Monday 15 January 2018 Walking to the Flower Market and Wat Kate Karam My typical routine each morning is to go to Wat Chedi Luang for my morning meditation, have breakfast, then go to yoga at Wild Rose Yoga. After yoga today, I decided to make the walk to Wat Kate Karam over the new walking bridge from the flower market. Most of the walk is outside the old city, or as locals would say, […]
14 January 2018 Sunday A Walk along the West side of the Wall/Moat Today my Australian friend Tom is leaving Chiang Mai for his home after yoga and lunch. We met at Amrita Garden restaurant in the old city after yoga at Wild Rose Yoga. I had to rush up to 3-Sis to change clothes and check-out, as I am moving to See You Soon today. The 3-Sis is owned by a family of three […]
13 January 2018 Saturday Visiting the Chiang Mai National Museum Today is my Australian friend Tom’s last full day in Chiang Mai. He starts his journey home tomorrow after yoga and a farewell lunch. After our exposure to a less-known part of Chiang Mai’s history with our visit to Wiang Kum Kam, Tom asked me if I had been to the National Museum next to the Wat Jed Yod grounds. I have been to Wat […]
Thursday 11 January, 2018 Exploring Wiang Kum Kam My Australian friend Tom and I decided to visit Wiang Kum Kam. I had been to a few of the sites three years ago, and I knew that Tom was interested in history. And, Tom has a motorbike, and will only be here for a few more days. Before the current old city of Chiang Mai was built by King Mengrai and his two friends, in 1296, […]
Wednesday 10 January, 2018 Hiking up through the jungle to Wat Phalad Wat Phalad (sometimes spelled Wat Pha Lat or Wat Palad, the formal name is Wat Skadagamiwanaram) is a peaceful temple in the jungle a little less than half way up the mountain to the famous Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. I will go up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep another day and share pictures. But in the jungle, near the main road leading […]
Saturday January 6, 2018 First Walk Around the Wall/Moat Chiang Mai was built starting in 1296 as a walled city, also with a moat around it. The earth excavated from the moat was used as the foundation for the wall, ultimately covered in brick. Some, less than half, of the wall still exists, and almost all of the moat still exists. The wall is approximately square, about 1.5 kilometers on a side or about one […]
Sunday 31 December 2017 The Lanterns of New Year’s Celebrations One of the things Thailand is famous for is the lantern festival in November and also the lanterns used in the New Year’s celebrations in various parts of Thailand. And in Chiang Mai, there are hundreds of lanterns floated into the sky on New Year’s Eve. Here is a picture of a few of the lanterns in the sky – this was early in the […]
New Year’s Eve Sunday, 31 December 2017 Today was my first full day in Chiang Mai. And it is New Year’s Eve. There is much celebration as the tourists and Thai people prepare for and start their new year’s celebrations and events both inside and outside the old city. The word “Chiang” in the city name historically meant “walled city.” In the thirteenth century, King Mengrai built a walled city to the north called Chiang […]
Thursday 28-December 2017 The other half of Wat Pho While Wat Arun is being guarded by two giant yak nature-spirits, Wat Pho is guarded by two of what looks to be wise men. Not as fierce or aggressive-looking as the yaks, but they are there guarding the temple every day. Wat Pho is most known as the temple of the Reclining Buddha. That is only one part of Wat Pho. Wat Pho is also significant […]
Thursday 28 December 2017 The journey from Los Angeles to Bangkok: On my travel to Chiang Mai, Thailand, I am spending two nights including one full day in Bangkok to recover from the long travel day and enjoy a few of my favorite sights in Bangkok. Bangkok is a large and almost chaotic city with twice as many people as Los Angeles in a space the size of Los Angeles. It is winter in Thailand […]
James the Intrepid Pilgrim 