Day 12 - More of Mae Fah Luang

Day 12 - Mae Fah Luang

To read Day 1 - Onward to Tak, Thailand,
Day 2 - On The Road Again .... Chiang Mai
Day 3: Palong Village
Day 4: Still in Palong Village
Day 5 - To the Next Village... Lahu at Phrao
Day 6: At Lahu Village, Phrao
Day 7: Gift Exchange, Turkey & Sweaters

Day 8 - Doi Inthanon

Day 9 - Sunrise at Doi Inthanon
Day 10 - On the way to Mae Sai



Mae Fah Luang in Doi Tung, North Thailand is the King's Mother's Project. Her palace is also there... Because she was in Switzerland for many years, she probably loved the swiss cottages so much that she built one for herself.


We took many photos there...

We went there around late morning and paid a fee of THB130 which allowed us go into the main flower cultivation and the King Mother’s Palace.

The beautiful flowers was so amazingly magnificent. The creativity of the gardeners was so amazing in mixing the various different colors of flowers in a decoration of garden…. I felt that I was in the garden of Eden! I was amazed!

I could have just needed a cup of drink, a book and a lazy chair for me to sit there the whole day basking in the beauty of the creation of God.How could have evolution created such delicate, creative and colourful petals such as these? Indeed, God does love beautiful things. That is why He created me too.

There are all kinds of flowers of so many species. There are so many things to see that half a day was a hurry.


We stayed overnight in Mae Sai and during the night, we visited the Mae Sai night market. Its not as good as the day market. During the day, there were so many more stalls and the goods here are considerably cheaper than Bangkok, Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai.


After Mae Sai, we journeyed towards Phayao and then Phitsanulok and then Nakhon Nayok and then to home. The reason we went to those places were to break the journey. It was at least 13 hours if we go through to Bangkok. So, we broke the journey into 2-3 days.


Phew! At last I managed to finish the blog on this trip! Woohoo!


P.S. I will be posting more photos of Mae Fah Luang.

Day 11 - Golden Triangle

To read Day 1 - Onward to Tak, Thailand,
Day 2 - On The Road Again .... Chiang Mai
Day 3: Palong Village
Day 4: Still in Palong Village
Day 5 - To the Next Village... Lahu at Phrao
Day 6: At Lahu Village, Phrao
Day 7: Gift Exchange, Turkey & Sweaters

Day 8 - Doi Inthanon

Day 9 - Sunrise at Doi Inthanon
Day 10 - On the way to Mae Sai


We left early towards Golden Triangle and arrived there around lunch time.

Map showing the Golden Triangle

Many boats ferrying tourist

The children really enjoyed the boat ride... It was fast and exciting for these boys

Even the adults are enjoying themselves

The Golden Triangle is the meeting of 3 rivers, Laos, Burma and Thailand. It was interesting. We took a speed boat which fits 4 persons for about THB400. According to my Thai friend, we have been cheated. For that price we could have had a two hour ride to Laos. Instead we had a 15 mins towards one side of the river near to the Casino and then to the side of Laos for 1 hour of shopping. The shopping was lousy! It was a waste of time. The products was similar to Thai and nothing really interesting.

We prayed along the river, so that God will bless all these 3 countries.

Day 10 - On The Way To Mae Sai

To read Day 1 - Onward to Tak, Thailand,
Day 2 - On The Road Again .... Chiang Mai
Day 3: Palong Village
Day 4: Still in Palong Village
Day 5 - To the Next Village... Lahu at Phrao
Day 6: At Lahu Village, Phrao
Day 7: Gift Exchange, Turkey & Sweaters

Day 8 - Doi Inthanon

Day 9 - Sunrise at Doi Inthanon

I know I am a little slow on finishing the blog on my trip but thanks for bearing with me.... trying to fit the packing & blogging schedule in ;-)

Anyway, continuation..... Day 10...

We headed towards Mae Sai via Chiang Mai after lunch, it was going to be a long drive. At around 5.00pm we still have not reached our destination. So, we decided to stay overnight at a place we discovered on the way, The Charin Resort. It was a very pleasant surprise. Its about 1 hour from Chiang Rai.

They had a restaurant and a corner full of pastries and pies, baked by their own kitchen. The owner of the place spoke fluent English and was very friendly. We were so excited that we skipped dinner by eating their cheese cake, chicken pie, apple crumble and brownie. It was absolutely delicious that we ate it again for dessert at breakfast.

Its cute that they have a mini zoo with mostly birds. The peacock spread his beautiful flowers to show off and it was so beautiful.

The accommodation

The parrot

Beautiful peacock

Pastries

Day 9 - More Sunrise at Doi Inthanon

The best place to watch the sunrise would be at Kew Mae Pan Trail but unfortunately we went to the Doi Inthanon summit instead ...

Day 9 - Sunrise at Doi Inthanon

We woke up 5.30am for the following photos.... at the peak of Doi Inthanon.

Day 8 - Doi Inthanon

To read Day 1 - Onward to Tak, Thailand,
Day 2 - On The Road Again .... Chiang Mai
Day 3: Palong Village
Day 4: Still in Palong Village
Day 5 - To the Next Village... Lahu at Phrao
Day 6: At Lahu Village, Phrao
Day 7: Gift Exchange, Turkey & Sweaters


The journey going up to Doi Inthanon, from Chiang Mai took about 2-3 hours with pee stops, photo stops and lunch. It was cold even during the day time. I can just imagine what it would be during the night time *shivers*


The road is not too narrow, so the driving up was enjoyable with beautiful mountain scenery here and there. The weather was beautiful. The sky was clear and the sun was shining.

Having lunch half way up to the Summit of Doi Inthanon. If you can observe, everyone is in sweaters but this little boy, Ethaniel is in his t-shirt and shorts. What is wrong with him?

This is a photo to prove that we were there. Everyone have to queue up to
take a photo at this spot.

We walked around at the Summit praying. This was part of the mission we had, to go around Thailand praying against strongholds and this was one of the spot. Mary opened the bible to the book of Isaiah 10 and prophesied it over the land of Thailand.

Praying and putting olive oil all around the shrine

After she finished praying, she saw a vision... A whirlwind was circling this mountain round and round going downwards. After a few rounds, it turned into fire and flew towards all of Thailand. And then God says that now, the harvest is ripe and open to the gospel of Christ!

At about the same time, Ethaniel walked over to me and said that he thinks that he is speaking in tongues. Hmm... I was a little puzzled because I have prayed for him almost a year ago. Just to confirm what he is saying, I asked him to speak and he was very fluent! Wow! Double wow! That was an amazing moment of miracle, breakthrough and evidence of God doing great things in Thailand in the life of this young boy. I was so filled with joy that words could not express my gratitude towards God's faithfulness.

Ethaniel & I enjoying a Mother & Son moment after knowing that he started speaking in tongues... It was a really sweet and memorable moment which I will never forget!


Playful together

We walked the Aang Ka Trail after leaving the Summit. Totally enjoyable and peaceful....

This trail is about 15-20 mins walk and very interestingly green... no flowers at all!

The beautiful green trees everywhere

7 Day - Gift Exchange, Turkey & Sweaters

To read Day 1 - Onward to Tak, Thailand,
Day 2 - On The Road Again .... Chiang Mai
Day 3: Palong Village
Day 4: Still in Palong Village
Day 5 - To the Next Village... Lahu at Phrao
Day 6: At Lahu Village, Phrao


I took a long break and have not finished blogging my trip. This is the continuation...


We stayed overnight at Pastor Tina's lovely home in Chiang Mai. We arrived late last night. The morning was cold... but had to do laundry. We have accumulated so much of dirty clothes... It has been difficult to do washing, being on the move all the time.


There will be a church meeting in her home tonight, Christmas gift exchange and yummy dinner. So, the rest of them went to Big C to purchase a gift THB100 or above for gift exchange. I was really tired and still feeling the effects of flu, decided to take a flu tablet and that knocked me off till about 6pm. But I needed it because the last few days has been tiring and not getting the rest my body needed.

Joel, Ethaniel & Hubby assembling the BBQ set

Mary praying for the food... plus the yummy turkey!

Ethaniel totally loving the turkey... Cleaning up the bones... Smart boy, that is one of the best part of the turkey! So funny to see him eat like this!

Joel really loved the neighbor's dog... So beautiful

We ended the night with a trip to the Warorot Market which is next to the Flower Market. We were going to Doi Inthanon tomorrow, which is the highest peak in Thailand, so we need something warmer. We needed gloves, hat, socks, sweaters and the whole works! There was a great second hand market which we bought some sweaters from as low as THB50 per pc.


Now, let's get some sleep.

Day 6 - At Lahu Village, Phrao

To read Day 1 - Onward to Tak, Thailand,
Day 2 - On The Road Again .... Chiang Mai
Day 3: Palong Village
Day 4: Still in Palong Village
Day 5 - To the Next Village... Lahu at Phrao



Waking up in the morning is tough... It's nice to stay in the sleeping bag. The weather last night was freezing. The weather in the morning was also freezing.... ggggrrrhhh.... *shivers* Thank God I didn't have to wake up to pee last night. Its pitch dark outside.


We were cooked a hearty breakfast of sticky rice, steam rice, vegetables, salad of raw veges and chili. Such a heavy meal... This seems to be a common thing among villagers, but it will be impolite to reject such a wonderful gesture. So we ate. Food was yummy and helped to keep us warm on such a cold morning.

This is how the houses looked like in the Lahu village. Their houses are better built and is a little better than the Palong villagers. They even have refrigerators. A small luxury.

Lahu girls

The toilet

We had the meeting with the village women out here... Pastor Tina, Mary and I gathered to pray before we started the meeting

The morning meeting with the village women was about 10am. After lunch and a short rest, we had to leave to another Lahu village for a meeting. It will be a large gathering because its a joint meeting of 3 Lahu village. I had a short nap before we left to the meeting.... was still down with the flu. So, the short rest between meetings was really helpful to keep my energy going.

The Lahu girls singing and worshipping God. Looks like the whole church standing in front!

Mary praying for the Lahu Pastor and many others. Many were healed and blessed.

This is a picture of Mary weeping and holding the Lahu woman's feet. She later told me the reason why she knelt down there to weep for quite some time. It was very touching.... 4 years ago, God gave her a vision. It was a drawing she drew and pasted on her wall at home in Bangkok. Tonight, while praying for this woman, God gave her the same vision again and said that this woman's name is written in the Lamb Book of Life. Wow!


This meeting stretched till late at night. We had an hour dinner break. It was really funny eating dinner in the dark. For one, I had no clue what dishes it was.... chicken? Pork? Vege? I just thanked God for the food and ate... Everyone stood next to the table and gobbled up their food. Guessing the food as we tasted it! Pumpkin... pork... I really Thank God that Joel and Ethaniel was so flexible with their food that they had absolutely no problem eating. They neither complained nor fussed about the food. Chili or not. It was gobbled up. They are really missionary kids in the making!


I was tired because it was a long meeting stretching from 4pm to 9.30pm. It was also a very cold night. Joel and Ethaniel was running around, playing with the village children and some puppies. Joel had a great time playing with a bicycle which was brakeless. He climbed a hill and zoomed down... Eeehhhh... That was scary. I said a silent prayer of protection for him. Also had it in video.


That night, eventhough it was late, we decided to go back to Chiang Mai after the meeting. I was happy I could get a warm shower that night.


To view more photos click here to go to my online Picasa album.