Yes, this time it was just me and Ally, Somboons not so keen on hot day rides, shame ‘cos it was a nice easy ride, no hills and plenty of shade.
Our choice for the day was to take an easy ride up and down the River Ping.
Our start point was Wat Pang Yuu, which you will find by taking the Hang Dong turn off Highway 11, the one that actually carries on to Samoeng. The Temple is on the left with the entry road being just before the river bridge.
We met up at around 10.30 and started the journey with a stroll around Wat Pang Yuu. I have been seeing this Temple and its impressive array of statues for quite sometime no as I passed by on the highway between the main Hang Dong road and Highway 11 and have long been promising myself a visit.
Ally informed me that, although it was not the first time she had visited , she was very impressed with what is clearly a relatively recent facelift. On her previous visit it had apparently been a very run down and neglected place.
It is the many large Buddha images that catch your eye from the highway but there are more nice surprises when you get inside the Temple compound.
There are an incredible number of Buddha statues, both large and small. Then, to the rear of the compound you come across a beautiful Vihara surrounded by an extensive pond.
Also, don’t miss the ancient looking Buddha scene, under the trees to the left of the pond. Though not lavishly painted like the newer statues you see from the road, for me this image has the real Buddha spirit about it somehow.
Many photographs later we left the Temple, from the front entrance gate that overlooks the river, and headed left toward Lamphun.
This day was a nice contrast to some of our rides that involve many kilometres and several destinations. On this day the only real plan was a relaxed ride up and down the river.
And very nice it was to. The River Ping, away from the city centre, certainly on this stretch towards Lamphun, has a wonderfully relaxing effect and a look that belies its size and strength. With the many ancient overhanging trees, floating water plants and its many twists and turns it feels more like a beautiful winding stream.
As always my craving for coffee was early to raise its head and we were on the look out for a place to stop. Around 10-15 minutes ride from the Temple we found what should end up being a great riverside rest point. At the moment it is clearly still under construction, but was nevertheless open.
Didn’t actually get the name of the place but it appears to be a Thai concern, that, the lady who served us our coffee informed us, specializes in fish dishes along with other common Thai options. It is right on the river bank, looking towards the large weir we would visit shortly after. A lovely quiet place for coffee and a very likely meal out place in the future, being not so far from home.
So,
after coffee it was just a couple of minutes ride before we reached the impressive looking weir, which looks to be a fairly new addition, or has at least been recently refurbished and acts also as a river crossing for pedestrians and motorcys. It is at this point that the canal system for Lamphun starts. The surrounding area is quiet lovely, with a nice size gazebo on the banks of the canal, which was occupied by a friendly bunch of local youngsters at the time.
Although we didn’t visit anymore on this trip, there are several riverside Temples along the way, so expect some reports on those in the coming weeks.
Indeed, what we found on this route, was not so many ‘attractions’, other than the river itself, which was fine by me. There was plenty of interest. Just before we crossed the river and headed back to Chiang Mai down the other side, about 15 minutes ride after the weir, we saw some new,(to me), birdlife.
All along the way, apart from the river there are several amazing buildings, from lavish homes to ‘wild shacks’ as Ally calls them.
For more ‘wild shacks’ please visit Allys site, where you will also get much better route information thanks to Allys excellent GPS machine.
On the way back to Chiang Mai we spotted a few fishermen in the water hauling nets; stopped for lunch at a local Thai outlet, very tasty food and only 20 baht!;
called in at Ban Nam Ping, which is a riverside Hotel which has rooms from 1500 baht a night or 30 nights for 30,000,(out of my budget, but for those of you in that range for your holiday it looked like a very nice location, with a buffet restaurant from 150 baht, a small swimming pool and kayaks, free to hotel guests or 100 baht an hour to walk in customers);
and shortly before parting at 1.30 , took a short detour to a very nice coffee shop just off the super highway.
After leaving Ally I carried on down the river road which eventually brings you onto ChangKlan road and into town where I met Boon at The Brick Road Cafe.
Just a short trip this time , around 4 hours in all from Wat Pang Yuu, at a very easy pace.
For more photos please visit our photobucket album here
After a brief walk around and breakfast at the cafe we set off for our next destination, Wat Pa dara Phirom. To get there we turned right out of the car park and carried on down the road which follows the continuing canal from Chiang Mai, to a small intersection with a bridge.Turning left over the bridge and immediately left again going down the otherside of the canal took us to the very impressive Wat Pa Dara Phirom.
This Temple wat developed in the 1890s, on land donated by a decendant of the great Lanna Princess, Phra Raja Jaya, born Chao Dara Rasmi, 11th daughter to Chao Inthawichayanon, one of the last rulers of Chiang Mai and the Lanna Kingdom. Doi Inthanon was named after this King. For an excellent 
The extensive compound holds various Temple buildings and Viharns and is has feast of historical relics spotted all around.
The plush main Temple has exquisite decorations on the outside and equally extravagant decor inside, including chandeliars and a silver metal beaten image of the Princess.
There is some remarkable art work inside the white Chedi to the right of the entrance, including an interesting ‘Buddha foot’ impression in the centre.
The gardens are as stunning as the architecture with such a wide variety of trees, many of which were in glorious bloom when we visited.
Turning left out of the Temple road, towards the mountain we soon came to another Temple at a small village,Wat Ampa Wan.
We then tried taking the side road that the Temple stood at the corner of and ended up on a mud track passing some local women harvesting Jack Fruit, who happily informed us that we could carry on and just keep turning left. Well we tried, but ended up returning the way we came. Still, it was fun.
Once on that road we stopped outside the Elephant camp for a fresh coffee, passing one of the camps elephants on its way home from work, before carrying on around the Loop that takes you around the western side of Doi Suthep and its neighboring peaks.
Look out for mountain streams;
a beautiful terraced landscaped resort which we discovered, on our next trip that way, has a Thai cookery school, with classes held in the wooden construction you see at the top of the garden area.
It is not until you get to the top of the entrance steps that you realise that the grounds then extend up the hillside behind the Temple and that there are many more steps to explore the whole site.
There is a wonderful Monks building to the left of the main Temple with a roof completely covered with a lush climber with orange flowers. There was also a large courtyard which then led through to a large school in the land adjacent to the temple grounds. For more photos, please visit our 
Wat Tay Par Lam (my translator is not 100% sure on this as the sign is in Lanna language)
Needing to get back to the business there wasn’t much time for stopping elsewhere other than to catch the many fantastic views along the way.
For more photos from this day please visit our 
