We set off from the Tree House and drive a couple of hours to Chiang Mai. The house we are staying at is an old wooden house centrally located near the river and the Phae gate. We get settled in our rooms and then set off to explore our local area. Our closest wat (that’s a temple) is “Wat Chetawan” which appears to double as a car park!
We are very close to a large market which we walk through for a cursory view.
The plan this evening was to do a local food tour but the guide contacted us and suggested he take us to Lamphun, a town about forty minutes away and currently having a lantern festival. We are happy to go with that and are collected in a van by Eddie and Mr M. (yep that’s the name we’re given!) and off we go….
The food tour turns into more of a history tour as Eddie plays a YouTube video for us on the drive, explaining the history of Lamphun. Formerly called Haripunchai, it was under Burmese rule for a number of centuries. We are convinced (coerced is definitely too strong a word) to visit the local museum, where we hear more of what we just watched in the video…. And yet we still can’t remember the details!!!
We cross the street to WatPhraThat Hariphunchai which is a highly sacred and historically significant Buddhist temple in Lamphun. The lantern festival also known as the Hundred Thousand Lanterns Festival, is in full swing and after writing a wish, we are ready to hang our lanterns.
The festival features thousands of colorful, handmade lanterns that are hung to light up the temple grounds, with visitors able to purchase and hang their own lanterns with personal messages and wishes for good fortune. It’s like walking through a sea of lanterns!
Eddie and Mr.M take a tonne of photos of us at every given opportunity and they love to join in too!!
Eventually it’s time to move on and start the actual food tour. We walk along the main road outside the temple which is littered in food stalls and Eddie asks us what we’d like to try. We have a mixture of savoury, including the local Lanta sausage; and sweet, including an ice cream sandwich which is literally ice cream between 2 slices of white sliced bread! Then we jump in the car and head to a stall where a lady has pad Thai waiting for us. All plated up and waiting for our arrival! (🧐). He tells us it’s the best in town as she cooks it with passion! There are some other dishes to try here too but he doesn’t give us a whole lot of info.
Next we are taken to a food market for some fried pork which is my absolute favourite. As food tours go, it wouldn’t rate so highly but we’ve had lots to eat and the lantern festival was a huge bonus. We happily head home and rest up for a day of exploring tomorrow.
Next day we follow a walking tour from the Lonely Planet and Shane is our designated guide (no surprise there!!). We see part of the old walls which were built around the same time as the city’s founding in 1296 to protect the Lanna Kingdom from invasions.
Other than the walls and of course all the interesting shops and food establishments, it’s really all about the “wats” (temples) here in Chiang Mai. So essentially we embark on a walking tour of Buddhist wats! We start with Lok Moli temple. It’s not known when this temple was built but it is first mentioned in records in 1367!
The main temple has a beautiful wooden finish which is quite unusual (as you’ll see the more wats I post!)
There are many other shrines around the grounds and the chedi, or stupa (built in the 1500’s) stands in the background.
Directly across the road is Wat “Ra jamoniean T.Sripoom A.Muang” – quite a mouthful! It has a cool large Buddha outside.
Next we visit Wat Chiang Mai which was the first temple in Chiang Mai built by King Mangrai. The most important temple building is the pavilion-style stupa with a round-shaped dome. It was built on a square plinth, decorated with half-body stucco elephants and dates to 400-500 years ago.
Inside the temple there’s a monk praying and receiving gifts.
Onwards to the Three Kings monument. This monument built in 1983, is of the three kings considered the founding fathers of Chiang Mai. They founded the city in 1296 and it later became the capital of the Lanna Kingdom.
One more wat before lunch – this one, called Wat Sadeu Mueang is believed to contain the relics of King Mangrai (he was one of the three kings in the statue) but they are in the stupa as opposed to on show like the catholics do it!! Beautifully painted on the outside with impressive nagas flanking the entrance (they’re the dragons) and decorated with lots of gold Buddhas on the inside, as you’d imagine!
It’s time for lunch and we go to a restaurant that is famous for boiled chicken and rice. I actually try the pork which is super tasty.
With a new burst of energy after lunch (the heat and humidity is nearly killing me mind you!), we purchase a ticket to visit the large complex of Wat Chedi Luang. This has a number of buildings including Chiang Mai’s city pillar. This sacred pillar was placed here by the king when the city was founded and is considered a spiritual landmark, representing the city’s protection from misfortune and disaster, however women are not allowed to enter – why? I’ll let you read the sign for yourself.
Ah well there’s lots more to see around here… there’s a beautiful temple….
… and there are lots of monks around
…. There’s a beautiful old stupa (in the Lannna style), many many Buddha statues including a reclining Buddha…
… and the opportunity to lay some gold leaf.
We head home via the Tha Phae Gate which is the main gathering place in the city and it is also very popular with pigeons!!!
Back at the house we enjoy the beautiful terrace, even when there’s a downpour of rain that we have to avoid. No one is in the mood to go out for dinner – it’s seriously lashing rain so we decide to order a “grab” delivery. Last night we had a conversation with the tour guide about KFC and he told told us that they do a green curry which is really good. We’re intrigued so give it a go… and it’s actually really good!
Next day starts with a heavy downpour of rain so it’s a slow morning before we head off to finish the walking tour of wats. We stop at Wat Tung Yu. I particularly like the nagas on this one – they’re not just dragons, the’re mythical serpent-like beings that act as guardians to protect sacred spaces from evil spirits
The inside of most wats have paintings all around the walls – usually detailing stories of the Buddha. These ones are particularly nice.
Next we head to Wat Phra Singh, the most revered temple in Chiang Mai. The buildings are lavish and there’s a lot to see in this complex.
There are many beautiful gold Buddha statues but I particularly like the life like monk statues they have. The guy below in red is real!!!
Next stop is WAT MUEN NGEN KONG, which has a huge reclining Buddha. I do love a reclining Buddha!
One more before lunch! It’s called Wat Phuak Hong, which looks like it needs a little TLC but is really quaint, with no one around.
It has a really old Lana stupa….
….. And a monk who’s having a nap
We stop for lunch at a Khao Soi restaurant and it’s really good. They also have Chiang Mai donuts so that’s a must!
In the afternoon we visit the Silver temple. Everything is silver – the temples, the nagas, the Buddhas. It’s very different to what we’ve seen today.
One of the temples is another men only temple so of course the lads check it out so we have to wait outside… the cheek of these monks – sure they wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for menstruating women!
Our final temple to visit today is Wat Jedyod Royal Temple or Wat Chet Yot – I know, the names are hard to handle! To get here we have to jump in a Grab as it’s a little outside of town. It is one of the oldest temples in Chiang Ma and a place of pilgrimage for those born in the year of the Snake.
It’s royal because it was commissioned by a king. There are a number of buildings to see on the grounds and it’s nice to see the young monks keeping it clean.
Time to go…
Back at the house we enjoy a beverage on the terrace and have a delicious Thai meal.
Next morning we head to Waroros market for a little souvenir shopping and hopefully to find just the right elephant pants! We see a very cute photo pose at the Phae Gate
After some lunch we take a red songthaew, which is an open-air truck that operates like a taxi. We have seen them all over Chang Mai and it’s time we had a go!
Our destination is Doi Suthep, a mountain just west of the city. With an elevation of 1,676 metres, it’s quite a fun journey alongside all the motorbikes to the top! The taxi drops us to a spot where we can take a funicular to the very top and you’ll never guess what’s up there… yep, it’s another wat!!! There’s also a nice view of the city below.
The temple at the top – Wat Prathat reminds me of Burma – loads of gold and many smaller temples around the large central temple full of what you’d expect – Buddha statues.
Rav and I see a monk giving blessings and decide to get ourselves in there and get one. We’ve no clue what the monk says but he motions for us to sit down and proceeds to drench us with water… it was hard not to giggle!
Happily blessed, we take the stairs and get to the songthaew for the drive back to the city.
It rains and there’s traffic but it’s also nice to see the city at night.
It’s late when we get back and it’s been raining so we take a very short walk to our local pad Thai restaurant which offers a limited but very tasty and very reasonably priced menu. I opt for the Padthai wrapped with egg – it’s excellent.
We finish our Chang Mai part of the trip with drinks on the terrace and next morning are picked up for the next and last leg of our journey.
odohertyelaine 