'The tree at Wat Phra That Lampang Luang was in fact a Bo tree. Some accounts have it that the Buddha attained Enlightenment under a Bo tree, which is one reason why you often find the tree with the heart-shaped leaves in Buddhist temples.
The significance of the supporting poles is simply that by propping up the larger branches of the Bo tree, you are, through an association of ideas, helping to support Buddhism.'
Many thanks Thavi for enlightening us all. Thavi also thinks the bird we saw a few days ago, was an oriole.
Today's drive to Nan in north-eastern Thailand was about 350kms. We took the short route for the last part of the journey, as opposed to driving one of the optional loops.
We left Chiang Mai in the rush hour and the first 5kms took us half an hour. Once we were clear of the town the roads cleared and we made good progress on lovely roads winding through the hills. After about 50 kms we turned off the main road onto the 'Ghost Highway'. This road is little used and is a great driving road as it winds through the mountains. It has very little traffic and wonderful views of the surrounding countryside. Every so often we would come across a tree covered with blossom. You could see them from a long way away as they made such a contrast to the predominantly green foliage of the tropical plants and trees.
Not long after we passed this tree in full blossom, we rounded a blind bend and were confronted with half the road having been washed away. A temporary crash barrier had been erected to keep you away from a huge drop.
The drive through the hills continued for about 70kms. After we returned to the main road we saw many areas that had been burnt in the recent fires. Our view of the hills was severely restricted by the smoke haze and when we wound the windows down you could smell the smoke. When we had gone about halfway to Nan we came across large areas of deforestation. This combined with the smoke filled air created a doomsday scenario. For the first time in Thailand the countryside was no longer a delight to see. It was all rather depressing.
As the drive continued we came back into a more forested region that the fires had not touched. We reached our destination, Nan, at around 1pm, a drive of just under six hours.Wendy had read the Rough Guide section on Nan and found that there were two temples of interest to visit. So after checking in to our hotel, we set off for the first, a five hundred year old temple called Wat Phumin. The main temple had a four sided central dais, with four golden Buddhas. The roof of the temple was beautifully carved and decorated.
Whilst at the temple we came across a small domed building. Inside was the Buddhist version of hell. Those condemned to hell were being punished in terrible ways. It reminded me of the awful S21 detention centre in Phnom Penh. It was a very macabre place.
We moved on from the temple to another temple about 2kms out of the town. As we walked up to the temple I noticed these three monks buying a lottery ticket from a vendor. An interesting moment!
The temple is famous for its giant 55 metre golden chedi.
Inside the temple courtyard was this row of small golden Buddhas. I think they make a good photographic subject.
As we left the temple I stopped to buy some cashew nuts from a lady selling them on the lawns. Next to her was this lovely old lady, who very kindly agreed to having her photo taken. She laughed a lot when I showed it to her on the display screen of my camcorder.
We headed back to the hotel and drove past this group of young boys, dressed in scout uniforms, walking along the road holding long sticks.
The car by now had become very dirty so we stopped at a roadside car wash. Two young men set to work and in no time at all the car was spotless. They didn't speak much English but a young woman, who was valeting the cars, spoke some English and we told them about the tour and the website. We took this group photo of them, with their nephew and niece. I hope they are able to access the site to see this photo. Thank you guys for doing such a good job!
Tomorrow we head for Laos, our fifth country of the tour. We will have driven more than 4,000 miles by tomorrow evening, with nearly 2,000 to go.
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