Mae Hong Son loop by motorbike - Day 2

Here are all the photos from my second day. Scroll down to read whatever I can remember for each picture! :)

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This is a local dish; a variation on the very famous Thai dish, Tom Yam soup.  This one has pumpkin and chicken instead of shrimp which is more common. Also, you can see the soup is clear, which I didn't ask for but it's definitely my preference.  In most Thai restaurants its common to choose either clear soup or (coconut) milk soup, clear is better trust me!

I see these little lizards everywhere, but I took this picture because this is the first time I remember seeing so many of them next to each other.  Maybe they are friends, but my guess is its mating season! You know how animals are...

I'm wondering why this Buddha statue is so busty...

Very busty right? This is the first time I've seen a Buddha statue with a chest like this anywhere! Hopefully my Thai teacher can explain it to me in class.

Really cool statue! I was the only person here at the time, not even a local Thai person sweeping...gorgeous view of the surrounding valley and city too, lucky me! The facial structure of this Buddha seems more Caucasian than Asian doesn't it?

On my trip, everywhere I went, seeing rice fields like this alongside the highway was extremely common, maybe at least 1 rice field per 2km!

This is an abandoned tourist welcome center for a calcite (crystal) cave that was closed during the rainy season.  Huge letdown, especially considering how insanely difficult it was to find this place!

Mae Hong Son loop by motorbike - Day 1

 Today I drove 200 km on the motorbike, a new record!  Here are all the pictures I took on my way into town. They are in reverse order so the first picture you see is the last one I took. This reclining Buddha was an excellent surprise, as soon as I turned the corner on the highway I saw this huge statue chilling there among the trees. For some reason the Buddha looks way bigger in person than in this photo.

Below is the last picture I took from the first place I visited just an hour from Chiang Mai. It's a Museum dedicated to Ganesh, the Hindu god with an elephant head.

Here, below, is my main number 1 Lord Vishnu. You can tell it's him from his blue skin and four arms and more specifically what he's holding in his four arms which are quite meaningful. Statues of Krishna will be identical to this statue of Vishnu as Krishna is the principal incarnation of Vishnu.

I wonder how old these shoes are!

Below you can see all the principal Hindu Devas AKA incarnations of the Lord. In the center is Ganesh this Arrangement is depicting his or her wedding.

Another great translation from Thai into English... please keep your goofy manners while visiting the museum but also don't disturb others thank you!

At first I thought he was real but he's just a wax statue. He is an important and famous monk, in the 1920s he moved from Bangkok to be more serious about meditation he said it was impossible to be any kind of monk in a big city like that and I agree!

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Photo dump before next adventure

Tomorrow, I will be searching around town for the best deal on a monthly motorbike rental.

I'm super excited...gonna get a big bike to lean back on, tour the golden triangle and as much of Northern Thailand that I can.

Check it out! I had an allergic reaction for the first time...my whole torse was covered with this strange red rash, and I'll never know why!  I went to the hospital, took some anti-histamines and seem to be all better now...never any pain or itchiness, just a strange reaction to something. Apparently this is common during the rainy season in the tropics.

Best French toast I've ever had! I've already gone back for seconds once, and will go back again soon for sure! The local Thai fruits, like passion-fruit, more than make up for the lack of maple syrup.