Thailand: Chiang Mai

 Chiang Mai touring

We flew into Chiang Mai and took a break from birding. Chiang Mai has an old city with some charming temples. We sat in one of them for a while and listened to a chant by Buddhist monks.

There are differences in temple architecture and decorations in "northern" Thailand, since in ancient times there was not a unified state that incorporated Bangkok with Chiang Mai. But the differences are modest to my untrained eye.  The restaurants in Chiang Mai were great, as everywhere in Thailand, with slight changes in flavors. There is a more noticeable Chinese influence on the foods.

Dawn in the Chiang Mai market

Unidentified subspecies of dragon in Chiang Mai

There is a long history of serious massage here, and Dawn testified to its quality. We wandered through the open markets, much like those in Bangkok but about ten percent less chaotic than in Bangkok. On display was everything from junky trinkets to serious carving and artwork. I think I tallied every European language among the tourists in attendance. We toured the Chiang Mai National Museum, devoted to documenting the changes in artistic style through the centuries of Thai culture.

Elaborate wood carving in the museum

Temple guardians in Chiang Mai.
Lesser Spotted (left) and Bronzed (right) Cobras,
a sadly unrecognized pair of species that can be seen with effort.

It was interesting to contrast the art treasures of the museum with the shopping mall just down the street. It was the glitziest, most gleaming shopping mall I have ever seen. There was an enormous food court with everything from pizza to kimchi. It also contained a Lotus store, the large supermarket chain.  It was here that we found salvation from the Chang and Leo pseudo-beer that we had been drinking for a week. Lotus carries microbrews!! A few small Thai breweries produce pale ales. Expensive at $6 per bottle, but ideally suited for the weary traveler.

Overall, we found Chiang Mai to be much like Bangkok but a tiny fraction of the size. Which still means it is a large and busy city. But a great jumping-off place for the northern mountains, where we headed next.

Back to: Khao Yai National Park