Chiang Mai Arrival

Saturday morning we left the hotel early for the airport - not the one we arrived at - to fly to Chiang Mai. We left our big bags with the hotel concierge so we wouldn't have to take everything for the weekend. Dom and O helped us get checked in, and all went smoothly so we arrived with time to spare. Our boxed breakfasts from the hotel did not include coffee so we dashed to the Starbucks we saw just past the security checkpoint. I skipped a hot coffee in favor of a Popzel Frappe, which I first saw advertised at the lobby Starbucks in the Starbucks building. I think it was a regular frappe with caramel, a few pieces of caramel corn and a pretzel on top. I passed on the whipped cream, because of course I'm not a glutton.

Once we had our drinks, we walked to the gate which was at the end of a nearly empty terminal. Along the way, Brenda noticed about nine other coffee vendors which we think belies the claim that Thailand is not a coffee-drinking country. The three of us sat among a sea of pink chairs and I blogged while we waited to board our flight.

We landed in Chaing Mai before Noon, and we were immediately struck by the beauty of the nearby mountains. Our guide Pan met us at the airport and once we were on the bus he had the driver take us on a short tour around the city. The one-time capital of a northern kingdom, Chaing Mai sits along the attractive river Ping and still prominently features a moat and portions of the medieval wall and gates that originally surrounded the city. We stopped for a quite impressive buffet lunch at the Empress Hotel, which also featured an impressive entrance and lobby as well as live music in the dining room. The lunch included traditional Thai dishes, salads, fruits, dim sum, sushi, soups, and a dessert bar, but we were all delighted by the little fish-shaped waffles that accompanied the ice cream bar. After eating more than we should have, it was time to go to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep on top of Doi Suthep mountain.

Lunch at the Empress.

Fruit, ice cream, and waffle.

Empress Lobby, with memorial to King Rama IX.

In the taxi, before our trip up the mountain.

The bus took us to meet four songtaews, or small pickup trucks with benches built into the bed which operate as taxis. We piled into the songtaews and proceeded to climb, at considerable speed, up a very steep and winding road the the temple. The bus never would have made it. After probably half an hour, and only minor motion sickness, we arrived at what seemed like a small village where we boarded a cable car to take us up to the temple. The main feature of the temple was the very tall gilded stupa which is said to contain a piece of bone from Buddha. We also saw a teak-wood carving depicting the story of the temple, prayer bells of various sizes, Buddha statues representing various styles and various days of the week, various temple rooms where monks sat giving blessings. A number of visitors walked counter-clockwise around the stupa carrying candles; others prayed or sat with the monks. The most annoying of the observant very loudly shook containers of bamboo sticks until one would fall out and reveal something important,  such as a potentially winning lottery number. In spite of the temple's beauty, it all seemed a bit complicated and overwhelming to me. I did have a nice moment when I ducked into a room to take a picture of a student. A monk beckoned both of us over and tried sting bracelets to our wrists. The guide later told me it was for good luck, and most people would wear it for three to five days. I'm still wearing mine.

After leaving the temple proper we went around the back side where we finally got to see the amazing views of Chaing Mai and the valley below. the views were breathtaking, and it was a great photo opportunity. once we pulled the students away from the photo op, we descended the 309 steps back down to meet the songtaews. The steps, which I'm glad we didn't have to climb, are lined with ceramic tile dragons which run the entire length of the staircase. Impressive and beautiful. Once down, we boarded the songtaews to descend the mountain, not really sticking to any particular lane in the road, and we were off to the next adventure. To be continued... I've got to go to bed.

 

The view from Doi Suthep.