Yesterday, unfortunately, Dan was not feeling well but I forged ahead without him, which was easy to do since Art, his mom Wanlaya and his brother Ice had planned a full day for us.
We began with breakfast, a delicious bowl of curry noodles with pork. Ice maintains that Thailand has the best pork and I'll agree with him. After that it was off for coffee at one of the many cafes throughout Chiang Mai. This one was built in a style of a Japanese bistro, tucked back in the woods. Very serene and zen. We then drove through Chiang Mai University, where Art studied before going to pharmacy school in Bangkok, and where Ice is currently studying engineering. Next stop was a wat compound, where the Buddhas are located in tunnels under a wall. It was very different from the other Buddhas we've seen so far. Finally, we walked through an outdoor market that specialized in art work, clothing, and food. Art and Ice both said that Thais are always eating and the culture seems to be built around that. Similar to Viet Nam and Cambodia, most meals are not cooked and eaten at home but rather bought at stalls located literally everywhere in the city. And I do mean everywhere.
Everyone took a nap. Dan rallied. We had dinner at an outdoor night market, then joined what felt like every citizen of Chiang Mai and an ample number of Western tourists in the Lantern Festival celebration. Tickets for the upcoming mass release of lanterns are sold out at least a year in advance! But the entire inner city is lit up with candles and lights and lanterns. It is truly a sight to behold. I didn't get nearly enough photos, but here are a few from yesterday's adventure.
Me and Wanlaya, Art's Mom, who, like most Southeast Asian women, in my observation, are very tiny--tiny waisted, tiny hipped, enchantingly beautiful. I've also noticed many young women posing for selfies everywhere. This is probably also happening at home and it just gets past me.
The coffee shop
At the Wat compound, we fed the pigeons and then were attacked by them.
One of the Buddhas buried in the tunnel. Note the bats on the ceiling. I've learned that the way the Buddha is seated and how his hands are held have a significance. Something to put on the "items I need to learn more about" list.
I was wearing shorts, so Wanlaya had planned ahead and brought a wrap around skirt so I could dress respectfully to go into the tunnel with the Buddhas. The paper lanterns are everywhere in the city.
Ice has been doing most of the driving and for that, I say Thank God. The neighborhood streets are remarkably narrow and he navigates them with native ease. He also is masterful at finding a parking spot nearby wherever we're going because it dawned on me that I haven't seen a designated parking lot or a parking ramp anywhere in the cities we visited. It's all on street parking and with the amount of traffic, finding a place to park is no mean feat.
The outdoor market, which is permanent, which it can be because right now it's 'winter' here and you see how everyone is dressed. As previously mentioned, there are food emporiums and stalls interspersed everywhere.
A night market for dinner. The gyoza were fabulous.
Welp, this reminded me of the ending scene in Christmas Story where the family goes out for Chinese food after their dinner is demolished by the Bumpuses dogs and the Old Man looks at the duck and says, "But it's smiling."
These are called Krathong, made by locals, sold along the river, come in many different shapes, sizes, some using fresh flowers, others styrofoam creations. You can purchase one, then release it down the river. Read the link about the Lantern Festival to learn more.
I'm at a loss to describe the crowds. Let's try this: take the busiest day of the State Fair, lay it out for maybe two miles on both sides of the street, then put rush hour with a large dump of scooters into the street. Amazing. I didn't take many photos because I needed to stay alert to my surroundings!
A massive amount of Pad Thai, goes straight from the cooking plate into a container to eat. All the stalls are food--no State Fair type merch to purchase. No t-shirts because otherwise I would have bought one.
As we wended our way back to the car, we passed the American Consulate and I managed to get this snapshot through the door. Can you imagine coming to work every day and having that glower at you? Yuck. And HOORAY FOR THE BLUE WAVE!
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