Dour, 電通-controlled, family-centric Belgian Neocolonialism, enthusiastically jaded observations, support for state-owned neoliberalist media and occasional rants from the twisted mind of a privileged middle-class expatriate atheist Crypto Jew and とてもくだらないひと projecting some leftist ideals with my ridicule of Tucker Carlson, all while taking America's blood money and cashing out that pension and TSP (from The Blogs Formerly Known As Sponge Bear and Kaminoge 物語)
*see disclaimer below
Our last full day in Chiang Mai coincided with the first day of the Lunar New Year, and to celebrate the Year of the Horse we utilized some horsepower of our own, renting a Honda City for the day from a small shop around the corner from our hotel. The reason for having our own wheels was to visit Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, the holiest temple in the northern part of Thailand, which dominates the hillside of Doi Suthep, a mountain that rises sharply from the western side of the city. A fifty-minute drive found us in a parking lot, 11 kilometers/6.8 miles from the base of the mountain and a short walk to the entrance to the temple:
A flight of 300 steps leads up to the main complex:
The upper terrace, access to which visitors must remove their shoes before entering, is a dazzling combination of colors and textures. It wasn't always made apparent what exactly it was we were seeing, but just walking around and soaking up the atmosphere was an experience in itself, as well as a convenient excuse for my not taking copious notes or doing in-depth research in advance of our visit. Taking center stage is the gold-plated chedi dating from the 16th century:
According to legend, the temple was founded at the end of the 14th century by King Ku Na, who placed a sacred relic of the Buddha (a piece of bone) on the back of a white elephant and released the animal in the forest. The pachyderm climbed Doi Suthep, trumpeted three times, turned around three times, then knelt down and died. Ku Na took this as an omen that a temple needed to be constructed on this spot, which is now marked by an elephant statue:
The lower terrace (shoes back on) is noted for its views overlooking Chiang Mai 300 meters/984 feet below, though on this day the view was shrouded in haze (a precursor of worse to come? See below):
Chiang Mai International Airport could be seen in the distance:
After descending from the temple, we navigated our way through the souvenir village before stopping to have lunch at one establishment:
My wife supplemented our meal with some spicy mango she had picked up at a fruit stand:
From the car park it was an almost fifteen-minute-drive (4 kilometers/2.5 miles) continuing uphill to our next stop, Bhubing Palace. Serving as a residence for the Thai royal family when they visit the north (usually between January and March), the buildings are off-limits but visitors can enjoy the fern and rose gardens. The dress code here is even stricter than those found at the popular temples, though again we were appropriately clad:
Shu-E is not a big admirer of sunlight:
The suprisingly modest Bhubing Palace building has been hosting royal visitors since 1962. It was constructed in a central Thai architectural style called Ruen Mu, meaning "a group of houses":
The water reservoir:
A small shrine next to the reservoir:
Visiting Wat Phra That Doi Suthep and Bhuping Palace had been my idea. I asked my wife where we should go next seeing as we still had a lot of time before the car needed to be returned, and her suggestion turned out to be a very good choice indeed. On the drive back down into the city we stopped to admire the view:
Wat Umong in some respects felt more like a park than a temple. On the way in after parking the car we passed by an attractive young Chinese woman in a tight-fitting black dress clearly trying to make the moves on a handsome young European man who was obviously participating in some sort of training session (most likely meditative) at the temple, judging by his white robe and the fact he was raking up fallen leaves:
The story behind this temple (according to my Rough Guide guidebook) is that it was first built by King Mengrai, and then renovated in the 1380s by the aforementioned King Ku Na in the 1380s for a monk named Jan, who was both brilliant and suffering from mental health issues. Apparently Jan was prone to wandering off into the woods to meditate, so the king established the temple in order to be able to receive the monk's advice when needed. To keep Jan close, tunnels were built under the chedi and decorated with birds, flowers and treees. Some of these tunnels can be entered by visitors:
Some of the most interesting images at Wat Umong are the large Buddha head and other sandstone sculptures carved between 1400 and 1550 CE, and brought to the temple from deserted monasteries in Phayao province in the late 1960s:
This was the first time during our visit to Chiang Mai that my wife was sufficiently inspired to start taking some photos on her phone:
Above the tunnels stands a bell-shaped chedi, built in a Sri Lankan-style (Mengrai had originally built the Wat Umong monastery as a residence for a group of monks invited from Sri Lanka):
I was so focused on the chedi that I completely missed the grotesque black statue of a fasting Buddha, even though my wife tried to get my attention to go over and see it. Like you, I have to make do with a photograph copped from the Internet:
It was rush hour by the time we left the temple but we were able to return the car on time and without incident, much to the glee of the staff. Which made me wonder what had happened with previous vehicle rentals by farang:
For our final evening we returned once again to the Anusarn Market where we had dinner:
Wednesday, our last day in Chiang Mai:
Our return flight to Guangzhou wasn't scheduled to depart until the early evening, so we had a lot of time on our hands before needing to get to the airport. Shu-E checked her phone and saw what she described as a "New Year market" a twenty or so minute walk away. The area where we ended up was a hive of commercial activity, though buyers and sellers were only just beginning to stir at the time we arrived:
Whatever you call it, ฟุตบอล is the most popular sport in Thailand (along with Muay Thai):
The missus checks out the dried squid on offer, one of her favorite snacks:
Shu-E cools off with a coconut juice as the temperature starts to rise. Coconut is a taste I've always abhorred, so getting marooned on a deserted tropical isle would create problems when it comes to sourcing food:
A book title to bring out the juvenile in all of us. If only my wife knew that "poo" is the Thai word for crab:
From the market we summoned the Thai equivalent of Uber/Lyft to take us to the Maya Lifestyle Shopping Center, a large, upscale and (most importantly for Shu-E) air-conditioned shopping mall, where we would spend the last couple of hours of our time before having to go the airport:
Doi Suthep was visible from the rooftop:
Our last meal in the country was lunch at The Duke's - a Chicago Street Style hot dog and a Chang for her, and an All-American Burger and a Leo for your guide:
A songthaew is a modified pickup truck used like a bus or taxi, and is a popular way for getting around in Chiang Mai (and other cities and towns in Thailand). However, we called a more standard ride-hailing car to return us to our hotel, and from there a taxi to take us to the airport:
Catching a glimpse of the setting sun while waiting to board our flight:
And less than three hours later the trip was over and we were back in China. Which was fine for my wife, who only came along because otherwise she would've been by herself during the Lunar New Year holiday period. But for yours truly Chiang Mai was a long overdue return visit to Thailand. At the beginning of this blog series I wrote of how my original intention all those years ago was to move on to Bangkok after first spending time in Tōkyō 東京, and of how Japan turned on its charms to derail my plans. After more than a quarter century and now nearing retirement age I would like to return to Thailand to see more of what the country, and its culture and history, have to offer, including but not limited to places like Kanchanaburi (think Bridge on the River Kwai), Sukhothai, and some of the many islands with their beautiful beaches etc.
In the late summer of 2020, holed up in an apartment in Ballston, Virginia while waiting for the go-ahead to return to Addis Ababa, I endured a frustrating bidding season in a desperate attempt to line up an onward assignment. One of the positions I tried hard to land was a consular job in the U.S. Consulate General in Chiang Mai. It would've been ideal - I've always done better in smaller posts than in larger consulates and embassies, and based on what I experienced during our short visit, I think I would have enjoyed living in Chiang Mai (even with its serious air quality issues). But it wasn't to be, and instead I ended up in an often-frustrating general services position in Beijing 北京, where my stint in the Foreign Service accelerated into a "job" like any other (albeit one that does offer a lot of travel opportunities). So fuck you Consular Affairs for turning me into the Old China Hand I never wanted to become.
