Just typing this out makes me feel like I’ve lost my hardened New England edge, but it’s been cold here since this weekend. It got down to 11 degrees Celsius (which I just had to Google in Fahrenheit, and it’s only a laughable 51.)
I know, I know, my friends back home are bundled up in their winter coats and braving blizzards, but I guess I’ve adjusted to the heat here. I also didn’t bring any sweaters, so maybe that’s a contributing factor too.
This weekend some of my expat friends invited me up to Khao Kho, otherwise called the “Switzerland of Thailand”, and it was a beautiful experience.
Warning: I took a million pictures. It was hard not to.
The weather at the top of the mountain felt like a lovely Fall day. It did get quite windy, and much colder than I’ve gotten used to, but it felt nice in the sun.
Like a lot of places here, there was so much to see and do. But we started by driving to the top of a mountain, where there were oodles of flowers everywhere, giant windmills, as well as other attractions such as…
It was such a lovely setting overlooking the mountains. I could genuinely see why its called the Switzerland of Thailand (although I’ve never been to Switzerland.)
There was a market set up on the top of the mountain. Apparently many people who live there are from Mongolian hill tribes, so a lot of their attire was being sold. There was also lots of food; I had basil chicken and rice, and Roti with banana and condensed milk.
They also had all kinds of fresh produce including giant avocados, and strawberries which grow local to Khao Kho.
After lots of photo-taking and exploring at the top of the mountain, we hopped in the car and made our way to the most glorious temple I’ve seen yet here.
It was really two temples. One was a giant mosaic style building with steps. There were golden Buddhas scattered around, and then inside areas where there were photographs of the king, and paintings of monks as skeletons. I felt like I wasn’t supposed to be taking pictures of the inside of the temple/artwork, so I didn’t.
Then, across the road were the white Buddhas, Wat Prathat Phasornkaew.
The temples were breathtaking, and by this point I was wiped out. But, like I said, there is so much to see and do. Since we had driven all the way out to Khao Kho, we decided to take a stop at this scenic coffee shop (Pino Latte) with an amazing view of some of the mountain ranges.
Also, a damn good chocolate latte I might add.
Khao Kho was a beautiful success; I’m glad I got my bum out of bed on Saturday instead of falling into a Netflix hole or sleeping all day (that was Sunday).
On a personal note: I’m feeling much more optimistic after my Lao trip. I know being in a totally new culture is a big adjustment, and its something that not many people will experience in their lifetime. I’m thankful for this experience, genuinely. And what’s most important is that I have an awareness of that gratitude when the going gets tough.
Until next time, stay warm my friends.
Lunar Liv 