Eric & Laura's Dog, Scuba, & Travel Website
THAILAND & CAMBODIA
Chiang Mai & Surroundings 2/10 - 2/13, 2000
This Looks WAY too long, just show me pictures!
Chiang Mai is a bustling, lively city justifiably known for its large number of wats (buddhist temple complexes). The center of the town is quite charming and surrounded by a moat. If you are interested in going to a place where there are no foreigners, then this is not the place for you. There are plenty of them....tourists and residents. Missing out on Chiang Mai for this reason, though, would be a shame. There are lots of activities nearby and the city itself is very nice to walk around in (particularly closer to dusk when the late afternoon sun sparkles the wat spires, monks begin their afternoon prayers, and the streets have calmed down a bit). (BTW - Remember to click on the thumbnails to see the larger pictures with explanatory text).
Most people come here via one of three ways: 1) By plane from Mae Hong Son or Bangkok, 2) By overnight train from Bangkok or 3) By bus from Chiang Rai, Bangkok or other origins. If you come from a trek (as we did) you will be immediately hit by the bustle, noise, and Westernization (i.e. McDonald's signs). Don't let this discourage you, give the place a chance. We bungled around a bit when we first got there and settled for a hotel outside of the center of the city. This was not so nice so we quickly switched to a beautiful little guesthouse in town (for half the price!) the next morning. The Gap's Guesthouse was secluded with a beautiful leafy courtyard which provided lots of shade and places to sit and read. It is very popular so try to get there early to get a room. We didn't do much that first evening (since we were so accustomed to going to bed early from our trek). We looked around a bit, got a bite to eat, went to the famous Night Market, and then went to bed. The so-called Night Market is really a conglomeration of street vending stalls that sprawls out from a central building (which also has shops). We were looking for something centralized but it really wasn't. You can get a lot of designer fake clothes, chopsticks, CDs, and some souvenirs here. It is very crowded and has a lot of tourists. We ended up going there two nights but I didn't really think that it was all that. The grocery markets that we went to later on in Chiang Mai and Siem Reap (Cambodia) were far more culturally interesting to us. This was just a bunch of street vendors selling Westerners stuff in tight quarters. (A note interjected by Laura here---Don't let Eric poo poo the night market too much--the shopping was fun, the snacks were yummy, and there were lots of neat things to buy.)
The next morning our friend Jeff had a notion of getting a suit made for himself in 24 hours. This can theoretically be done but the quality is not so good since you don't go back for refittings. So...we scuttled these plans. We decided to visit two Wats--the first was Wat Phan Tao, which didn't have many tourists. It was an interesting teak building and was the first wat that we'd actually been into in Thailand. There are some simple rules to remember before you go in...1) Take your hat off, 2) Take your shoes off, 3) Don't wear shorts or tank tops, 4) Sitting is okay but don't point your feet towards the Buddha, 5) The Buddhas are not props, don't sit in their lap, climb on top of them, or show disrespect, 6) When the gates are closed and there is a sign saying "Closed for Prayer" or something to that effect, please respect this, 6) Don't touch a monk if you are a woman and probably not if you are a man as well. I saw a lot of foreigners ignore these guidelines. The Thais are too polite to comment on it but it is just plain disrespectful. Violating the 4th point could even get you arrested (since Buddhism and the king are sacrosanct in Thailand) and I just about lost it when I saw a Frenchman ignore a "Closed for Prayer" sign, open the gate, and waltz in to the wat while monks were praying.
The second wat we went to was the well-known Wat Phra Sing, which also happens to be one of the oldest wats in Chiang Mai. It was quite large and very colorful. The Nagas (heavenly serpents) guarding the entrance of the wihan (main temple) were covered in reflective, mirror-like mosaics. We heard a lot of commotion outside, looked out and saw a large number of orange clad novice monks moving about. Wats also serve as schools and these individuals were apparently getting ready for a weekend spiritual retreat outside of town. It was a very colorful sight seeing these monks packing up the covered pickup trucks called "songthaews" (meaning "two benches" in Thai due to the seating arrangement in the back of the truck). We talked to one of the novices who spoke quite good English. He was a little shy but very willing to talk to us. Monks are commonly pretty shy but sometimes willing to talk if approached respectfully.
Our next stop of the day was to hire a songthaew to take us to the Hill Tribe Museum, which was a bit outside of town. This was no problem and very reasonably priced. The museum was small and a bit interesting although I don't know if it was worth a special trip out there. We did see a lenghty video about various hilltribes. A warning: If you are a sensitive animal lover, you may want to skip parts of this video. They don't pull any punches when showing Hmong shooting flames at tethered cats and puppies in a cleansing ceremony to rid the community of evil. I'm pretty open minded but could not really grasp this one. If you are interested in going, be sure that it is made clear that you want to go to the Museum...not the Research Institute. The Research Institute is located near the University on the opposite side of town. We decided to go the local market as the afternoon dwindled and look around. It was intersting and well worth the effort. We went back to our guesthouse after walking around the town and the local market. The sun had set by the time we got back and we began to prepare for our "khan tok" dinner. This was supposed to be a "typical" thing to do in Chiang Mai (even though there is no such thing as an authentic "khan tok" dinner since it was a complete fabrication that someone put together in the not to distant past to entertain their guests). The dinner basically consists of sitting on the ground with pillows to lean against and being served an assortment of dishes. The tables are scattered around a central stage where different Thai troups perform traditional dances. If this smacks like a tourist trap....it is! The dinner/entertainment ran about 275 baht per person (about US$7). They get you with the drinks. Eight lemonades cost a whopping 610 baht!! (about US$15). There were a vast number of tourists there. The sword dance was interesting but we could have easily done without this dinner. So...my advice...don't go.
Our group of four couldn't really come to a consensus as to what to do the next day. Jeff and Susan decided to go to the traditional buffalo market and my wife and I decided to go to Lampang to see the famous Wat Phra That Lampang Luang. We got up at 7 a.m. and looked around for a songthaew or car that we could hire for the day since we wanted to do a lot of things. Everyone scoffed at us wanting to go to Lampang by ourselves and offered us a "package" tour. We finally gave up and decided to take the public bus to Lampang. This bus was very rickety and old and was a blast! Laura and I were the only foreigners on the bus going to Lampang. We sat on the bus bench and amusingly looked at the assigned seating numbers. My wife and I were almost occupying the whole bench (which was supposed to fit 4 people). My wife and I are not obese but we are gargantuan by Thai standards! Our bus finally made it to Lampang 2 hours later. We found a local who was willing to take us the remaining 16 km in his songthaew for 250 baht roundtrip.
Wat Phra That Lampang Luang was my favorite wat that we'd seen. It was very old, featuring several teak buildings. The wall that surrounded the complex was in need of a coat of paint which gave it that nice old feeling. The central wihan was also open on all sides with original ornate paintings still visible on the wood ceiling. We spent quite a while wandering around here. With the exception of the odd tour bus that breezed in and out...we were one of the few foreigners there. No sooner had we gotten there than a local man beckoned us to the nearby Wihan Phra Phut saying "shadow chedi, shadow chedi". A chedi is a domed spire that houses a sacred reliquary so this did not make sense--I must have misunderstood. We walked into the dark Wihan Phut which was only lit by the open door and candles. This was a very neat place. The shadows, smoke, candles, and glowing golden buddha was quite an exotic experience. The amazing part, though, was the projection of the main chedi (see picture) onto a white piece of cloth. It was astounding. We tried to find the source and noticed a small hole that was letting the sunlight in. Sure enough, blocking the hole made the image go away. What basically happened was that the hole acted like an aperture (like in a camera) and projected the image onto the screen. We looked at it for a while and headed back out. "Come, come" said the man gently to me. He led me to a small white structure at the back of the wat complex and climbed up the stairs. My wife was not allowed to follow since this was a chedi (only men were allowed in). He opened the door of the small chedi and led me in. It was completely dark. As my eyes adjusted I was astounded to see a projection of the entire wat complex onto a sheet measuring about 6 feet by 8 feet. I even saw my wife pacing back and forth! Once again, this image came through a small opening in the chedi door. It was amazing and worth the trip by itself. We continued to wander about and sat near the bodhi tree to write in our journals. It was quite peaceful. At one point I looked up and noticed our driver quietly standing close to us. He had the knack of making his point very clear in that calm, Thai way....it was time to go. We piled into the songthaew and headed back to Lampang to catch the bus.
The bus back to Chiang Mai was an upgrade. Still no airconditioning and still a bit cramped but there was kickboxing on the TV! We actually had planned to stop at the Young Elephants Training Center on the way back to Chiang Mai (its about 37 kilometer outside of Lampang). We knew better than to try to pronounce the name of the place. Luckily we had another guidebook (Eyewitness Guides) which had the name of the place written in Thai. This has been my only (small) beef with Lonely Planet...they don't have the names of places like these written in Thai. The ticket lady smiled and nodded vigorously. We were dumped by the side of the road at about 1:30 p.m. We decided to walk the final 1.9 kilometers to the training center...hoping to catch the supposed 2 p.m. show. We started walking and didn't have to go far when a couple of Thais in their Isuzu jeep offered us a ride in the back. We offered money at the end of the ride but they refused with a smile. It was a good thing that we had gotten the ride because the show had already started at 1:30 p.m.! We got in free because we were late.
The show consists of young elephants doing various tasks like stacking logs, moving them around, lifting them, playing soccer, etc. Logging has been made illegal by the government due to a series of landslides and this show was technically only a "cultural" experience.
The remarkable thing was that there were very few Western tourists around. The most amazing part came near the end. Two easels were brought out with white paper. Two caretakers got a bunch of paint with paint brushes and gave them to the elephants one at a time so that they could do their best Van Gogh impersonation. The elephants would decide when they wanted a different color. The result was actually quite pleasing (see picture). We bought one of the paintings from an eight year old elephant named Jo-Jo for a mere 500 baht! Unfortunately, it didn't make it through our trip and is probably sitting in Cambodia somewhere. It made us quite sad to have lost it. After the show you could buy rods of sugar cane and feed it to the elephants. They would also accept money which was artfully given over to the caretaker for a bribe of sugar cane. The elephants were quite gregarious...bumping you and touching you with their trunks. It was a real hoot!
We were left without transportation back to the road. If you find yourself in this position, ask for a ride from somebody. Otherwise, walk across the "lake area" towards the exit (i.e. not the way you came in). This is a lot shorter! Laura, however, had struck up a conversation with a vendor who took a liking to us. He stopped a couple of cars and asked for a lift for us. One Thai family let us ride in the back of their pickup truck. Once again, they refused any money we offered. Thais are extremely nice people and justifiably known as such. We didn't have to wait long when we got to the road. A luxury airconditioned bus stopped and picked us up. This bus was amazingly comfortable with reclining seats and a stewardess. They were even showing a translated Hollywood movie starring George Clooney. Kind of funny hearing him speak Thai.
We got back to Chiang Mai very quickly and had some time left in the afternoon. We approached a songthaew driver and told him that we wanted to see a place where they made silk and a place where they painted the paper umbrellas. Both of these places were very near to Chiang Mai. The silk production place was very interesting. Silk is made from silkworms that only seem to eat mulberry leaves. They grow fatter and fatter until they finally spin a yellowish cocoon which is about 1 inch wide. This is the last step for them. The cocoons are boiled and dried. The cooked cocoons sound like little rattles with the dead bug inside. The fine thread from the cocoon is spun with threads from a bunch of other cocoons. The spun thread is, in turn, spun into silk bolts. It was quite an interesting process. We bought some silk souvenirs (they make flowers from the silk cocoons!). We, unfortunately, lost these as well in Cambodia. Our last stop of the day was at the place where they make beautifully painted umbrellas. They make the paper from scratch and the painting is truly beautiful. We were extremely tempted to take some of these cheap umbrellas back but could not since they can be rather bulky. I had my camera bag painted with an elephant as a souvenir instead. They will paint just about anything that you want on anything that you want. One lady had a nature scene painted on her pants. The painting on my bag didn't last long, though, since it easily flaked off of the synthetic fiber.
We asked the songthaew to drop us off at the famous Wat Chiang Man which was, unfortunately, closed. We could not go in but we could see (and hear) the monks praying as the wat was bathed in late afternoon sun. It was really nice. We decided to walk back to our guesthouse from the Wat through the small streets on Chiang Mai. This was VERY pleasant. Every now and then we would pass a wat (there are more than 100 in Chiang Mai) or an interesting looking spirit house. The spirit house (see picture) is placed next to a dwelling to house and appease its spirits. Offerings of food and flowers are be placed on it. If the house is expanded, then so is the spirit house. We finally arrived at Gap's Guesthouse to rejoin our friends for dinner and more shopping at the Night Market. We went home, exhausted, after having bought a beautiful silk quilt (which we still use at home!) to pack for our flight the next morning to Bangkok and Cambodia.