A day trip to Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle - Part 1

Or the last time I will do a fully guided tour on/off a bus.
Another early wake up, another hotel pick up but this time to the very north of Thailand, the province of Chiang Rai.
Tour started by a little brief of the day ahead in the bus. I could feel the hair on my neck rising at so much baby sitting. But again, that was the best way to get to see what we wanted so I hold it together.
After 1h30 drive we arrive in a place to see the hot springs. This was highly disappointing as there were 2 springs or shall I say fountains releasing the hot water. Next to it were some small ponds where you can put your feet in and experience the temperature. And hot it was. 80-90C according to the guide. Hot enough to boil eggs which people do massively and then sell to tourists. You can imagine the business around those hot springs.
Another 1h drive and we arrived at the white temple Wat Rong Khun.
That temple is one of a kind. It's all white and covered with tiny mirrors reflecting the sun light.
It was designed and built by the artist Ajarn Chalermchai Kositpipat in 1997. The temple represents the purity of Buddhism vs. all human flaws like alcohol, terror or cigarettes.
The least I can say is that it's worth seeing because it's completely unexpected. It mixes tradition and modernism. The artist clearly painted or sculpted the challenges of humankind. It's in plain sight and there is no ambiguity when he points at alcohol as he uses a bottle of whiskey. What's even more surprising is the painting inside the temple representing all the things a human being needs to get rid of to reach nirvana shows marvel heroes like superman, spiderman or batman. Nokia cell phones and Michael Jackson are there too. A really really weird mix. The least I could say is that it was surrealist.
One more hour and a half drive and we reached the Golden Triangle. That's the area where Ruak river merges with the Mekong river. When standing there you can see Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. This area was famous for opium. Actually not this specific point where the rivers meet but the mountains around.
There is really not much to see but 2 rivers merging. The only thing worth mentioning is that Ruak river is green while the Mekong is brown.
At this stage we deviated from the group and chose not to do the boat trip (for which you have to pay extra of course). This boat trip takes you around the 2 no man's land islands in the middle of the river and then to Laos where you can get a fake visa to prove you've been to Laos. Thrilling, isn't it? We declined as between the two of us we have enough visas and if we want one from Laos, we'll plan some vacations there. By the way that might be a good destination for next year.
So while the others took the boat, we stayed in Thailand and had a drink with view.