Day 2 - Shoes On, Shoes Off

Woke up at 3am & didn’t get back to sleep again, so read & did my blog as Jackie slept through.

The plan was for today to be a cultural day to see Chiang Mai’s finest Temples. My Lonely Planet guidebook had a walking tour route that took in the highlights.

Jackie insisted on wearing her Navratilovas, a relatively short skirt (that was probably too short for the temples) & trainers Apparently I was going to carry an entire wardrobe change in my rucksack, so she could dress appropriately only as & when necessary.

Around 9am we went down for breakfast which included 4 espressos that had me physically buzzing, omelette, croissants, French Toast & fruit. So much for my promise to myself to stay off the bread. Jackie had curry.

During breakfast I heard a couple enquiring about dress code for the temples and being told that women should have their shoulders covered & wear a skirt or trousers that came down below the knee. Fellas were just fine.

This prompted a complete outfit change, Jackie changed into a pair of trousers, a different T-shirt & flip flops.

Finally we got out & started walking down the street when I noticed that Jackie was wearing one blue & one yellow flip flop. She had been undecided which ones went better with the outfit. And I thought only someone as forgetful as Diane Abbott could make such a faux pas!

Eventually with matching flip flops, we walked for about a mile to our first temple in the Old City, Wat Phra Singh, Chiang Mai’s most revered temple. Pilgrims flock here to venerate the famous Buddha known as Phra Singh (Lion Buddha) housed in a small chapel.

We paid our 40 Baht (£1) each entrance fee and wandered the monastery grounds. There were about 6 lavish temples and buildings within the grounds which required us to remove our shoes prior to entry. I was already regretting my decision to wear my brand new trainers & tiny socks that kept rucking up under my soles.

Wat Phra Singh was spectacularly colourful and shiny. Resident monks were in the temples chanting and praying and prayer joss sticks burnt. It all felt very spiritual. The strangest sight was seeing some visiting monks taking selfies in front of the gold coloured stupas.

After looking at every single Buddha & image, we moved on to the next. I bought a pair of sensible ankle socks for 20 Baht, then we called into the temples of Wat Si Koet & Wat Thung Yu for several more shoe removals at each.

Next we came across the very fancy Chiang Mai Police Station that had entered into the spirit of all things shiny with a gold statue outside the front door, then Wat Chai Phra Kiat for our not so favourite pastime.

We continued to Wat Phan Tao, considered to be the most atmospheric wat in the city. The grounds were full of colourful fluttering flags & ribbons and the monastery (shoes off) interior is everything teak. Nice. Shoes on.

Pretty much next door was Wat Chedi Luang & Lak Meuang, which required another 40 Baht entrance fee. Lak Meuang was a ‘men only’ affair so Jackie waited outside with all the other ladies, whilst I entered bare footed. I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about, but apparently Buddhist rules dictate that women are not allowed to enter and view the revered city pillar. I took a photo, which I would have shown Jackie if I thought she would’ve been remotely interested!

We then continued into the grounds of Wat Chedi Luang with its enormous towering Lanna-style chedi. It was built in 1441 and is currently in ruins, but it is subject of a restoration project by UNESCO & weirdly the Japanese government. This was probably my highlight of the day.

We visited all the temples without our shoes & contemplated talking to some monks. A group of monks were sat under a sign that read ‘Chat with monk’. Apparently they will tell you about their life as a monk & they benefit by practicing their English. I was up for it, but Jackie didn’t fancy it, not knowing what to ask them. I suggested she ask “Do you come here often?”

Jackie wasn’t having any of it and instead busied herself by taking a photo for an American lady & writing a little message on a gold heart having paid a small donation.

By now it was lunchtime, so we found a little Thai restaurant, Huan Chao Bua Tip, for a couple of beers. I had some not so great crispy dumplings & Jackie had a very spicy Tom Yum soup that made her sweat & cough, but apparently wasn’t too hot for her!

Eventually we set off again, north up Soi Prapokklao to Wat Inthakhin Saduemuang, where we peered in from the steps, then looked at Anusawari Sam Kasat, a statue of the three Lanna Kings who founded Chiang Mai. At this location were three museums, that didn’t appeal to Jackie, so we looked at some weird art that was part of their annual Art Week that ran for 15 days!

Our final temple of my walking tour was Wat Chiang Man, which is the oldest Wat in Chiang Mai founded around 1296. By now we were a bit ‘templed out’, so apart from going into the main temple, we just looked into the others from the doorway.

We were now feeling totally knackered, my back & shoulders ached from carrying my rucksack, so we called it a day, walking about another mile back to our hotel. We did stop at Mary’s Restaurant for a much needed quick beer, then we fell asleep back in the room.

At 7pm, we dragged ourselves out of bed & headed out for the evening. We headed towards the Ping River to check it out & see if we could find any river boat cruises. We didn’t.

We then found Ploen Ruedee Night Market, which drew us in with the booming music of an extremely good rock band. They were playing on a large stage in front of loads of tables & chairs surrounded by food and drink vendors. It was really smart, so we bought a couple of large Changs & sat down to listen to the band, who covered Pink Floyd, Bon Jovi amongst others. My only gripe was that the beers were double the price we had been paying elsewhere.

The nearest vendor to us was selling insects, including large scorpions. We bought a taster portion of fried crickets for 20 Baht & had our very own Bush Tucker Trial. Jackie could only stomach the one, but I pretty much finished the rest. We also had skewers of beef & chicken served up in bamboo sticks with an assortment of spicy dips.

Sadly the rock band finished their set & a pop band took over singing swing & disco songs. Not so much our cup of tea, so we headed home & surprisingly stopped at Ba Ba Bo Bo Bar for a nightcap beer & cocktail & people watched. Jackie did eventually have to use the loo, but discovered that it did have a door on it after all.

It was around midnight when we finally got to bed.

Song of the Day - Temple of Love by Sisters of Mercy.Read more