I had so enjoyed my visit to the northern city of Chiang Mai earlier this year that I decided to return. For the first time I indulged in the luxury of flying there, with a cheap Air Asia ticket for the late-night Flight FD 3419. Again I had arranged an Airbnb, and was surprised to be offered free pickup at the airport despite the late arrival time. This was a room in a little cottage that was part of a larger family compound. The manager also ran a nearby guesthouse and invited me to its balcony each morning for a free breakfast. I was in the old part of Chiang Mai, still encircled by reconstructed remnants of the ancient city wall and moat. Traffic is much less of a problem here, and wonderful Buddhist temples, museums, and other beautiful buildings abound. This is also a great place for restaurants, and I frequented the Grill of India for Indian cuisine and Taste from Heaven for Thai vegetarian.
Traditionally dressed women make decorations from folded banana leaves. Others
created the paper
lanterns in the background. This is for the Chiang Mai Yeepeng
Festival, one of many annual events held here.
The huge Sunday
Night Walking Street Market has lots of food and
crafts on offer, plus this
stage where talented school children perform.
Chiang Mai is famous
for its hand-made paper umbrellas.
This boy could
belt out Thai and Western pop songs with the best of them!
In all my past visits to the city, I had never made it north to see the Chiang
Mai National Museum, so I made a point of taking it in. Public transport here can
be complicated and erratic, so I tried the Grab taxi app to get a ride to the museum.
Exhibits on two large levels focused on prehistory and early history of the Lanna
Kingdom, including many Buddhist art works.
At 1.82 meters high, this is the largest Buddha head found in the Lanna region and
would have
stood 6 meters when whole. It was cast with the lost-wax technique
and dates to 14-15th centuries.
From the National Museum I walked west to Wat Jet Yot, built to host the eighth
World Buddhist Council in 1477. Time-worn stucco angels adorn the main temple, which
is roughly patterned after the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodhgaya in India, where the
Buddha realized enlightenment.
Deva on exterior
of Wat Jet Yot
The center of the old city has a group of delightful
museums that I took in: Lanna Folklife Museum, Chiang Mai House of Photography,
Chiang Mai Arts & Cultural Center, and Chiang Mai Historical Centre.
Crystal Buddha at Lanna Folklife Museum
Chiang Mai House
of Photography
I met up with Barbara Weibel, a very prolific travel blogger who has made
Chiang Mai her home base. She has many tales to tell, and you can read them and
see her photos of exotic locales at https://holeinthedonut.com/
And, of course, I swung by the magnificent temples of the old city: the soaring
teak Wat Phan Tao, Wat Chedi Luang with its massive ruined chedi, and Wat Phra Singh.
.
Twenty-eight massive teak pillars support the roof of Wat Phan Tao.
Wat Chedi Luang
(ca. 1441) may have been the largest structure in ancient
Chiang Mai, but either
an earthquake or cannon fire destroyed the top.
The Buddha image
Phra Chao Attarot, flanked by two disciples,
towers in the main sanctuary at
the Wat Chedi Luang complex.
Phra Buddhamani
- Srilanna stands 3.9 meters and weighs 10.5 tons in a hall at Wat Chedi Luang.
No detail
is spared in decorating the City Pillar shrine, located on the grounds of Wat
Chedi Luang!
Although Wat
Phra Singh has a large sanctuary, pilgrims come
to this small chapel to venerate
the Phra Singh image inside.
Phra Singh
I would have liked to stay longer in Thailand, but my 30-day permit
was about to run out. Getting a tourist visa for this country is a hassle and expensive
and obtaining an extension is even more expensive. So I put my money on an Air Asia
ticket for Flight AK 855 to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia for yet more city sights!
On to Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur Part 1
Back to Beginning of Southeast Asia Backpacking Nov.-Dec. 2018