Initial Wanderings in Chiang Mai

We arrived in Chiang Mai just before noon and we got to Saran Boutique Thapae Hotel not much longer after that. Our plan was to stay awake until we have an early dinner, and then have a good sleep. We therefore decided to wander around Chiang Mai for the afternoon.

I had a rough plan to start at the Thapae Gate near our hotel, which is the east gate on the square moat surrounding the old town. There, we amused ourselves watching people posing for pictures among the pigeons; apparently photos with pigeons flying around oneself is a thing here. Apart from the photo subject(s) and the photographer, there will be an assistant nearby who will first throw food to attract the birds, and then they will do something to scare the birds in order to create the perfect photo op. While we were there, we saw one photographer assistant whose job was to open an umbrella to scare the birds. Perhaps they got this cue from Indiana Jones. Regardless, this wasn't very effective as the pigeons were more interested in eating. When we returned later, we saw a more effective photographer assistant who employed a loud boombox to scare the birds.

From Thapae Gate, we turned south and followed the moat until the south eastern corner, and then we turned west. Along the way, we diverted to Wat Sri Suphan, which has its own entry. After that, we explored Suan Buak Haad Park on the southwestern corner of the moat and then turned west. After the park, we stopped a a little cafe for soft serve ice cream, where I annihilated Jeff at othello while we enjoyed our sweet treat.

After our snack, we walked along the western moat before turning east to go back into the old town and to Wat Chedi Luang, which also has its own entry.

For dinner, we ate at Chada Vegetarian, which is conveniently located right next to our hotel, before we turned in early for a good nights' sleep to beat the jet lagRead more