Sukhothai

Sukhothai was the capital for more than 150 years and the ruins of the temples which can be seen today are still impressive. The temples are widespread in the ancient city and some kilometers around of it, so we rented a motorbike to get around easily and with the heat it was a good idea.
The biggest and most beautiful temple is the Wat Mahathat with a lot of Chedis (bell shaped tower) and some Buddhas:

The are many more temples in the area, here are some photos of a few and also the panorama from a viewpoint:

Before coming to Sukhothai we made a stop on the way from Chiang Mai and visited the temple Wat Phra That Lampang Luang. It's the most beautiful wooden Lanna temple in the north of Thailand and the surrounding wall make it looks like a medival castle.

Trekking Tour

In Chiang Mai we booked a 3 day (2 nights) trekking tour to the northwest of the city. In Laos the tours were very expensive, but now here in Thailand is low season the prices are good.

On the first day we enjoyed an elephant ride, it's like in a boat which pitchs once to the right and then to the left. When we went with our elephants to the river they played together and threw water against each other (and of course also towards the passengers on their back). After the elephant ride we started trekking, uphill for about 3 to 4 hours till we reached a small village on a mountain where we slept in a homestay the first night. The Ascent was hard (really, really hard and the weather very hot), but from the top we had a nice view.

On the second day we continued trekking, first up and then mainly down, but it was going down so steep, that our knees didn't like it very much. On the way we went to 2 waterfalls and there was a small pool where we could go swimming, very relaxing after some hours of walking...

The 3rd day was different again, after a short walk to the river we started river rafting! Normally a quite funny thing, but the river didn't have a lot of water and there were a lot of rocks in it, so instead of having fun it was finally a small torture. Very often the boat was stucked between the rocks and we had to jump from one side of the boat to the other one to get it out. After more than 1,5 hours of this kind of rafting we had also the experience to enjoy bamboo rafting on a real big bamboo raft which was more sinking inside the water than floating.

Unfortunately we couldn't make any photos from the rafting tour due our cameras which aren't waterproof...

Laura and Fredi enjoyed the trip; the guide made huts of a big leave and cut bamboo for walking sticks. She looked like a real druid!!
On another day she played with a small dog and visited an orchid garden.

A typical picture here in Thailand (and very very often seen in Laos); people burn down the forest to get more space for agricultur.

On the way to the elephant camp we stopped in a local market to buy food. Some delicious insects were also available, different kinds and size and other animals like bats.

Chiang Mai

The second biggest city in Thailand and the center in the north is Chiang Mai. The city and surrounding is full of temples and it would take many days to see them all, there are about 300 of them. Here are a few one's:

The old center is surrounded by a city wall and a moat.

High on the top of a mountain is this temple, the holiest place in the north of Thailand and a good viewpoint (if only the weather would have been better, it was very hot, but not clear...)

The palace of the king. Well, in fact it's only the winter residence for a few months, during the rest of the year visitors can enter the ground and walk through the gardens, but unfortunately it's not possible to go inside the houses.

Golden Triangle

Back in Thailand!! and it was an easy boarder crossing without any difficulties (the first one). Only the exit stamp from Laos is needed in the passport, than we took a boat to cross over the Mekong and in Thailand we got another stamp.

View from Laos to Thailand at the boarder crossing.

On the first day we went to the Golden Trinangle where the 3 boarders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar (ex Burma) come together. There isn't a lot to see, a big Buddha and elephant statue, some signs indicating the 3 countries and of course a lot of souvenir shops for the tourists (luckily it was a quite day, very few people, but very, very hot).

Afterwards we went to Chiang Rai, the biggest town in the north of Thailand. There isn't a lot to see, some temples as everywhere and a golden clock tower. Fredi enjoyed an elephant ride, but more he wasn't able to do, the heat makes everybody tired.