Day 11, 19th February - Ki Lek, Mae Taeng

Solitude at Rimdoi....... Last night and overnight it was deafeningly quiet compared to last night and the joys of Rimdoi Resort came shining through. With that amazing buffet breakfast to look forward to, the day looks full of promise. With a second full day in Chiang Dao District in store it just goes to show how much there is to do here. However, there is one small job to take care of. Regarding accommodation, it's been hit-and-miss. This is largely due to the lack of forward planning. We simply haven't been sure where we will end up after our day's travel. Tonight will be different as we will head towards another district. For the second time this trip I've had the luxury of booking accommodation online and getting a discount too. With everything set up, we make a start in the town of Chiang Dao.
Wat Don Si Sa-At....... No information has found about this temple but the principal buildings include the viharn (sermon hall) with a Lanna style three-tiered roof and an unusual chedi with a spire on a square base and smaller spires on each of the four sides. An old wooden building is probably the hor trai (scripture hall).
Wat Mae Ead....... At Wat Mae Ead there's a lot to see. At the entrance is a gigantic, beautiful gong. Then there's a very graphic representation of purgatory and a few human size statues of different characters from mythology. To the rear, there are several gigantic statues, behind which there is a beautiful view of Doi Luang Chiang Dao. We again return to the foot of Doi Luang Chiang Dao along a different road.
Chiang Dao Hot Spring....... With hot springs appearing in many areas of the granite landscape it's not surprising that there's one beside the Mae Ka Stream. However, we can't easily locate it. Arriving at the area where it's supposed to be we find instead a good number of visitors occupying whatever space there is beside the stream with food and drink vendors doing good trade. Quite where the springs are we shall never know since there is no parking space whatsoever. Quite what the attraction is I don't know. Many of the visitors are foreign traveler/hippy types who find something here that I can't see. I'm happy to accept a dot ball here.
At this point my partner has identified another location in the high mountains but first there's another temple.
Wat Chom Khiri....... There is no information found for this temple but the stupa is old consisting of a tower on a square base in northern style. The upper tier is square with niches supporting the spire while the lower levels taper to the base. The viharn has a three-tiered roof in Lanna style. It's reported that the temple uses offerings to build coffins for the needy.
Road to Ban San Pa Kia....... Ban San Pa Kia is a remote village in the Chiang Dao Massif. To reach it requires the right type of vehicle. It's a long-shot to try and reach the training camp and when we reach a check point we are told the road is closed but I'm thinking it cannot be closed to those who are based there. My understanding is that the road is only open to visitors during the winter months. At other times only camp staff can use the road and in the rains season they must have suitable vehicles as the steep and narrow road can be treacherous. At Wat Chom Khiri we were told that we would have to use the passenger tucks (songtheaws) and that rather confirms that this is the transport that is used. Well, we tried but all is not lost. There is another attraction deep in the forest that we can reach but first a little detour.
Suan Buachompoo Na Jomkiree (Pink Lotus Garden)....... During the winter the pink lotus flowers are abundant here but are restricted at the moment to only a small pond. In the growing season the area produces flowers that are locally dried to sell as herbal tea. We now take another interesting trip into the dense forests of Doi Luang Chiang Dao to a location recommended.
Tree House Hidaway....... Located in the small village of Mae Meh the Tree House Hidaway is a tropical paradise. The is no level ground apart from the car park at Wat Mae Meh although some feel the need to park their cars at the roadside causing inconvenience to others. There are just a handful of buildings in this remote mountainous region that rely on tourists or income. The main attraction is the Tree House Hidaway perched precariously on the side of a mountain. A wooden structure here serves has a coffee shop with basic accommodation. The Hideaway is a product of imaginative design whereby every effort is made to create a viewing experience within the surrounding forests resulting in a step into the slow life. The Tree House could be something out of a Tarzan movie with a tree house come viewpoint built around a large tree clinging to the mountainside.
For me I get a taste of that slow life and am happy to stay awhile sitting with a cool drink gazing out into the jungle. It's mid-afternoon and with our accommodation booked there is nothing else planned. When we finally make a move it's into a new district less than a hour away.
Reaching Mae Taeng District, we refer to a list of attractions and realise that we could add some of these in on our way without compromising our arrival at the selected accommodation. The first is an easy stop just north of Mae Taeng on HWY 107.
Suan Ton Son....... Suan Ton Son (pine tree garden) is a delightful place in a pine tree forest that offers shade and is ideal for a picnic. Now lets see what else is on our list.
To the east is the Srilanna National Park and on the way there are plenty of attractions. Even while we drive I'm forming a picture of this area which we can explore tomorrow but can we tick any of the boxes today?
Wat Ban Pong....... Wat Ban Pong is not the most prominent temple in this area but has a delightful viharn with a three-tiered roof in Lanna style. Here the body of the former abbot Luang Pu Plian Panyapatipo is preserved in this temple. The ceremony took place 14-16th February 2019.
Wat Ban Den....... Wat Bandensali Si Mueang Kaen, also known as Wat Ban Den and formerly as Wat Ribunrueang, is located in Inthakhin Sub-district, Mae Taeng District. Located in lovely surroundings, the temple stands prominently on top of a small hill and can be easily seen from afar. Under the small hill is a sacred cave the villagers pay their respect to; as a result, it is named 'Wat Banden'. In addition, in the temple's ground there are lots of sacred fig trees, or Sali Trees, of various sizes. Because the trees' name, Sali is considered auspicious, the temple was named after them.
Its major structures include the Ubosot, the main hall; Hor Trai, the scripture hall, the Drum Tower, Wihan Sao Inthakhin, the sacred pillar shrine, the Lanna-style teak wood Kuti, a monk's house, the Wihan and the Stupa. These structures form a most remarkable collection in a working temple that is hard to repeat outside Bangkok.
The seemingly unlimited supply of funds for temple building never ceases to amaze me. At the time of my visit they were winding down after a long day of merit-making. In the main hall women are sorting through and even ironing banknotes that are then stacked in piles on a table. This is collecting on an industrial scale. I do note though that the Buddha image all in black is as impressive as it gets. I also note the construction of this huge hall uses concrete beams. Traditionally Lanna halls used teak wood pillars but no teak tree could supply pillars to support this massive roof. I note in a smaller hall here they have used magnificent teak wood supports.
From here I could conceivably add one more temple but this must have been some day as the camera battery has run out of charge. It's no issue as we plan to return to this area tomorrow.
Ruen Raya Apartments....... We arrive in Ki Lek to check in at Ruen Raya. This is an apartment block, actually four blocks of modern accommodation. At check-in, we receive a key code for our apartment block and don't need any further assistance. First impressions are good and there is the bonus of a great location 600 metres from the market area. We've spent practically nothing today having skipped lunch and it's just so convenient to find something to take back and eat in the room. As the day ends there are various options for travel tomorrow, but we are not yet committed.
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