In the Land of One Million Rice Fields

From Sukotai, I continued my route north, into what was formerly the Lanna Kingdom. "Lan Na" translates literally to "one million rice fields," and the kingdom, which flourished between the 13th and 18th centuries, was so named because of its vastness.

It was a six hour bus ride from Sukothai to Chiang Mai, and I arrived at my hostel around 4:00, so I decided to wander into the old city and just see what was around. The old city is rather easy to figure out as parts of the ancient wall around it remain, and the entire center is a square, with one gate each along the eastern, western, northern, and southern gates. The rest of Chiang Mai expands outward from the wall in a more or less orderly manner. I noticed the clouds darkening and the wind significantly picking up, so I decided it was time to hurry home: I barely missed getting caught in the first rain I've seen in Thailand. Once the rain stopped, I met up with a friend, and the family of another friend, for dinner at a cafe near the night market, which we then wandered through. It was pretty massive, although not as much so as the Sunday market, which I'd missed, but they'd visited the night before. After a quick stroll through, we found a tiny bar that was hosting an open mic night; the ongoing act when we arrived was an eleven-year-old Thai boy singing "I Shot the Sheriff" with great enthusiasm.

Wat Lok Molee

The next day I decided to spend the entire day exploring the old city, hitting all the best temples, and getting my bearings in the city. I was surprised to see how different the architecture here is from that in Bangkok and in the south, but I suppose that's just evidence of the Lanna people's presence in the city. The temples here use a lot darker colors - a deep red brown that looks almost like wood. 

Carved door at Wat Lok Molee

I went first to Wat Lok Molee and Wat Rajamontean, two temples just across the street from each other, on either side of the old city wall. Both were quiet, perhaps because it was still early, and they were set away from most of the goings on closer to the center of the old city. This was the first place I saw the red and brown themes and they really stunned me; they reminded me of ski lodges, but warmer, and with monks floating around the place.  

Elephants guard the gates of Wat Lok Molee

Wat Rajamontean from across the canal

Flowers in the arms of the Buddha at Wat Rajamontean

Eaves at Wat Rajamontean 

Wat Phra Singha

From there I turned into the city, heading deeper into the center. I made for Wat Phra Singha, one of Chiang Mai's more famous temples. It was a bit more crowded than the other two had been, but not unbearably so. It also had more of the white and gold that the temples in the south do, but still not quite the same. As I entered the main hall, I saw that quite a few people (foreign and local) were sitting on the floor, so I joined them. I waited a few minutes, admiring the shrine in front of me, and then a few monks gathered along the perimeter of the room and began a prayer. It was very peaceful to listen to as I sat in the temple, and I stayed for some time before sneaking out. Then I wandered through the rest of the complex, in and out of the smaller chapels behind, and then through a peaceful little park where various messages and quotes were painted onto small boards and posted on the trees.

Inside the main temple

Wat Phra Singha

As you sow, so you reap.

From there I headed to the nearby Wat Pan Tao, a small and simple temple that was nevertheless beautiful. Having quickly toured that one, I headed to my (and everyone's) favorite temple in Chiang Mai: Wat Chedi Luang. It completely blew me away. Behind the new temple are the ruins of the old - a massive mountain of stone with spaces on each wall for shrines and statues. I circled the temple, admiring it from every angle and loving the flowers that grow around it.

Prayers hanging from the ceiling of the main hall

Shrine at Wat Chedi Luang

Ancient temple, with elephants guarding the walls

I wandered down toward the river, which turned out to be disappointing and a bit smelly, so I headed back through the old city toward my hostel, visiting a few more temples on the way. For dinner I met a couple of friends, Tim and Katty, and then had an early night.

Wat Chai Sa Phoom: small but quiet and peaceful

Wat Pa Pao: I love this one for its surroundings

Wat Chiang Mun: Oldest temple in the city, with beautiful shrines and statues

Wat Chiang Mun: the surrounding gardens

The following day, Katty, her family, Tim, and I spent the morning at the pool inside the hotel where they were staying. It was amazing how separate it was from the hustle and bustle of the city surrounding it. We stayed until it was time for them to check out and head on their way, then I said goodbye and spent the afternoon wandering aimlessly around the old city. I was surprised to stumble across a few areas, even in the city center, that seemed residential, devoid of tourists and foreigners in general, where the signs and menus of the shops were in only Thai, with no English translations (a real rarity anywhere in Thailand). I'd signed up for an evening cooking class, which began around 4. We were a nice sized group - about thirty people divided between three instructors. The class kicked off with a tour of one of the markets, where we were shown each of the spices and ingredients we'd be using. Then we returned to the school and got ready to prepare our first dish: pad thai. The class was very well done: each student had his or her own wok and set of ingredients. It was pretty easy, with the instructor shouting instructions and measurements and making minor corrections as necessary. When we'd finished, we went into a dining room to enjoy what we'd made, before getting ready for the second and third dishes. First, we had a choice of three soups: I chose coconut soup with tofu, another easy one that smelled delicious as it was cooking. We set that down on the table and proceeded to the third dish: an appetizer. I chose spring rolls, which were surprisingly easy to make (perhaps because those veggies had already been chopped for us). Then we were given time to devour those and the soup, and then a little bit of a rest before moving on to curry (we all needed a little time to digest before our final dish). We handmade the curry paste first, chopping and mincing and mashing everything up with a mortar and pestle. Then we made coconut milk, by soaking a mesh bag full of coconut meat in a basin of water, and wringing it out. For the curry itself we just boiled this and added curry paste (spicy to each person's liking), eggplant, and tofu. Easy peasy, and delicious. Stuffed, we were driven back to our hotels, just in time for the hard earned food coma to set in.

Chiang Rai's White Temple

Having seen all there was to see in Chiang Mai, but not quite ready to leave the city's fun atmosphere, I decided to take a day trip up to the more northern city of Chiang Rai, and the area known as the "Golden Triangle," where the Laos, Myanmar, and Thai borders meet. I was a little unsure about the trip: it was quite a drive up there, and it seemed like more time would be spent getting from place to place than actually enjoying the places themselves, but I did want to see Chiang Rai's famous White Temple, and I'd heard that the landscape of the Golden Triangle was really something spectacular. So at 7:00 in the morning I hopped in a little minivan with eleven other travelers, a guide, and a driver. Our first stop was a little hot spring, that was disappointing, crowded, and too hot even for our toes. Then we headed for the main highlight (for me, anyway): the White Temple. It's a relatively new temple in Thailand (in fact, there were people inside painting unfinished murals), that is entirely white with silver mirrored tiles on the walls and columns outside, so that in the sunlight, the whole place just shimmers. The temple is surrounded by a moat, so the entrance lead us across a bridge, surrounded by sculptures of hands reaching up imploringly (one had bright red fingernails, the only color I noticed on the outside of the temple). The murals inside are almost famously silly: on an orange base, various characters from literature, television, and movies, make appearances (I noticed Batman, Harry Potter, an Angry Bird, and a Despicable Me minion). I walked around there as long as I was allowed, not ready to get back on the bus when it was time.

Reaching hands

Next on our agenda was a visit with the hill tribes of the Lanna Kingdom. I wasn't excited about this part: the idea of paying to gawk at people disturbs me somewhat, so I skipped the actual gawking and was left (with a few others from the tour) to peruse the souvenir shop instead. Also not a highlight. We drove on toward the Mekong river, which separates Thailand from its two neighbors in its northwest corner, where the scenery was indeed fantastic. Although the river was murky and muddy, the mountains in the background (on the Laos and Myanmar sides), were as awe-inspiring as promised. We had lunch overlooking it all, then hopped in a boat down the river. The captain told us a bit about the opium trading that went on in that area in the past (the island in the middle of the river made for an easy drop off point for each of the three countries).

Laos

Fisherman on the Mekong River

We got off the boat in Laos for a quick look through the market that flourishes at the border, but it was extremely touristy and not particularly interesting. We then drove to Mae Sai, the town that is the border crossing to Myanmar, but as we weren't going across, it was again just a chance to shop (although it was fun to watch the cars on the bridge change to the other side of the road, as in Myanmar they drive on the right, but on the left in Thailand). Then we made the five hour trip home. All in all, it was indeed a lot of driving and not a lot of looking, but the White Temple alone would have made the trip worth it, and I did enjoy the landscape of the Golden Triangle and the Mekong River.

My last day in Chiang Mai was a relaxed one: I went up to Doi Sutep, the temple set high above the city, but the temple itself was not particularly interesting; it was the view over the city that was really memorable. the best part of the day by far was watching an incredible sunset over Wat Chedi Luang, while monks chanted prayers all around, and the visitors kept almost silent as they listened and watched. It was a perfect way to say goodbye to Chiang Mai.

All the gold at Doi Sutep

View from Doi Sutep

Wat Chedi Luang in beautiful pre-sunset gold

Sunset clouds above Wat Chedi Luang

Wat Chedi Luang

I was sad to leave Chiang Mai, but my next stop (my last stop in Thailand) was an even more fantastic place. I traveled from Chiang Mai to Pai, where Katty and Tim are both working. It was a perfect last leg of my trip. Pai is relaxed in the same easygoing way that Koh Lanta was, and attracts the same kinds of people. We spent most of our time just enjoying the atmosphere of the town: iyts fabulous food (at the unreal street market, where people sold everything from mushroom burgers to baked potatoes to lasagna, and also at the coziest cafes and restaurants). We drove through the mountains to admire the view of the town in the valley, and one afternoon we went to a restaurant that was literally on a river: platforms set up with bamboo roofs, floating just above the water, so that we were forced to wade through thigh-deep water to get to  the stalls selling food. It was a wonderful place to spend a few hours. My last evening, we went to a party in a semi-outdoor art gallery, where we split our time between the bamboo mats laid on the ground in front of a small stage where the gallery was hosting an open mic night (performances included one particularly adorable girl singing "Let it Go," which she followed up with a rendition of the "ABC's," minus LMNOP) and the gallery itself where a handful of beautiful pieces by local artists were on display. Tim and Katty were wonderful tour guides, especially when it came to places to eat, and I had a wonderful last few days in Thailand. It has been a fantastic 30 days (and six hours), but it's time to move on: Indonesia-bound!

Restaurant on the River

Sunset over Pai Canyon

Pai Canyon