Sunday, January 26, 2025

 Chiang Mai, Thailand

I’ve come to the realization that just because one is “travelling” doesn’t mean every day can be or should be action packed.  I find that I go hard for a day or two, then want to rest at least a day.  

I didn’t leave my room until noon when I finally went downstairs to Kat’s Kitchen for lunch.  After yesterday’s waste of what could have been awesome Pad Thai and wasn’t , I’m not taking any chances.  I know Kat’s is good but at the same time it seems a shame to eat all your meals in one place but…..

Khao Soi is a Thai curry noodle soup made with a coconut based broth, egg or rice noodles (I had egg) and with chicken.  It’s garnished with fried noodles for a crunchy texture.  I liked it but it’s not Tom Yum Goong.  I don’t know if it’s a Sunday thing but my coconut shake was garnished with a lovely flower-

I finished The Obesity Code and successful weight reduction comes down to fasting.  I knew that and will try harder!

Mid afternoon I went walking.  I have been trying to find the bar I frequented 11 years ago- I dropped a lot of money there and played a lot of pool.  Luckily I named it in my blog back then so that was my mission.  

Along the way - durian - the stinky fruit.  There’s a sign on the fridge here at the hostel prohibiting it from being brought in as it smells that bad-

Of course a walk wouldn’t be complete without a stop at a wat.  Wat Dok Euang-


is protected by two fierce looking naga-

The windows are very detailed-

The murals on the walls tell the story of Buddha in various lives-

The main altar has 20 black Buddha images in three different mudra (poses)-


Behind the altar is a large Bodhi tree where Buddha meditated.

The wat is very clean and well looked after, in fact it used to say “ We love cleaning” on its sign but that’s now covered over-


You never know what odd thing you might find at a temple-

Carrying on I found it!  The Chiang Mai Saloon is not quite the same as it was 11 years ago-

The pool table is turned-

the chalkboard for keeping tallies is gone as are all the good jokes from the walls of the bathroom.  I tried to have a beer for old times sake but they can’t sell alcohol between 2-5 pm.

Looks like I missed the Wild West fest which was last night.  That would have been interesting, to see the Thai interpretation of cowboy costumes and rodeo games.  Just hanging corn cobs is enough of an oh oh sign-

Wat Chiang Man was the first temple in the city built between 1296-1297 A.D-

One main altar-

There is also a 10 cm high white quartz Buddha made 1800 years ago and a marble Buddha training an elephant made 2500 years ago protected in a cage behind the altar and hard to see.  They’ve been in this wat from its inception-

The stupa is surrounded by 15 elephants-



The walls are covered in red velvet depicting scenes from the past-

Another small temple on the grounds-


Walking around the city, there were lots of displays set up because the king was coming at 5-


as well as red carpet and garland in royal colours.  I couldn’t get out of there fast enough-


Wat Saen Muang Ma Luang was my next stop-



The grounds are very big…so many buildings-



The Buddha at the altar is huge-


The stupa is one of the oldest in the city-


There were a lot of people dressed the same, milling about waiting for the king.  He must have been making a stop here-


Not sure what the long nails are about.

The last wat I visited was Wat Phantao-


It’s special because it’s made of teak.  

Buddha is pretty big too-


The stupa-


There are often lots of trees, plants and lanterns-


I came across the Sunday Night Market.  It is huge and anything you can imagine is there for sale and stuff you can’t imagine too.  There is lots of food such as dried insects-



Grilled squid-








Sushi-


Egg cooking in a banana leaf-


Grilled  banana-


and all other kinds of things to buy from candles to burn in a wat themed around the day you were born-


Tok Sen is a tribal therapy using chisel shaped tools to pinpoint muscle pain and whacking-


This fellow was making model tuk tuks from pop cans-


Lady boy stuffies-


A mountain of brass rings-


Framed mini guitars-


Glass blowing-


Slippers-


and on and on.  There are lots of massage chairs set up along the streets-



Wandering around tinkling bells were two tribal women-



No tib for him-


I stopped at a restaurant for a beer and visited with a couple from Airdrie who started out on a 2 week whirlwind tour and are now here.  We had a good visit.

The market is a very popular place from late afternoon-




into the night-


At the end of the street was a well attended basketball game-



I came back to the hostel for some peace and quiet!  Tomorrow I hope to get my mala restrung and I see the dentist at 3 pm to start my crown work!




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