Thailand 13 attractions that are worth seeing

When I first took up residence in the northern city of Chiang Mai three years ago, I did not expect to see many temples, crowded markets and carts selling fried bugs on the streets. I thought that Thailand is discouraging on sunny island and alcoholic parties during the full moon.

But today I can say that I got: he became good friends with the elephants, kissed me under a sky filled with lanterns air, stared at the Buddhist demons and watered down to the bone, the Thais celebrating New Year.

Here are the facts that you should definitely check for yourself in the "Land of Smiles".

1. Run thousands of flying lanterns

Yi Peng in Thailand - the festival of light, which coincides with the Loy Krathong and mainly observed in the northern part of the country. The main attraction of this beautiful event is a lot of flying lanterns, which launches into the sky. It is a symbol of what you "let go of" the cares and Khom Loy will carry your wishes to the heavens.

2. Stay drover during the day

The driver - caretaker of an elephant, the elephant is usually fixed at an early age and is associated with him all his life. Some parks allow you to stay mahout during the day. Your responsibilities will be: cleaning, feeding, bathing and riding on an elephant through the jungle. Warning: You will want to take home an elephant!

3. Petting / feeding tigers

In Thailand, there are several places where you can mingle with the young tiger cubs and small. You will be able to feed the cubs from the bottle or boldly pose near the adult animals, and then show pictures of your friends of Facebook.

4. Start a homemade rocket at the rocket festival

Call it the evolution of dance, causing rain, but it's pre-Buddhist ceremony - one of the most tumultuous festivals in the northeast of Thailand. With music, dancing and parades, as a result of which you are running home-made bamboo rockets as high as possible in the sky to evoke the rainy season, so essential to the rice fields.

5. Visit the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket

This is not what you expect, based on the name. This infamous festival includes rites of walking on coals, piercing and other acts of self-mutilation by actors, who act as mediums gods. Men go into a trance and pierce their cheeks with knives, skewers, pipes, even bicycles. Nervous definitely not recommended for a visit.

6. The interpretation of Buddhist symbols in the White Temple

Straight from the head of the Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipata, Wat Rong Khun, also known as the White Temple, is a kind of structure full of religious symbols. White Temple is located in the center of Chiang Rai. Its entrance is guarded by terrible demons and monsters and images of Superman and Neo, fighting side by side with traditional Buddhist characters (in fact).

7. Namoknite during Songkran

Songkran - Thai New Year, which usually falls in April. It is also known as 4-eh day water fight. Pouring water, which arose as a way to pay tribute to the people, and wash away all their "unhappiness" away, soon turned into the world's largest water fight with the younger generation of tourists arrived. Since April the hottest month in Thailand, it is also a good way to cool off.

8. Eat a part of the body, made of bread

If Halloween had official baker, it would Kittivot Unar. What it seems torn parts of the human body in the blood, in fact cakes. Kittivot - the son of a baker and creates his masterpieces in 2006. In 2010, he explained to CNN: "My family has been in the bakery business, and I learned to bake when I was about 10 years old. I want to express my religious beliefs, and the dough helps make all this. Baking human parts of the body, it can show the audience how life changes on the example of bread. In addition, my bread is bread, no matter what it looks like. "

9. Climb the "sticky" waterfall

A unique waterfall Bua Tong outside Chiang Mai makes that water flows through the porous limestone tiers. The surface of the limestone sticky to the touch and creates adhesion to the skin. As a result, you can not safely walk on podskalzyvayas waterfall.

10. Meditation Temple in the beer

In 1984, Buddhist monks began collecting beer bottles for recycling and, in the end, decided to use them as building material of a new temple: Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew. Over 1, 5 million Heineken and Chang beer bottles were lined with intricate patterns in the construction of the temple on the lake surface. They were also built crematorium, prayer rooms, a hall, water tower, tourist bathrooms and several small bungalows for monks.

11. Theft Curse of the Black pebbles from Ko Hingema

The tiny island is almost uninhabited and hardly visited Koh Hingham, but according to the Thai mythology, gods, especially Tarutao, decided to decorate the entire island jewels. However, probably the island has been left cursing as to prevent pilfering visitors stones. Every year in the National Park office, which manages the island, dozens of stones arrive in the mail that return people to absolve themselves of the curse.

12. Take a ride on the Death Railway

415 km railway in Burma, known as the "road of death" were built by the Japanese in 1943, to connect Bangkok in Thailand and Rangoon in Burma. During construction of the use of forced labor workers. About 90 thousand Asian workers and more than 12,000 prisoners of allied troops died as a direct result of the project from malnutrition, disease and exhaustion.

13. Explore the Kayan tribe Lakhvi

Kayan tribe Lakhvi, which is also called "mountain tribe of long-necked" is a subgroup of Karen tribes from Eastern Burma. Many of these tribes have taken refuge in northern Thailand, where they live in the villages, frequented by tourists, which allows to preserve their culture. Kayan tribe residents are known for their copper rings, which create the illusion of highly stretched necks. In fact, the ring - brass coil wrapped around necks, deform collarbone height, compressing the chest.