour.
Sop Ruak is usually the embarkation point for speed boat trips which take you up-river a short distance, then down to Chiang Saen, with a stop at a Lao souvenir village on the way. Cost for the trip alone should be around 400 Baht
A different temple
by easterntrekker
There is an unusual temple officially the “Chapel of Wat Rong Khun” it has become to be known as “The White Temple”. It is stunning...looks a little like an ice casle. The whole temple is truly a work of art, built by Thailand’s premier artist Chaloemchai Khositphiphat.
You have to cross a bridge ,over a pit of hell to reach the temple . There are chilling sculptures of people who are presumably trying to escape from hell.
The Emerald Buddha
by mim95
The Emerald Buddha in Wat Phra Kaew in Chiang Rai is actually a replica. It is housed at the back of the temple complex.
It was originally encasted in stucco and placed in a pagoda in Chiang Rai, but a lightning bolt revealed the jade Buddha in 1434. After a couple of years, it was moved to Lampang, Chiang Mai, Laos, and eventually to Bangkok in 1778. The real one is currently situated in Wat Phra Kaew on the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
In the pools next to where the Emerald Buddha is housed, there are two ponds with a giant turtle, many smaller ones and fish. I happened to arrive at feeding time and that huge turtle is like 5 times larger than the regular ones. See the photo.
The Lanna style stupa behind the main hall is historical - it's over 600 years old.
Comments