46. Cho Lae

Today we had a nice lie in and both woke up feeling slightly perkier. We chilled in our lovely accommodation and the gardens till early afternoon. The resort owner recommended some local attractions and we decided to go and take a look.
We first went to a place called Dantewada, which was a beautiful man made waterfall and gardens. It was really cool here as they had misters in the trees and everything looked mystical. En route the scenic walk around we stopped and fed some baby goats and rabbits. We carried on around the gardens and it was different around every corner. There was about 3 big waterfalls. After being here a couple of hours we headed to a local restaurant. It was really really local and 2 meals of our favourite Khao Soi and 2 drinks was £2.30. Probably the cheapest we have ever found in Thailand and it was so delicious.
After this, we were told about the unheard but most beautiful temples of Thailand. We were unsure of this place as surely if they were that good they would be more touristy and well known. When we arrived we were blown away by a collection of about 15 temples all with different statues weaving up the stairs. Our favourite was the green dragon and peacock. This place felt very spiritual and it's been a complete highlight for temples, we aren't sure the last 4 big ones we are planning to see before leaving Thailand will match this. After about 3 hours here, we headed back to the hotel and had some lovely dinner overlooking the river. We sorted out the next week of accommodation and travels. We were originally planning on moving to Pai, but we underestimated how far ahead we needed to book accommodation.
We have changed plans and decided we will head back to Central Chiang Mai to complete the 100 km Samoeng circuit (a mountainous road around the Doi Suthep and Samoeng forest starting and ending in Chiang Mai) before heading to Pai.Read more