The pleasant campsite noises of kids playing and charcoal grills at work that put us to sleep were soon replaced by a cacophony of snoring from neighboring tents. We were in and out of sleep throughout the night as a result but were also up with more than enough time to enjoy the sunrise. We stood on the lookout platform and watched over the valley as the sky turned from black, to dark purple, to an ever evolving mix of beautiful shades of light blue, orange and red from the sunrise. 

While enjoying a post sunrise coffee and fresh strawberries sold by a local family at the campsite, we happened upon our truck shuttle driver. He was accompanied by a woman from Chiang Mai who spoke great English and told us she would be joining us on a tour of different sites around Doi Angkhan for the morning. We still do not exactly know how everything came together (we think she was planning on exploring anyway and was piggybacking on our taxi fare while helping him to translate), but we’re glad it worked out the way it did and made for an amazing morning.

We started this pseudo tour by visiting the royal agriculture station nearby, a beautiful and sprawling property filled with flower, plant, fruit and vegetable farms. It is part of the royal project, a royal family sponsored effort to replace hill tribe opioid farming with other less harmful agricultural products. We enjoyed walking around the different parts of the property and taking in the surrounding views of the mountains, especially the beautiful flowers, cherry blossoms, and vegetable garden filled with every colorful and delicious vegetable under the sun.

Next, we stopped at a nearby tea farm. We started by partaking in a free tea tasting with our new friend from Chiang Mai and enjoyed some of the most delicious homemade scones with fresh strawberry jam. After learning a bit about the tea, we set off on foot to explore the surrounding tea fields. It was very beautiful – the rows of tea plants all stepped on the mountainside overlooking the valley. 

After the tea fields, we were off towards the Myanmar border. We drove past a stretch of roadside market stands and strawberry fields before pulling over to the side of the road. We weren’t sure exactly what we were looking at, but a nice Thai woman next to us pointed to one side of the road and said “that’s Myanmar!”. It looked like beautiful and unpopulated land but for a small military post at the top of mountain across from us. The real highlight, however, was the strawberry fields stepped on the hillside and glistening in the sun. Like the tea fields, we enjoyed walking through the strawberry plants and taking in the views.

Our last stop was the official Thai border post with Myanmar at Ban Nor Lae. Unlike the border across from the strawberry fields, this was much more official and militaristic. We walked up to a small post behind sand bunkers and looked across the way at the official Myanmar border post – the two posts joined by a single stone path like a suspension bridge through the forest. A bit unsettling given the bunkered nature of the post and the horrific things we’ve heard are happening in Myanmar, but still interesting to see. 

We rode back down to the temple parking lot, making one last stop at an orange farm, and said our final farewells to our driver and translator friend from Chiang Mai (they also gave us some fresh strawberries they had purchased as a parting gift… so nice!!). We hopped in our car and were back on our way to our next and final destination – Chiang Rai.

One of the main attractions just outside Chiang Rai is Wat Rong Khun (aka the “White Temple”), which is actually a privately owned art exhibit in the style of a Buddhist temple. The whole place, constructed only as of 1997, felt very gimmicky and touristy. We both agreed the site and experience resembled something found in Disneyworld. For starters, the layout is conducive to getting people in and through the temple and gift shop as efficiently as possible (what other temple has turnstiles and a gift shop?). All of that aside (it is an art exhibit and not an actual temple after all), we did enjoy making our way through the site, admiring the magnificent white structure with mirror inlays and strange pop culture elements throughout (like the sea of arms and hands grasping from the ground around the staircase entry). 

The White Temple quickly checked off the list, we made our way into Chiang Rai and checked into our accommodation for the night. We stayed at Tongsiam, a cozy and minimalist hotel that caters to Chinese tourists. It was situated next to a market in the heart of the city and a great place to spend our one night in the small but bustling city. 

Unfortunately, Jessie had started to develop a full-body rash early that morning and it had only gotten worse as the day wore on (even after we stopped for some antihistamines). We decided it would be better safe than sorry to get it checked out, and through our insurance provider were able to get into a hospital nearby. We were incredibly impressed when we arrived at the Bankok Hospital to get Jessie help. It felt more like a fancy hotel than a hospital, as a bellhop of sorts met us at the car door and took us inside to get checked in. The facilities were super modern, bright, and clean, and we got in and out relatively quickly with a bag full of medicine for ~$80.