chiangrai 2005 - 08 more Phu Chi Fa

[131205] sunrise....




....which revealed e presence of Thai Royal Border Police personnel keeping watch among us. not far from here is e Rom Fa Thai Border Police Base, & we were all standing on territory disputed by Laos.


photos by YK

& you wonder what lies beneath e fog:




cliff starts to empty out as most flee e biting chill after taking e requisite photos:



with e friendly bunch from Khon Kaen & Bangkok whom we met at Rai Phu Fa:



man & kids in Hmong costume hoping to earn money by posing for/with tourists:



e trail down:



curious about e people standing there....



we took this path leading off e main trail:



& found this view of Phu Chi Fa itself:







happy cat =)) dream of seeing this place has come true!!

on e way down:




kids manning souvenir stands at e trailhead - postcards for e family were bought here:


photo by YK

start of e trail:



where enterprising Hmong run stalls selling instant porridge & noodles with thermos flasks of hot water & coffee....



& rent Hmong costumes to tourists for photo-ops:



[ filed under: thewanderingstraycat + chiangrai_2005 + thai1 + nature1 ]

chiangrai 2005 - 07 Phu Chi Fa sunrise

[131205] at 0430AM we squeezed into & onto a truck that would bring us up to e Phu Chi Fa trailhead. e cat had to sit on YK's lap in e front passenger seat >_<

joined what seemed like hundreds of people in e trek up e cliff in pitch darkness. e temperature can drop to 4'C & our breath condensed in white puffs. found a spot to stake out e sunrise at e top of e cliff - e better you are as a mountain goat, e further you can get away from e crowds, but at e risk of tumbling a long way down into Laos:



unfortunately there can be quite a lot of noise - blaring radios, loud singing, ringing cellphones....discovered that shining a Maglite at e offending source of noise can bring an instant end to e disturbance *evil cat* =P

first light, with Venus(?) in e centre just above e clouds:



might have to clean your monitor/LCD in order to distinguish it from dust =P

e ทะเลเมฆ thalay maek (sea of clouds) that this place is famous for:







e view before us:


click here for larger version

what do you do with e crowds?




try to shake them off! =P





#%*?&!^@* doesn't seem to work >_<






two fat kurogoma (black sesame) dumplings:



finally, e sun! =))




more photos coming up....

[ filed under: thewanderingstraycat + chiangrai_2005 + thai1 + nature1 ]