A Step Off The Beaten Path

The ancient city within Chiang Mai is shaped like a square. You can still see large chunks of the stone walls all the way around with named “gates” (openings) at various intervals. Our goal is to stay within the ancient city so that we can walk to the many temples and markets and have a first-hand look at the hustle and bustle of Thai living. Chiang Mai is nowhere near as “big city” as Bangkok and seems far more manageable to us. Remarkably, there are crazy numbers of tourists and ex-pats in this city. It appears that Chiang Mai is not such a well kept secret. This city is a gem – safe, super friendly people, lots of delicious food, and awe-inspiring temples seemingly around every corner.

We had pre-booked our first 2 days at a hotel along the left center edge of the ancient city. Very nice place, but a bit expensive at 3000 Baht/night ($83). So we went hunting for a new place by walking the streets. It’s not easy to find accommodation for 5 people, and I think we’re going to have to get used to getting creative with our sleeping arrangements. Despite checking on half a dozen places, we came up empty on Day 1. On Day 2, on a hunch, we decided to wander down an alley “off the beaten path” and came upon a small hotel. After inquiring within, we were amazed that they had a room with 4 large bunk beds (2 can sleep in the bottom bunk). The location is terrific – at the bottom middle of the ancient city, very close to the largest market in the city and the famous “walking streets” (more about these once we actually experience them). Cost? 500 Baht/night ($14). What good fortune!

One evening, walking to find dinner, we passed by Wat Phantao and were drawn in by the sight of strands of LED lights hung from a tree near the entrance. As we walked deeper into the grounds, however, we came upon an absolutely stunning scene of a golden Buddha seated under a tree lit by lanterns of many shapes and colors. A small stream of water reflecting the image of the Buddha on its surface gave the whole scene an enchanting, almost magical feel. I tried to capture it with a picture (a panoramic version is now our Facebook page cover photo), but failed to do it justice.

Scene on the grounds of Wat Phantao

Thailand is 13 hours ahead of Austin (Hadn’t thought of it this way before, but I suppose from a time perspective, that literally means we are more than half-way around the world from home.) So we decided to go explore the above temple on Saturday morning (Friday night for you). But we never made it. Along the way, we happened upon a crowd of school-age kids, gathering under a large tent. Apparently, a number of schools are coming together this weekend as part of an arts and culture exhibition “for the celebration of Her Royal Highness, Princess MahaChakriSirindhon.” I took a video clip of the first performance. We tried to ask about the performance and were told that it was “samba chai” (I think I heard that right), which I guessed to mean drums. Yeah, I’m clever that way 😉

Some other student musicians were playing some traditional Thai music (note the northern Thai guitar/lute (called a Sueng) at the very left, the 2 mouth organs (called Khenes – these are actually Lao instruments) and the circular panpipe (called a Wot) next to the guitar. Very cool!

Tonight, we head out to see what that “walking street” event is all about. See you next post 🙂