The community went on one of their regular Sunday excursions on Sunday 22 January, and had a local Akha hilltribe person as their guide.  The community were transported up into the hill-tribe area in a pickup van, and enjoyed viewing the scenery en-route.  The visit covered a fairly strenuous uphill trek passing one small waterfall and then the main larger waterfall which was more picturesque.  There was walking and scrambling over rocks and boulders in our trek – all improving our cardiovascular systems.  Martina is still feeling the strain from her back operation, so took it steady on the route.

Several stops on the way including one to buy drinks and local handicraft made the trek even more enjoyable.  Towards the end of the trek we were offered some sticky rice, pork stew and sunflower seeds to sustain us by the Akha village people.

The day finished off with a visit to Pha Sert Hot Spa where we were able to relax in the water from the hotsprings.

The Black Temple or House was set up and created by Tawan Duangdee.  This place was very interesting as it hold lots of interesting pictures as well as other artwork.  Martina liked it here and especially for the 10 baht ice creams she bought 2 lots of. So we had a very nice wander round and also enjoyed the different architecture of the different buildings.

The white temple in comparison was a bit more gaudy, and on the tourist trail, given its closer visibility and proximity to the local highway.  The internal decoration of the temple was interesting as it had artwork of the twin towers coming down – with some of the artwork definitely a bit dark and spooky.  The local WC here was also the most brightly painted in gold I have ever seen in my life.

Khun Korn waterfall was very pleasant and was high up in the hills of Chiang Rai province.  The walk to get there from the car park was only 1.2km long but passed some very beautiful scenery, towering bamboo trees, a small stream, bamboo bridges (I wonder how many people they can hold up?).  Once at the waterfall Andrew wandered down for a closer look and was pleasantly cooled by the spraying mist for his efforts.