While in Chiang Mai, Thailand over Christmas and New Years, Jesse and I rented motorcycles. We enjoy taking them onto dirt roads and exploring out of the way places. This time we did three separate trips.
The first trip was on some back roads near his home. The only thing of interest that day was an abandoned home we found near a lake. The area was about thirty minutes outside of the city.
This is the home as viewed from the dirt road, we had to cross a mostly dried up lake bed to get to the home.
This is the house, many of the homes in this area in Thailand are built on stilts. It was constructed of wood, bamboo and grass. For being abandoned it was still in pretty good shape.
This is a picture of one of the rooms, notice that the mats which make the floor are missing. I had to walk on the wooden beams to walk in the room. The walls are woven bamboo which has been split into thin, flat pieces.
This is not sasquatch, it is Jesse. I was in on the porch and took a picture of him looking thorugh the railing at me.
The second day we drove to a Hmong Village we had been to last January on a previous motorcycle ride. The village is about twenty minutes from the nearest road and is only accessible via a rough dirt trail up the side of a mountain. The scenery is beautiful and there are many fruit trees growing on the steep sides of the mountain.
This is a picture from the road up the mountain to the Hmong Village. It was very beautiful.
The road up to the Hmong Village and Tak Kar Tan Cave.
We rode past the village this time and continued to the top of the mountain. The top was not a peak but actually a large plateau which was used for farming. It was beautiful and there were mountains and fields visible in every direction.
The view on the plateau.
As we continued to the end of the road, we made it to Tak Kar Tan Cave. It is was unlike any cave I have ever been in. The floor was lava in most places and after entering about fifty feet, it became very humid. The cave is thought to be about 7,000 meters (4.35 miles) deep and is mostly unexplored. It stretches throughout the inside of the mountain. We did not explore the cave that day (that was day three's adventure). Not many people come here since it is somewhat difficult just to make it to the end of the road (grass and dirt trail). Once you park, you have to hike down the mountain into the woods for about 10-15 minutes to reach the mouth of the cave.
Here is a picture of Jesse and me at the mouth of the cave. I did not have a caving helmet so I used my motorcycle helmet.
After we left the cave, we continued to ride through the mountains and in the end we had completely driven around the mountain upon which Doi Suthep Temple (the one with banana waffles) is built. We drove through Samoeng Forest on the way and there was a great view from the side of the road.
This is the daring duo in front of the Samoeng Forest sign at the pulloff.
The view from the pull-off.
On the third day, we dressed in old clothes and headed back for Tak Kar Tan Cave to explore. We entered and discovered that there are three separate Buddha shrines inside. The one furthest back in the cave has old paintings behind it; we are not sure what they meant or what they were supposed to be. After an hour or so, it was getting difficult to breathe due to the very humid air; it felt as though we were in a bathroom where someone was taking a shower. We saw some really large rooms, areas of breakdown and a few bats. We also saw a very large spider- not something we had ever seen in a cave before. I told Jesse that I would give him one Baht if he ate it (approx 33 Thai Baht to one US dollar), he chickened out and would not do it.
This is the Buddha image which is the furthest into the cave. Notice the painting behind the idol.
Here are two homeless mental patients who were living in the cave.
Good times...good times. I am thankful to have a friend...even if it is Jesse.
The first trip was on some back roads near his home. The only thing of interest that day was an abandoned home we found near a lake. The area was about thirty minutes outside of the city.
This is the home as viewed from the dirt road, we had to cross a mostly dried up lake bed to get to the home.
This is the house, many of the homes in this area in Thailand are built on stilts. It was constructed of wood, bamboo and grass. For being abandoned it was still in pretty good shape.
This is a picture of one of the rooms, notice that the mats which make the floor are missing. I had to walk on the wooden beams to walk in the room. The walls are woven bamboo which has been split into thin, flat pieces.
This is not sasquatch, it is Jesse. I was in on the porch and took a picture of him looking thorugh the railing at me.The second day we drove to a Hmong Village we had been to last January on a previous motorcycle ride. The village is about twenty minutes from the nearest road and is only accessible via a rough dirt trail up the side of a mountain. The scenery is beautiful and there are many fruit trees growing on the steep sides of the mountain.
This is a picture from the road up the mountain to the Hmong Village. It was very beautiful.
The road up to the Hmong Village and Tak Kar Tan Cave.We rode past the village this time and continued to the top of the mountain. The top was not a peak but actually a large plateau which was used for farming. It was beautiful and there were mountains and fields visible in every direction.
The view on the plateau. As we continued to the end of the road, we made it to Tak Kar Tan Cave. It is was unlike any cave I have ever been in. The floor was lava in most places and after entering about fifty feet, it became very humid. The cave is thought to be about 7,000 meters (4.35 miles) deep and is mostly unexplored. It stretches throughout the inside of the mountain. We did not explore the cave that day (that was day three's adventure). Not many people come here since it is somewhat difficult just to make it to the end of the road (grass and dirt trail). Once you park, you have to hike down the mountain into the woods for about 10-15 minutes to reach the mouth of the cave.
Here is a picture of Jesse and me at the mouth of the cave. I did not have a caving helmet so I used my motorcycle helmet.After we left the cave, we continued to ride through the mountains and in the end we had completely driven around the mountain upon which Doi Suthep Temple (the one with banana waffles) is built. We drove through Samoeng Forest on the way and there was a great view from the side of the road.
This is the daring duo in front of the Samoeng Forest sign at the pulloff.
The view from the pull-off. On the third day, we dressed in old clothes and headed back for Tak Kar Tan Cave to explore. We entered and discovered that there are three separate Buddha shrines inside. The one furthest back in the cave has old paintings behind it; we are not sure what they meant or what they were supposed to be. After an hour or so, it was getting difficult to breathe due to the very humid air; it felt as though we were in a bathroom where someone was taking a shower. We saw some really large rooms, areas of breakdown and a few bats. We also saw a very large spider- not something we had ever seen in a cave before. I told Jesse that I would give him one Baht if he ate it (approx 33 Thai Baht to one US dollar), he chickened out and would not do it.
This is the Buddha image which is the furthest into the cave. Notice the painting behind the idol.
Here are two homeless mental patients who were living in the cave.Good times...good times. I am thankful to have a friend...even if it is Jesse.
2 comments :
haha! Looks like fun! What a fun adventure :) That last pic cracks me up! haha!
Is that Gene Simmons?
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