Bangkok Week 405 March 31, 2016 After 6 years away, we return to Chiang Mai for a weekend getaway! View fullsize We're off to Chiang Mai! Our snack for the 50-minute flight? An Indian vegetarian sandwich! View fullsize My doorman has helped bring my bags to the room. View fullsize Our suite! View fullsize Not too shabby! View fullsize A late dinner at the night bazaar. View fullsize A fuzzy vendor. View fullsize Enjoying the Chiang Mai haze in our snazzy suite. View fullsize An intricate gate at the entrance to a temple. View fullsize An ornate roof on a small local temple. View fullsize More gold peaking out from behind the trees. View fullsize A long caravan of tuk tuks along the edge of the moat. View fullsize The brick wall that still surrounds the center of Chiang Mai. View fullsize Posing with the main gate to old Chiang Mai. Too bad neither we nor the gate is in focus. View fullsize No squeeze! View fullsize Ducking into another small temple to view its ornate building. View fullsize We stumbled upon a group ordination for Wat Chedi Luang -- probably because it's summer break for most students. View fullsize Some of the boys don't look very thrilled to be doing this... although the monks seem to be enjoying themselves. View fullsize Unclear what the boys in fancy dress on ponies had to do with it. View fullsize A very ornate street sign! View fullsize I'm glad I'm not a telephone line repairman in Chiang Mai! View fullsize No bugles in Chiang Mai! View fullsize Interesting street art on the side of a fence. View fullsize Posing with one of many elephants outside of an elephant-themed gallery. View fullsize This durian elephant was a bit creepy though. View fullsize A hat store -- aptly named "hat" in Thai. View fullsize After several hours in the sun, it's time for lunch at a small vegetarian restaurant. View fullsize Two tasty dishes and a fried egg. Good for the rest of the day! View fullsize Riding back to home base in a semi-chartered pick-up truck. View fullsize The pool at Le Meridien is not very big, but the view is nice. Sun too hot for a swim, though. View fullsize Instead, we relax in the AC'd comfort of the business lounge. View fullsize A vespa repair shop... many of which seem in sore need of some TLC. View fullsize The Saturday afternoon walking street is in full swing. View fullsize A colorful display at a fruit smoothie seller. View fullsize Insisting your products are fashionable may not be the most effective way to do business. View fullsize More interesting street art. View fullsize Selling hill tribe-inspired hair bands and purses. View fullsize A school girl busks for money to fund her education. View fullsize Isaan sausages, anyone? View fullsize Also near the walking street: Wat Srisuphan, an entirely silver temple. View fullsize The entire building, decorative details, and buddha image, are done in silver (and aluminum), giving it a distinct feel. View fullsize Very detailed craftsmanship has gone into all the silver pieces. View fullsize I guess they're not quite done yet! View fullsize Also on the property: a massive, ornate, tiered wooden temple. View fullsize Also with reflective detailing. View fullsize The temple offers "Monk Chat". It's a service offered by many temples in Chiang Mai, that allows foreigners to ask questions about Buddhism, and allows monks to practice their English. View fullsize Later that night, it's dinner with James at a posh Thai restaurant. View fullsize It serves mostly-vegetarian, mostly-Thai food... with the occasional meat and Indian dishes mixed in as well. View fullsize The next morning, we're off on a walking tour of Northern Chiang Mai. This building is over 200 years old. View fullsize Here's the Northern Telecoms of Thailand Museum. Although we didn't go in, I can only imagine how interesting it must be! View fullsize Who knew! They still have bike-powered rickshaws in Chiang Mai! View fullsize Mr. Cool models his shades. View fullsize Visiting the flower market. View fullsize Avoiding puddles on the flower market floor. It felt like a much-scaled-down version of Chatuchak. View fullsize But with no shortage of colorful flowers. View fullsize A view of north-eastern Chiang Mai, from a foot bridge. View fullsize Locally-grown strawberries. Each pack cost about 150 baht. View fullsize An interesting way to display durian! A sneak peak into what you'll get. View fullsize 400 baht per kilo for mangosteen! What a scam! View fullsize Inside Chiang Mai's largest food and clothing market. View fullsize This seller has an extensive selection of Asian teas. View fullsize From the ceiling, they've hung pictures of the market from past eras. View fullsize Looking down over diners enjoying their lunch. View fullsize No city is complete without a Chinatown! View fullsize Another ornate northern-style temple. View fullsize Check out the detailing on its outer walls. View fullsize The central chedi reminded me a bit of Wat Arun. View fullsize This short-legged tour guide greeted us at the exit to the temple. View fullsize Next stop: Wat Buppharam. View fullsize I thought this was a particularly disturbing image in the entryway. View fullsize The main attraction of this temple is the teak buddha image -- the largest of its kind in Thailand. View fullsize A well-preserved old building sandwiched in between 'newer' ones. View fullsize What punky street art. View fullsize Lunch at a vegetarian place, decorated with aptly-themed quotes. This one in particular from K.D. Lang resonated with me. I've always wondered this! View fullsize A very spicy vegetarian salad (named "3 crunchy things") for lunch. View fullsize Finally getting to try his Khao Soi -- the signature dish of Chiang Mai. View fullsize Pepper would've loved this restaurant! View fullsize Final stop of our Sunday walking tour: Wat Phra Sing... which seems to be a lot more gold than last time we were there! View fullsize They have a small Sunday market on premise. View fullsize Have to get suited up before going inside. Proper attire only! View fullsize One of the largest and most revered buddha images in Chiang Mai. View fullsize They're already getting prepared for the Songkran celebrations. View fullsize An old beetle doing a proper job of parking in the streets. View fullsize Sun shines through over smoggy Chiang Mai. Farewell for now, northern capital. View fullsize Fast forward to Hanoi, where the mist is limiting the familiar lake view. View fullsize Spotted in Hanoi: a rather niche clothing store. View fullsize They've really done wonders to the airport since I spent time here in 2014. (Granted, a brand new terminal usually helps.) View fullsize Back in Bangkok, drama's afoot! View fullsize The storm doesn't stop the new pop-up amusement park from preparing itself for opening day. View fullsize Doesn't someone look nice and shiny? View fullsize Disembodied legs sleep overnight at Suvarnabhumi.
