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 Saturday 11th of March 2023 and I am going to Chiang Mai. We were supposed to go to Wat Nong Prachum (วัดหนองประชุม) in Kanchanaburi with my friend's new car. But the new car is delayed at the factory and will not be ready until 16. The original plan was for us to go to Kanchanaburi on the 11th or 12th. Now we have to swap the destinations, Chiang Mai today and to Kanchanaburi with the new car on 17th of March. So we will go to Wat Nong Prachum (วัดหนองประชุม) to see the monk หลวงพ่อทองคำ for the car blessing. I suspect that they will also buy some Thai Buddha amulets (พระเครื่อง) as they are crazy about the Luangpoo Jim (หลวงปู่เฒ่ายิ้) amuletes.  My friend stay overnight as we will leave at 7 o'clock in the morning and we start to make breakfast at 5 o'clock. And as my friend's favourite is cheese omelette with bacon we made this for breakfast. And of course, tea. We discussed the next week Car Anointing (เจิอมรถยน), or car blessing. My friend's new car will arrive to the shop on the 13th but he will not pick up the car until 16th at 09:09 as this is a very lucky day and time to get a new car. We will be back from Chiang Mai on the 15th of March so it will be action straight away coming back home leaving for Kanchanaburi and the Car Anointing (เจิอมรถยน)
 Making breakfast
 Making breakfast
 Ready to eat
We finish the breakfast and I clean the dishes and prepare the last of my luggage. We went down to the parking a few minutes before 7 and the taxi was waiting for us. We packed the car and I kept my back pack with e-cigarettes and camera stuff with me in the car. I also had a bag with cheese that I bought yesterday. I will try to eat the cheese for lunch/ dinner as there is really no good snacks to buy along the road if you want to avoid carbs. We left a couple of minutes after 7 and the first stop will be at the eBird hotspot: Pathum Thani Rice Research Center  Leaving Bangkok
 We take the toll way from the top of Sukhumvit Road and we will pass Don Muang Airport on the way to Rangsit. The eBird hotspot: Pathum Thani Rice Research Center is located just east of Rangsit. The Australians that went with my taxi driver to Ayutthaya had stopped here and they had been very happy so I decided that I wanted to check out the area. I started the eBird app at 07:59 and there was a lot of birds. It was a beautiful area and I told the driver to turn around after 15 minutes. I did not want to lose any time reaching Chiang Mai and there was for sure not any time to explore this area. So it was better to leave and I will come back here to spend a full day.  White-breasted Waterhen / นกกวัก
 Asian Golden Weaver / นกกระจาบทอง
 Asian Golden Weaver / นกกระจาบทอง
 Javan Pond Heron / นกยางกรอกพันธุ์ชวา
 Plaintive Cuckoo / นกอีวาบตั๊กแตน
 Java sparrow
 Today's track at eBird hotspot: Pathum Thani Rice Research Center
I turned of the eBird app after 31 minutes and we found our way back to the highway to continue towards Chiang Mai. Next planned stop is in about 5 hours in Tak. There is two eBird hotspots: Nong Kra-hoh marshes and Mae Salit granite quarry ponds complex that I want to visit. So first stop Nong Kra-hoh marshes and we drove north and I studied the power/ telephone wires along the road. There were many birds sitting on the wires, many Kingfishers and of course, Black Drongos. And every now and then I dozed off for a power nap. We made a stop to fill up LPG in the car and I woke up in the back seat when we turned off the highway at eBird hotspots: Nong Kra-hoh marshes. The first bird I spotted was a Great Myna and we continued towards the first pond, Saturday and many people fishing around the pond.  A pond at Nong Kra-hoh marshes
 Amur Stonechat
 Amur Stonechat
 Today's track at eBird hotspot: Nong Kra-hoh marshes
We did not spend too much time here even though I would have liked to stay longer, 3 more stops and we wanted to arrive to Chiang Mai in a good time. Next stop, the eBird hotspot: Mae Salit granite quarry ponds complex driving 30 minutes towards north on the highway. We made a U-turn going back south for a few minutes before we took off to the left and we found our self on a dirt track. We should have turned right after a minute to get to the hotspot area but we missed to turn right and we continued in to the wilderness. A gorgeous area so it was never mind that we missed to turn right. Actually, I did not discover it until I consulted the map, but then we had seen some birds.  Dust road in to the wilderness
 Dust road in to the wilderness
 Green Bee-eater / นกจาบคาเล็ก
 Male Pied Bush Chat / นกยอดหญ้าสีดำ, นกขี้หมา
 Male Pied Bush Chat / นกยอดหญ้าสีดำ, นกขี้หมา
 Male Pied Bush Chat / นกยอดหญ้าสีดำ, นกขี้หมา
 Male Pied Bush Chat / นกยอดหญ้าสีดำ, นกขี้หมา
 Male Pied Bush Chat / นกยอดหญ้าสีดำ, นกขี้หมา
 Male Pied Bush Chat / นกยอดหญ้าสีดำ, นกขี้หมา
We made a U-turn when I discovered that we were driving in the wrong direction and we drove south and we passed the road we had come on from the highway. We continued south and we were soon at the hotspot location. There were some Black-winged Stilts and a Grey-headed Lapwing and I was happy that I managed to get some pictures of the lapwing as I had no previous pictures of this bird. We continued towards the highway and I turned off the eBird app.  Dust road in to the wilderness
 Dust road in to the wilderness
 Grey-headed Lapwing / นกกระแตหัวเทา
 Grey-headed Lapwing / นกกระแตหัวเทา
 Today's track at eBird hotspot: Mae Salit granite quarry ponds complex
 Filling up LPG outside Chiang Mai
We drove south on the highway for a couple of minutes before we reached the U-turn place and we were soon on the way north again. We decided to skip the last two stops and go straight to the hotel. Time was passing quickly and we did not want to arrive too late to the hotel. We had been running for almost 700 km and we needed to stop for a second refill of LPG in the taxi. We found a place outside Chiang Mai and it was nice to know that we were soon at the hotel when we left the gas stop. We checked in to De Lanna Hotel just after 6 o'clock and I was hungry so I checked out the menu in the restaurant and I did not find anything suitable for my diet. So I decided to go look for a restaurant to have a hamburger without any bread. We put the luggage in the rooms and we left for 7 Eleven to buy some stuff, I needed tea and milk. They said they had tea in the room but this was nothing I want to call tea.  Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan (วัดพระสิงห์วรมหาวิหาร)
We live 100 meters from the Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan (วัดพระสิงห์วรมหาวิหาร), a temple my friend wanted to visit while in Chiang Mai. We will leave for Doi Inthanon tomorrow morning and the plan is to visit the Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan (วัดพระสิงห์วรมหาวิหาร) in the afternoon. We found a 7 Eleven and I got my tea and milk and I walked back to the hotel and my friends went to buy food at the market. I found a Turkish Restaurant next to the hotel and I had hamburgers, meat and vegetables only. I bought cheese that I brought in Bangkok is good for a mid-day snack, but I am still a little hungry in the evening so I need to go to a restaurant, something I wanted to avoid. But I have managed to stay away from carbs.  De Lanna Hotel, Chiang Mai
 De Lanna Hotel, Chiang Mai
 De Lanna Hotel, Chiang Mai
 De Lanna Hotel, Chiang Mai
 De Lanna Hotel, Chiang Mai
 De Lanna Hotel, Chiang Mai
 De Lanna Hotel, Chiang Mai
I went back to the hotel after my burgers, 760 Baht for two very small burgers so it was very expensive. And on top of that there were plenty insects flying around attracted by the lamps so It was nice when I could finally leave with a decision to never come back. I made a cup of tea when I was back in my room, I have brought my tea mug from Bangkok. I went in to my friend's room next door and they were buys looking at Thai Buddha amulets (พระเครื่อง). They are spending all the time together looking at amulets on our road trips. My friend had bought his laptop and a microscope camera so they could really look closely at the amulets. So they kept themself busy while enjoying a whiskey.  Looking at Thai Buddha amulets (พระเครื่อง)
 Looking at Thai Buddha amulets (พระเครื่อง)
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Sunday 12th of March 2023 and my alarm went off at 4. I will meet my friends for breakfast at 7 when the restaurant open. But as my friends stay in the room next to me I knocked on their door quarter to 7.
They were almost ready and we went to the restaurant. But the breakfast was not served in the restaurant and we were directed to the breakfast restaurant.  Time to have breakfast
 Time to have breakfast
I had tea and omelette and I also had a salad, the breakfast was, well, if you don't eat carbs there wasn't very much. We left the hotel around 7 thirty and we expect about 2 hours to Doi Inthanon Summit, the highest peak in Thailand. And we will have a look for birds in the National Park. We reached the gate to Doi Inthanon in 90 minutes and we pay the entrance fee. The tickets are not necessary until we pass check-point #2. There are still people living between the gate and check-point #2and there are farms growing flowers and strawberries etc. There are also hotels, restaurants and a big market. But after the check-point #2 it is almost pure wilderness and forest for long as we can see.  Time to leave the hotel
 Doi Inthanon National Park ticket office
 Doi Inthanon National Park ticket office
 We are ready to continue towards the summit
We pay 450 Baht to enter the national park and we get three tickets that we have to show at check-point #2 when we pass there. We leave the entrance and we are slowly driving up the mountain and we stop to let the car have a rest. And we swapped from LPG to gasoline. The car is not so strong running on LPG and it would be very hard to reach the summit running on LPG. I have a look for birds while the car is having a rest, but there is only 2 Spotted Doves to be seen so I was a little disappointed.  Looking for birds
 Looking for birds
 At check-point #2
 At check-point #2
 On the way to the summit
We show the tickets at check-point #2, and it was a hard time to find the tickets but finally, the driver had them in the back pocket of his jeans. We left the check-point behind and the first stop will be the toilet where I had seen many birds on my previous visits to Doi Inthanon. We reach to toilet and restaurant area and there is a lot of cars parked there. Many are coming to visit the Pra Mahatat Noppamethanedon and Pra Mahatat Nopphonphusiri. The toilet was a disappointment, exactly ZERO birds and the only bird I saw was a Black-backed Sibia on a wire over the restaurants.  On the way to the summit
 On the way to the summit
 Dark-backed sibia / นกหางรำดำ
 My friend with flowers
 My friend with flowers
M friend had bought flowers back at check-point #2 while we were looking for tickets. I was wondering why he had bought flowers but I did not ask. But suddenly both of them had flowers, they had split it in to two and I asked what was going on. They will visit the Pra Mahatat Noppamethanedon and Pra Mahatat Nopphonphusiri just south of the toilet. When I visited last time we could park at the Pra Mahatat Noppamethanedon and Pra Mahatat Nopphonphusiri. But now we have to take a free car from the parking at the toilet area.
We got in to the pick-up and we were soon on the way together with three girls going to visit the place as well. When the had enough passengers in the back of the pick-up, six passengers we took off and it is a 2 minutes ride in the car. When we reach the gate we have to buy tickets, 100 Baht for foreigners and 50 Baht for Thai people. My friend handed 200 Baht to the ticket guy and the problem started.  My friend with flowers
 View from the parking area
 My friend with flowers
 On the way in the pick-up
They asked for an additional 100 Baht and my friend was confused and handed the ticket man an additional 100 Baht. I reacted and I pointed at my friends and then on myself. - 50 + 50 + 100 = 200 Baht, I told the ticket man. It was not easy and they refused to understand and I was almost leaving the truck as I had lost all my enthusiasm visiting the place. But the finally understand and we could drive up to the place. I had been here before and I had seen some birds. I walked around the area and there was a couple of birds but too far away for an ID and the moved around very quickly so no pictures. By now I had started a couple of eBird checklists in Doi Inthanon that I had to erase as there had been no birds to report.  At Pra Mahatat Noppamethanedon and Pra Mahatat Nopphonphusiri
 At Pra Mahatat Noppamethanedon and Pra Mahatat Nopphonphusiri
 View from Pra Mahatat Noppamethanedon and Pra Mahatat Nopphonphusiri
 At Pra Mahatat Noppamethanedon and Pra Mahatat Nopphonphusiri
My friends was taking care of the religious stuff while I was walking around looking for birds. I could see my friend when they cam back to the restaurant area and I went down to meet them. We went to one of the pick-up trucks and we were soon back at the taxi at the toilet. We got in to the taxi and we continued towards Doi Inthanon summit, the highest point in Thailand. It is a couple of kilometres from the toilet and we park the car. I notice that there are no birds, the previous times I have been here and there had been many birds around the parking area. We walk towards the peak and there are quite a few birds in the foliage and it was next to impossible to get any pictures of the birds.  Walking towards the peak
 At the highest point in Thailand
 At the highest point in Thailand
 At the highest point in Thailand
 At the highest point in Thailand
 At the highest point in Thailand
Sunday and there are a lot of tourists visiting the peak. And my friend walked around making videos and I have some video action for my web page. I got some very poor pictures of some birds, but I decided to keep them to post on birdforum as I am pretty sure there are someone that will be able to ID the birds. We walk from the summit to the visitor center using the board walk and there are some birds but no pictures. The birds keep in the foliage and I cannot get any pictures.  Ash-throated Warbler
 Ash-throated Warbler
 Ash-throated Warbler
 Rufous-winged Fulvetta
 At the visitor center
We reached the visitor center and I checked out the water containers, usually coming bord to bath there but no bird. We did not see one single bird walking back to the car along the road. There are usually Sunbirds and other exciting species in the bushes along the road, but today nothing. So, I was disappointed with our visit to Doi Inthanon when we were back in the car. When we left for Chiang Mai my friend told me that he wanted to visit two temples: Wat Mahawan Woramahawihan and Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan. So we programed the gPS for the first temple, Wat Mahawan Woramahawihan and we left Doi Inthanon summit. And from there we will drive back to De Lanna hotel and from there it is only a minute to walk to the Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan.
We found Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan and we parked the car. We found the amulet shop and we had a look before we went to look at the holy room. They are building a new building and they are selling amulets. You give 100 Baht and you get a couple of amulets. You write your name on the back of the amulets and you go to two clay pots. You put the amulets in the pots and they will put it in the new building. So, in 1000 years when they find the clay pots your name will live for ever.  Wat Mahawan Woramahawihan / วัดมหาวันวนาราม พระอารามหลวง (พระรอด)
 Wat Mahawan Woramahawihan / วัดมหาวันวนาราม พระอารามหลวง (พระรอด)
We left Wat Mahawan Woramahawihan and we were happy to have been able to obtain almost an eternal life with the amulets in the clay pot. And they have found Thai Buddha amulets (พระเครื่อง) under very old temples so this seems to be a very old tradition. And these old amulets are very expensive. We had not been lucky with the birds today so we decided to give it another try before returning to the hotel. And there is an eBird hotspot: San Phak Wan scrub & paddies and we stopped there on the way to the hotel. And the stop did not give much, 3 birds only.
Next stop is the hotel and it took us about 30 minutes to reach the hotel and we walked to the Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan (วัดพระสิงห์วรมหาวิหาร) around the corner from the hotel. We walk past a couple of restaurants, but nothing that we were interesting in. We will go for Korean BBQ, or never mind, but we want Pork Collar so Korean BBQ it is.  Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan / วัดพระสิงห์วรมหาวิหาร
 Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan / วัดพระสิงห์วรมหาวิหาร
 Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan / วัดพระสิงห์วรมหาวิหาร
 Now they have to try their luck with the lottery
 Now they have to try their luck with the lottery
 Now they have to try their luck with the lottery
My friends bought lottery tickets before we left and I can't help it, but I suspect that the major reason for people to come to the temple is to get lucky. And there are people selling lottery tickets at almost all the temples I have been to. And they are waiting outside the temple while the visitors are shaking, throwing and dropping things to get the lucky number. And even though you have tried to shake out the winning number from a cup of numbered sticks for 50 years, you never give up. Maybe this time! We leave the temple and me and my friend take a pick-up taxi to a Korean BBQ restaurant. Our driver only like food from Issan so he went to buy food at the market.  Korean BBQ in Chiang Mai
 Korean BBQ in Chiang Mai
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Sunday 12th of March 2023 and we pack our bags and we are going for our last breakfast at this hotel. It is raining and it is gloom and grey for long as I could see. I thought that I heard heavy rain during the night but I was not sure.
But now I got it confirmed and I was not happy. My plan is to go to Garden 80 and a military outpost close to the border to Burma. There are several eBird hotspots in the area and it is high up in the mountains. So, rain and poor visibility is nothing I wish for. We're driving north towards Garden 80 following road # 107. We had rain and I decided to skip the mountains. We adjusted the rout to drive to the Golden Triangle with a stop at Mae Fah Luang Arboretum. We continued on road # 107 towards Fang and from there we followed road #1089. It was a beautiful trip driving through the forest and mountains.  Driving north through a beautiful landscape
 Driving north through a beautiful landscape
 Driving north through a beautiful landscape
 Passing a village
We reach highway #1 going from Bangkok to the border to Burma and we are going north on highway #1 until Huia Krai and we leave the highway going up the mountains. We drive for a couple of kilometres before we have to give up. The road is to step for the taxi to get up. Going up Doi Inthanon yesterday and we had to turn of A/C and everything to be able to make it to the top. Running on LPG and the car lose a lot of power. We made a U-turn and we were driving back to make a stop at the eBird hotspot: Mae Rai Reservoir that we passed on the way here. We turned around and we reached the hotspot in a few minutes and I turned on my eBird app.  Female collecting nesting material
 Female collecting nesting material
 Female collecting nesting material
 Female collecting nesting material
 Today's track at eBird hotspot: Mae Rai Reservoir
Turning off the eBird app after 20 minutes and we leave the Mae Rai Reservoir and next stop will be the Golden Triangle. And from there we will go south to the hotel in Chiang Rai and I have been covering Thailand from the Golden Triangle in the north to Pattani in the south by car. We will make two stops along the Mekong River, at the Golden Triangle and the Rim Khong Restaurant, both places are eBird hotspots. And my friend has checked internet looking for a special dish with a fish only found in the Mekong River. And we were lucky, they had the fish at the Rim Khong Restaurant.  Driving towards the Golden Triangle
 Driving towards the Golden Triangle
 Driving towards the Golden Triangle
We reached Ban Sop Ruak and I had expected the place to be much more developed as it is an tourist area. The first time for me to visit, but I had heard about the area for many years. Even though it is a long time since now, but back in the days all the tourist was wearing an “GOLDEN TRIANGLE” t-shirt. We parked the car at the river front platform and there was a row of souvenir shops on the other side of the road. We could see both Burma and Laos from the platform. My friend was a little confused on how close we were to Burma and he was surprised when I told him that it was Burma just across the narrow Rauka River. I had expected more tourists but we were almost alone on the platform going along the creek reaching to the big Buddha statue, Golden Triangle Buddha (พระเชียงแสนสี่แผ่นดิน) (พระพุทธนวล้านตื้อ) at the Thai corner to Mekong River.  Looking out over Burma and Laos on the right-hand side
 Looking out over Laos and Burma on the left-hand side
 Walkway along Rauka River between Thailand and Burma
 Walkway along Rauka River between Thailand and Burma
We discover a ticket kiosk for a trip on the Mekong River. 800 Baht for about 30 minutes and we bought a ticket. We got our tickets and life jackets and we went down to a floating platform to wait for the boat. There were two types of boats to choose from, a small boat for 500 Baht and the 800 Baht boat. And of course, the 800 Baht boat looked more comfortable. The tour will take us north in the Mekong River to the Casino on the Burmese side and then we will go south again. We instructed the driver that we were looking for birds so keep close to the shore and drive slowly.  Going down to the platform
 Our boat arrives
 The boat looks comfy
 
 We leave for the cruise
 We leave for the cruise
 Leaving Thailand behind
 Leaving Thailand behind
   White-breasted Waterhen / นกกวัก in Burma
 Burmese casino ahead and a Lao island on the right-hand side
We run along Burma and I see one White-breasted Waterhen (นกกวัก) and two Spotted Doves. We will go up to the island in the middle of the Mekong River. The island belongs to Laos and the birds we will see will have to be reported in Laos. We see one Common Sandpiper (นกเด้าดิน) and one Black-winged Stilt (นกตีนเทียน) We turn around to go south again and we spot one Common Greenshank (นกทะเลขาเขียว)  Common Sandpiper / นกเด้าดิน
 Black-winged Stilt / นกตีนเทียน
 Common Greenshank/ นกทะเลขาเขียว
We dive south and we can see that they have built a lot of huge buildings in Van Pak Len on the Lao side. Big casinos and hotels and they are in progress of building more. But we did not see any more birds on the Lao side. We turned around and we steered north to get back to the platform at the Golden Triangle Buddha. There were several Chinese barges moored along the river side. I spotted 3 Feral Pigeons and that was it, not many birds to be seen here.  Van Pak Len on the Lao side
 Laos on the left-hand side and Thailand on the right-hand side
 Quality Lao tonnage
 Golden Triangle Buddha (พระเชียงแสนสี่แผ่นดิน) (พระพุทธนวล้านตื้อ) on the Thai side
 Van Pak Len on the Lao side
 Chinese quality tonnage on the Thai side
 Golden Triangle Buddha on the Thai side
 Golden Triangle Buddha on the Thai side
 Today's track at the Golden Triangle
I turned off my eBird app and we leave Ban Sop Ruak driving south to the eBird hotspot: Rim Khong. This is also a restaurant, Rim Khong Restaurant (ร้านอาหารริมโขง). I had planned to visit this hotspot since before we left Bangkok. We were very lucky, my friend wanted to eat the special soup with fish from the Mekong River and the restaurant had this on the menu. But they had nothing for me. Whatever I asked for they did not have and my friend drove to the supermarket to buy milk and I had tea bags in the car so I could get some tea.  Eating fish soup
 Brown shrike / นกอีเสือสีน้ำตาล
 Rim Khong Restaurant (ร้านอาหารริมโขง)
 Rim Khong Restaurant (ร้านอาหารริมโขง)
I enjoy my tea and the view over the beautiful garden. I spot an Olive-backed Sunbird and a Brown Shrike and I got restless. I need to go look for some birds and I left half of my tea pot behind. I went out on the bridge through the garden. I was walking along the Mekong River and there were no birds, one Little Egret landing down at the river and there was three Black-collared Starlings. I could hear two Greater Coucals calling. The interesting birds was found in the garden. It was time to leave and the last observation was one singing male Oriental Magpie-Robin singing from the top of a tree close to the car.  Sooty-headed Bulbul / นกปรอดหัวสีเขม่า
 Brown shrike / นกอีเสือสีน้ำตาล
Listen to the Oriental Magpie-Robin
Sound from www.xeno-canto.org
 Today's track at Rim Khong
We leave the Mekong River behind starting to drive south towards our hotel in Chiang Rai. We will make a stop on the way even though we are losing the day light. It is about 30 minutes to drive from the restaurant to the eBird hotspot: Wiang Nong Lom--watchtower & Pied Harrier pre-roosting congregation hide. We discover that it is actually two eBird hotspots, the temple is also a hotspot and we start there. The Wat Pa Mak No temple is on an island surrounded by marsh and there is a dirt track along the marsh. We could see two birds of prey over the “watchtower & Pied Harrier pre-roosting congregation hide” on the other side of the marsh. But too dark and too far away for any pictures. We drove around the island and we decided to come back here tomorrow morning before driving back to Chiang Mai. There was a lot of birds in the area but it is too dark to take any pictures.  Birds of prey
No good picture, but I guess it is an Brahiminy Kite and a Pied Harrier
 Grey-headed Swamphen / นกอีโก้ง
 Taiga Flycatcher or Red-throated Flycatcher / นกจับแมลงคอแดง
 Greater Coucal / นกกระปูดใหญ่
 Today's track at Wiang Nong Lom--Wat Pa Mak No
I turned off the eBird app and we turned right to check out the “watchtower & Pied Harrier pre-roosting congregation hide”. It was dark so I never bothered to start the eBird app again. But we will come back here tomorrow again. We drove along the marsh and the only bird we could see was an Oriental Magpie-Robin sitting on a pole in the marsh. We drove south to Chiang Rai and we found our hotel. I discovered that they had the northern curry noodles on the menu when I checked in. I was back in the restaurant for two servings as soon as I had put my luggage in my room. The food was very good and I went to see my friend when I was ready. Of course, my friends were busy in their room with the Thai Buddha amulets (พระเครื่อง)  Busy with the amulets
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Tuesday 14th of March 2023 and we skip the breakfast at the hotel. There was nothing but sliced bread and some cereals, could as well just have a bowl of sugar for breakfast.
So, we left the hotel at 7 o'clock and we will drive for about an hour back north to cover the two eBird hotspots we visited yesterday: • Wiang Nong Lom--Wat Pa Mak No (Pa Mak No Temple) • Wiang Nong Lom--watchtower & Pied Harrier pre-roosting congregation hide And when we are ready there, we will drive south to our hotel in Chiang Mai, about 4 hours on the road. We packed our bags in the car and we took off to fill up the car with LPG. And we have a small hole in the left back tyre so we fill up a little bit of air. My friend stops at 7 Eleven to buy breakfast and he came back with, well, we could as well have been eating at the hotel.  Time to leave the hotel
 Time to leave the hotel
I started my eBird app at eBird hotspot: Wiang Nong Lom--Wat Pa Mak No at 08:37. We see all the swamphens from yesterday and also a bird I think is a pond heron moulting in to breeding plumage. So what pond heron is it? I took the help from birdforum and Putty put me in the direction of Yellow Bittern. I studied pictures on internet and most likely, it is a Yellow Bittern and I changed from Pond Heron to yellow Bittern in my eBird checklist.
We continue and we are soon stopping to try to get some pictures of two Chestnut-tailed Starlings in the trees. We have a Greater Coucal sitting on a branch above the dust road. I am hanging out the car window trying to get some pictures. The driver pointing out in the marsh and say that there is a kingfisher. I can see duck all but when I use my binoculars and I can spot the bird far out in the marsh. There are two ducks that I could not ID but they took off before I could get any pictures.  Yellow Bittern / นกยางไฟหัวดำ
 Chestnut-tailed Starling / นกกิ้งโครงแกลบหัวเทา
 Chestnut-tailed Starling / นกกิ้งโครงแกลบหัวเทา
 Chestnut-tailed Starling / นกกิ้งโครงแกลบหัวเทา
 Greater Coucal / นกกระปูดใหญ่
 Zebra Dove / นกเขาชวา
 White-throated Kingfisher / นกกะเต็นอกขาว
 My friend has a power nap in the front seat
 Indian Spot-billed Duck
 My friend has a power nap in the front seat
We continue along the dust road and we are almost back were we started having completed a full circle. I see the Indian Spot-billed Ducks again and I get out of the car to try to get closer. Our friend has lost the interest in birds and he is having a power nap in the front seat. The ducks are a wee bit too far away for any good pictures. I get a few pictures of my friend out of it. We continue and when we are back where we started, we made a U-turn to go around the temple again, this time counter clockwise. We drive for hundred meters or so and we turn left to cross the island. We make a U-turn again when we reach the east side of the island to go back to the west side and continue the circle. We stop when we are half way across the island to check out some holy things. My friend gets out to have a prayer and to donate some money to the temple.      Pied Myna or Asian Pied Starling / นกอีแจว
When we are back on the west side we turn left and we continue our drive around the temple. We stop at a bamboo board walk to check it out. The board walk is going out in the marsh and I do not expect to see any birds as they will be scared when they see us coming. A flimsy bamboo board walk and I walked very slowly, the first part was newly rebuilt with fresh bamboo. But the longer we got the older the bamboo got and I turned around before we reached the end of the board walk. It was nice to get back to the “fresh bamboo” area again and I could be pretty sure not to fall through the board walk.          Purple Heron / นกกระสาแดง
Back in the car and we continue and the last bird we see is a Purple Heron. I turn off the eBird app and we turn right and we have to stop as there is a herd of buffalos coming down the dust road. When the dust road is clear we park the car after 50 meters. I turn on my eBird app again and this time it is the hotspot: Wiang Nong Lom--watchtower & Pied Harrier pre-roosting congregation hide. Our driver discovers a bird next to the road so I try to locate the bird before going out of the car. Using the binocular and I find a female Daurian Redstart. The bird was not scared and I could come pretty close to the bird. She was busy hunting from the branches and when she spotted some worm or insect on the ground, she dives down to have a snack.  Buffalos coming down the dust road
 Buffalos coming down the dust road
 Daurian Redstart / นกเขนท้องแดง
 Daurian Redstart / นกเขนท้องแดง
 Daurian Redstart / นกเขนท้องแดง
 Daurian Redstart / นกเขนท้องแดง
 Daurian Redstart / นกเขนท้องแดง
 Not much interest for the birds, a power nap is better
 HEY!
There is a small bamboo bridge between the road and dry land and we crossed the bridge, our friend was still sleeping so he was guarding the car. We met a guy on the other side of the bridge. He was about to leave and he followed us. Turned out that he was a volunteer at the bird hide and he gave us a lot of information. There was a tower at the bridge, but it looked a wee bit flimsy so I never bothered to get up. But there was a very well-maintained bird hide and the guy told us that there could be several hundred birds of prey sitting in front of the bird hide during the winter. From November until February/ March so we will have to come back again. It was very interesting to talk with the guy and he told us about a lake with thousands of ducks and there was also a boat service and we decided to go there.  Bird hide at Wiang Nong Lom
 Bird hide at Wiang Nong Lom
 Common Kingfisher / นกกะเต็นน้อยธรรมดา
We said good bye to the guy and I told him that we would be back next winter. I discovered a Common Kingfisher when we approached the bamboo bridge. I tried to sneak up on the bird but he took off. And yes, it is a male. Back bill, if the lower part of the bill is red it is a female.
 Today's track at eBird hotspot:
Wiang Nong Lom--watchtower & Pied Harrier pre-roosting congregation hide We woke up our friend and we told him that we would go check out Chiang Saen Lake (ทะเลสาบเชียงแสน) and before going to Chiang Mai. We took off and we drove through a beautiful area and we passed a lake with thousands of ducks. We had to ask for directions a couple of time before we found the Chiang Saen Lake (ทะเลสาบเชียงแสน) but there were not many ducks to be seen on the lake. There was a lot of birds to be seen along the beach of the lake. We drove north but we never found any boat service. And even if we would have found a boat service, we would not have used it as there looked to be no birds on the lake.  Indian Spot-billed Duck / เป็ดเทาพันธุ์อินเดีย
 Indian Spot-billed Duck / เป็ดเทาพันธุ์อินเดีย
 Indian Spot-billed Duck / เป็ดเทาพันธุ์อินเดีย
 Today's track at Nong Bong Khai Non-hunting Area (general area)
We left Chiang Rai and we started to drive south towards Chiang Mai and we expect the trip to take about 4 hours. We programmed the hotel position in the GPS and we had no plans to stop for bird watching. And I was getting hungry. The hotel we stayed at when we came to Chiang Mai is fully booked so we had to book another hotel. At Chiang Mai and we liked it instantly when we stepped in to our rooms. Nicely decorated room with a beautiful bathroom, both shower and a tub.  We arrive to the hotel
 Snacks, green pees with wasabi
 Snacks, green pees with wasabi
 I order hamburger via the room service and the breakfast starts at 7 in the morning so we will go to have breakfast at 7 and then we will drive back to Bangkok. +++++++++++++++
Wednesday 15th of March 2023 and we leave our rooms taking the elevator down to the restaurant. There was nothing much to be excited about. Toast bread, fried rice and cereals. I had a couple of cups of tea and toast with honey. Yes, duck the blood sugar!
We checked out from the hotel and we were soon on the way towards Bangkok. I had planned for two stops an hour south of Chiang Mai to look for birds.  Breakfast
Leaving Chiang Mai
I had programmed the GPS with two eBird hotspots and the first one was not accessible and I also decided to skip the second stop. Instead, I wanted to stop at eBird hotspot: Mae Salit granite quarry ponds complex to spend a couple of minutes there before going back to Bangkok. We will cook the last of my Swedish sausage for dinner and we expect to be in Bangkok around 5 o'clock. We turned off highway #1 at the Mae Salit granite quarry ponds complex and I started my eBird app at 10:51. This time we turned right after 50 meters on the dust road and we will come back out on the highway #1 at the ponds. I spot a bird sitting in a top of the tree far away and I had to use my binoculars. I tried to get some pictures to kelp me ID the bird. Too far away and the pictures was very bad. But I was lucky, the bird had a yellow bill and I could ID the bird with the help of my book.  Rufous-winged Buzzard
Even a very poor picture can be of great help to ID a bird
 Rufous-winged Buzzard
Even a very poor picture can be of great help to ID a bird
Listen to the
Sound from www.xeno-canto.org
I also made a recording of a bird that I could not see. I uploaded the recording on www.xeno-canto.org to see if anyone know what bird it is. We reached the ponds and there were no birds too be seen. But the driver spotted a bird on the ground. Turned out to be a White Wagtail (Chinese) and it is the first time I see a White Wagtail in Thailand. There was a lot of Barn Swallows on the other side of the pond.  White Wagtail (Chinese)
 White Wagtail (Chinese)
 Barn Swallows on the other side of the pond
 Todays track at Mae Salit granite quarry ponds complex
We reach the highway and I turn off my eBird app, next stop Bangkok. We expect to reach Bangkok around 5 o'clock, nice to come back home. But the trip is very boring. Going the other way and it is exciting as we are going somewhere. My friend will pick up his car tomorrow and we have planned to go to Kanchanaburi on Friday. When you buy a new car in Thailand they have red plates and the sales man had told his son that they were not alowed to drive outside Bangkok with the red plates. I told him that this cannot be correct, at least it sounds unbeleivable. But who know, the driver told us that he had to pay 500 Baht fine because he was driving his new car after 6 o'clock in the evening. But my friend will investigate when he pick up the car.  Passing some beautiful mountains on the way to Bangkok
 Passing some beautiful mountains on the way to Bangkok
 My friend was very disappointed as he was really looking forward to going to the temple. We will know tomorrow. It was nice to get back home and we started to make dinner. My last Swedish sausage that we will have to eat before the expiry date. I had all the ingredients at home as I ordered it online before we left for Chiang Mai. The food was good and my friends left and I was all by lonesome, and it was nice.  Helping me in the kitchen
 Food is ready
 Food is ready
  Both me and my friend have been excited to go to Wat Nong Prachum (วัดหนองประชุม) to see Luang Poo Tong Krum (หลวงพ่อทองคำ) Especially my friend, never mind the car, but he want to buy some หลวงปู่เฒ่ายิ้ Buddha amulets (พระเครื่อง) Both my friends are crazy about หลวงปู่เฒ่ายิ้ Click HERE to find out about the Car Anointing (เจิอมรถยน). 
    
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To www.aladdin.st since December 2005
Visitors from different countries since 26th of September 2011
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