January 23, 2014 Thursday

The first thing Linda and I did today was to return to the Thai Silk Village in the Samkampaeng area east of Chiang Mai. Linda decided that she wanted them to make her a silk jacket. This was a shorter excursion, as we knew exactly what we wanted. After measuring and discussing, they said they would deliver the finished jacket tomorrow at the Tamarind Village where Linda is staying. (Oddly, all of the measurements were in inches, not centimeters. The tailor had a measuring tape that was inches on both sides.)

After returning to the city, Linda and I ventured out to the Warorot Market (more shopping!). This is a rather large market with all kinds of things, food, household items, everything you can think of, and the flower market is here. This is a Thai market, almost no one at Warorot speaks English. We were dropped off by the bridge Nakorn Ping Bridge, because the driver did not really understand where we wanted to go.

When I was here in 2006, I had learned of a small temple near the Mae Ping River called Wat Gate or Wat Kate. Our tour guide took us there, and cautioned us that we may not be welcome in the museum, as they had had some problems with theft from what they believed were backpackers from the U.S. or Europe. She talked to the older gentleman who was overseeing the museum, telling him that we were good people, and he let us in. He was quite proud of the rather modest museum. And the temple itself was quite nice.

Since Linda and I were at the bridge, I suggested that we cross and look for Wat Kate. We eventually found it, but along the way found some upscale artsy home furnishing shops.

I’d love to have this rather colorful elephant at my home, but being over four feet high, it might not fit in my luggage. The artist’s shop has many elephant and other animal sculptures. Many were not quite this large, and all were quite beautiful.

After the shopping, we found Wat Kate Karam.

The actual name of the temple is Wat Ket Karam, also spelled Wat Kate Karam, or Wat Gate Karam. finding the temple was something of a joy, as it is not prominent in guide books or tourist information. Being back there reminded me of how I found it the first time, and how it was a charming smaller temple. Wat Kate dates back to before 1430.

This is the back of the main viharn (worship or prayer hall).

And the front of the main viharn at Wat Kate. Beautiful classic northern Thai style.

Inside the main viharn, most of the inside is in beautiful teak.

A closer view of the inside of the main worship hall. There is something special about the darker colored Buddha statue, but I have been unable t locate the reference I found earlier. It is a beautiful bronze color, and may be bronze, not common in the temples in Thailand.

A carved thewada (approximately equivalent to an angel in Christianity) inside the main viharn.

A secondary viharn at Wat Kate, with a different style naga/serpent staircase. Also quite beautiful thewada on the doors.

And then we saw the museum.

Next: Wat Ton Kien