Chiangmai Tour

Our hosts are driving us back into Chiangmai to do a city tour. When we asked Nong what there was to see/do in Chiangmai, she said Temples, & markets. This reminds me of what Jack, our Cambodian guide, said about what OAT stands for..... Oh, another temple! We looked up things to see in Chiangmai & 8 of the top 10 are, in fact, temples. For the first time, we’ve made an adjustment to our planned tour because of the Coronavirus threat, no matter how slight. We’re skipping the Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep temple because Chinese tourists often pilgrimage to this temple. Nong said this site is always very crowded. Another reason may have been the 309 steps.... On the way to the city we stopped at several factories, to watch how the locals produce some amazing handicrafts, We toured an umbrella factory which makes rain & sun umbrellas from scratch. The painters are true artists, Kim had her cell phone case painted. Next we went to an amazing wood carving factory which had terrific 3-D framed pieces, sculptures, & furniture made of teak & rosewood. We learned how lacquer is harvested from a tree & applied in at least 7 coats to finely carved sculptures, bamboo plates, and other interesting pieces in a lacquer factory. After 4 hours of factory touring our host dropped us at a night market, with thousands of people browsing a wide variety of handicrafts, t-shirts, etc. It was another 10,000+ step day. We met our host at a temple, one of something like 85 in the city of Chiangmai!Read more