Chiang Mai

My stay in Chiang Mai was very relaxing and enjoyable. The six hour bus trip on Saturday ended up being closer to 7 and a half, as there had been an accident on the road, which caused a very long tail back, so I didn’t get there until late afternoon. Still in plenty of time to explore the Saturday walking market, which doesn’t start until 5. Later, I indulged myself with dinner at an Italian restaurant, of which there are several in Chiang Mai. Melanzane alla Parmigiana – genuine article! Buonissime!

On Sunday morning I had the longest lie-in I have managed since moving to Mae Sot. No dogs, crickets, lizards, washing machines, frogs, noisy neighbours – I managed to sleep till 9am – bliss! After a leisurely breakfast I wandered to Wat Phra Singh, one of Chiang Mai’s many temples. As it was Buddhist Lent, the temple was quite busy, with lots of people making their prayers and offerings.

This is the main hall, which was richly decorated for the festival.

When I first went in to this building, I thought people were being rather disrespectful taking pictures of these deeply meditating monks. It took me a while to realise that the reason they were sitting so still is that they are not real, but incredibly lifelike models. I had to stare long and hard to make sure they were not blinking or breathing before I was convinced!

 

 

 

This building houses one of Thailand’s three much revered bronze Phra Singh Buddha images. The walls are decorated with intricate and colourful murals depicting old folk tales.

 

Some of the murals are currently under restoration.

The temple has a lovely shaded courtyard area, where I sat and read my book for a while. On the trees are plaques with sayings and words of wisdom from various different cultural sources. Enough to keep me in Thoughts for the Day for my blog for a while!

Later in the day I explored the Sunday walking market – no end of markets in Chiang Mai, selling all sorts of crafts and clothing. I was struck by the bright and vibrant colours of the textiles. In the evening I met up for dinner with Jane, one of the VSO volunteers in Chiang Mai, and another person that I am getting to know just as she is about to leave L

On Monday morning we had the 1% Fund committee meeting, which was much less onerous than it sounds! In the afternoon Jane took me around Chiang Mai a bit.

We had a stroll by this lake near the university, and then went for a Thai massage. This was my first time trying out Thai massage, and I think I would describe it as a mixed experience. There were some parts where I thought “That’s quite nice” and others where I thought “OUCH!” Afterwards I would have happily gone to sleep, though, so I guess the overall effect was relaxing. We both decided that the next best thing to going to sleep was cake, so we went to a coffee shop and devoured some very large and tasty muffins!

Our plan had been to go to visit the temple at Doi Suthep on a hilltop just outside the city, but after a couple of very hot and sunny days the heavens opened and it poured with rain. Once it had eased off a bit we went to the night market (as I said – no end of markets!)

 

We had dinner at this atmospheric “macrobiotic” restaurant. Not quite sure what that means, except that the food is all very healthy – lots of lentils and vegetables!

 

The journey back was incident free, and I was back in Mae Sot in plenty of time to go to the market and stock up my empty fridge. It was great to get away and have a change of scene and focus – just what I needed, I think!