Thaied up during the Lunar New Year holiday - Day 3

 

วัดพระสิงห์วรมหาวิหาร

Our third day (second full) in Chiang Mai began after breakfast with a boat trip on the Ping River, a tributary of the Chao Phraya River. A van from Mae Ping River Cruises picked us up from in front of our hotel just before 10:00. We were part of a small group of fellow Westerners, including one American woman who seemed amazed that people in Thailand drive on the left side of the road, something she was certain she could never do. As a fellow Yank who has driven (mostly) without incident on the "wrong side" in a half-dozen countries (including this one), I fought the urge to assure her it wasn't that difficult. The van deposited us at Wat Chai Mongkol temple, from where we embarked on a one-hour cruise to Thanon Charoen Prathet, a distance of 8 kilometers/5 miles: 

We passed under a bridge with mounted photographs mourning former queen Sirikit, mother of the current king Vajiralongkorn, who died last October aged 93: 

At another point we motored past a Chinese-style temple:

The course took us upstream through urban and countryside scenery, with many people fishing from the riverbank, including this pair doing so under a billboard mourning the former queen:

 

We arrived and walked through a herb garden after disembarking:

The river trip package included lunch and ice cream:

I had expected a hard sell to get us to buy some local crafts or tourist tat at inflated (but still cheap) prices, but the atmosphere was very low key. As we were getting ready to board the boat for the return trip, our guide made the claim his craft was used in Rambo (the fourth one in the series) leading one of the American tourists to exclaim loudly "I call bullshit!" Except that instead of leaving it there, this gentleman continued to call "bullshit", and went on to further assert "he (meaning the guide) can't say that!" (well, he did) and "I'm going to watch the movie tonight!", getting himself worked up over a matter most trivial. I closed my eyes as we drifted along on the Ping, understanding one of the many reasons why some American travelers try to pass off themselves as Canadians while overseas. At least I had a grandparent from Winnipeg: 

Pulling into the pier at Wat Chai Mongkol:

I wouldn't describe the boat cruise as a must-do activity when in Chiang Mai, but it was a pleasant way to spend a morning and to see a different facet of the city. The van returned us to our hotel, where my wife, not having been able to sleep well the first two nights, stayed in our room to take a nap. I changed into long pants and ventured back outside, where I was gently but physically "accosted" at one point to go into a massage parlor (let it be stated for the record that I politely demurred). As this day was the eve of the Lunar New Year I wasn't surprised to be passed by this very small procession:

My destination was the Buddhist temple Wat Phra Singh, which I reached after a thirty-minute walk. Rough Guide claims this is the one temple to see in Chiang Mai, but I respectfully disagree, preferring our visit to Wat Chedi Luang the day before. Wat Phra Singh was still impessive, however. Inside the main hall:

There are signs at all the major temple sites reminding foreign visitors on proper behavior and attire:

In one of the halls there were creepy statues modeled after real monks. I have expected a jumpscare from a performance artist: 

This giant gilded stupa with protruding elephant figures on its sides apparently dates from around 1345, but the golden gilding is of much more recent vintage:

The highlight of the temple complex is meant to be Viharn Lai Kam, but unfortunately the beautiful exterior was covered up due to restoration work. Visitors could still go inside to admire the 15th-century Phra Singh Buddha image:

Partly-damaged but still colorful murals on the interior walls illustrate folk tales:

The wooden scripture repository:

Viharn Lai Kam is on the left; the hall with the monk statues is to the right of the golden chedi:

Taking my leave of Wat Phra Singh I was feeling the effects of the 30°C/86°F heat (thankfully at this time of year it wasn't humid), so a break was in order at the Terrace Bar & Cuisine Restaurant, where language lessons were provided free of charge: 

A Chang Beer to go with the chicken satay I'd ordered: 

Feeling recharged I continued on my way, finding myself at one point trailing behind a group of young monks outside of Wat Chedi Luang: 

Instead of returning to the hotel I detoured down some sidestreets to eventually arrive at the Suriwong Bookcentre:  

The store has an extensive collection of English-language Thailand-focused titles. I ended up buying these two books to bring back with me (so much for limiting my purchases to Kindle - I recently had to buy a small bookcase to house some old books I had shipped to Guangzhou 广州 from storage in the U.S.): 

After getting back to the Dusit Princess I took a swim but alas missed happy hour by just five minutes. Afterward a now-rested Shu-E and I went outside. As the evening descended we passed yet another temple, this one down the road from our hotel:

Whereas I like to check out bookstores when traveling, my wife enjoys seeing what local supermarkets have to offer. Here she's shopping for instant noodles: 

Just outside our hotel another dragon dance was taking place, though the performance couldn't compare to the liveliness of the dances we've seen on multiple occasions here in Guangzhou: 

For dinner this evening we decided to take an expat break from local cuisine. The Red Lion English Pub & Restaurant looked like it would fit the bill, though I was more interested in seeing the upside down ジ katakana syllable on the large sign out front (in case you're wondering, the Japanese reads "imported beer and German sausage): 

Down the road was another Chinese temple, this one surprisingly quiet on the night before the start of the Year of the Horse. I suggested to Shu-E that we visit the next day, but she declined. For someone who likes to announce even when it isn't called for that her "blood is Chinese" she shows little interest in cultural activities. Raising our daughter in Taiwan I would at times have to gently prod her into introducing aspects of local culture and traditions to Amber (whereas I would make sure our daughter every year experienced Easter egg hunts, Thanksgiving turkey dinners, and stockings, presents and trees at Christmas):

After visiting the temple we settled on the British pub for dinner. Note the Beatles poster in the background; what I didn't capture on my phone was the sounds of the 1980s music videos playing in the bar, though for the record let me state that even in my late teens-early twenties I never much cared for the popular music of that decade, and the passing of time hasn't resulted in much nostalgic yearning for spandex and big hair:  

Fish and chips, of course:

After dinner we plunged into the Anusarn Market, where I emerged with this shirt. I'm fully cognizant of the fact that bargaining is the order of the day in Thai markets, but I've always been uncomfortable trying to do so, especially when the prices are ridiculously low to begin with compared to costs back in our home countries (compare this to a good friend of mine who once tried to haggle in a Tiffany's!). I celebrated the launch of my modeling career back in our hotel room with a bottle of  Archa Thai lager, a new discovery for me. This website describes Archa as "the cheapest beer in the country" at only 50 baht ($1.60) for this bottle. I'll stick with Leo:

On the news was a story concerning two elephants who ran amok, damaging cars and charging at bystanders, though at least one was eventually restrained. Speaking of pachyderms, as a tourist it's probably best to avoid elephant rides when visiting Thailand: 

Compared to our first couple of days in Chiang Mai, this Lunar New Year's eve was relatively relaxing. The next day (our last full one on this brief trip to Thailand) would be much busier - stay tuned! 

State flag of Thailand 1916-1917