Saturday, October 21. Drive to Chiang Rai, stopping at a few sites. First was an umbrella factory, making (mostly) paper umbrellas. (Amazingly, it began to rain just as we entered their outdoor but roofed over facility and stopped just was we were leaving. Karma.) It’s an assembly line process with women (all seniors) doing one step in the construction process. The paper is made exclusively with mulberry tree bark. Virtually no machinery. The workers are paid about $9 per day, without any benefits. The one woman we interviewed said it was better than having to commute to the city. It was clearly a no-pressure kind of job. Gift shop prices were insanely low. A side-business has begun where the painters will paint cell phone covers and such while you wait.

The drive was unremarkable. The roads here are just fine. Traffic is sedate. Yes, there are your normal scooter crazies, but that’s commonplace worldwide. Everything seems fairly modern, as opposed to other countries where the further you are from the main city, the less advanced everything appears. No oxcarts.

Lunch was on a patio looking out over rice fields. Very pretty. Beautiful food, literally. Edible flowers were the garnish.

The day’s main attraction was a visit to the White Temple complex. Thailand’s National artist is using his own money to rebuild and massively expand an existing temple, using artwork that can be described in various ways by various critics. I thought it was over-the-top quirky. Gaudi gone wild (well, wilder). The main buildings are all white with small inlaid mirrors. They truly sparkle. The complex defeats any attempt at a short description. It’s still a work in progress, due to be finished decades from now.

Our introduction to Chiang Rai proper was to walk through an incredibly massive Saturday night market. Exceeds in size anything I’ve ever seen. Crowds. Food of all kinds. Narrow lanes between booths. Crowds. Line dancing. Stir fried worms and crickets. Did I mention crowds? In spite of all the food in the market Are suggested we eat at an actual restaurant. Excellent food. Because I’d been bending his ear about pineapple fried rice, that’s what he ordered, along with most of the others. I had sweet and sour shrimp and chicken.

Later I sat at a wine bar and had a nice Sauvignon Blanc for $5.