Thursday, December 15, 2022
A temple near Chiang Mai Ram

After getting a morning shower, I noticed the water did not seem to be draining from my right ear, and I was having difficulty hearing. I know that I get a little more than average buildup of wax in my ears, so I thought it a good idea to have someone look at and clean out my ears. I did this three years ago at Chiang Mai Ram, a private hospital in Chiang Mai near the northwest corner of the wall/moat.

First thing to do is have breakfast, though. At The 3-Sis, a breakfast is included. There are a few selections, and my favorite is the Thai omelette, essentially an omelette with bell peppers and some other vegetables on top of a mound of rice, along with a small plate of fruit (today watermelon and pineapple; sometimes mango, too) and coffee:

I started eating before I remembered to take a picture – this is a common problem, so I do not always get pictures of my food (I try, though, because I know viewers like to see what the food looks like). This is not a huge, decadent breakfast like I had while in Bangkok; that breakfast was too, too much. This breakfast is just right.

Chiang Mai Ram

No pictures of the hospital or inside (I seriously doubt that I would have been allowed me to take photos inside). Since I had been here before, the process was simpler to get me in the queue for the ear doctor. Ram is a very busy hospital, and seems to be efficiently run. The outpatient departments are all on the first floor around a very large open area with waiting areas for each department. There are many computer screens showing what doctors are at each department and other information, much in Thai. There were two ear doctors, probably ENTs, serving the walk-in patients. It took a little longer than I hoped to get into the inner queue, and then I was the second in line.

I was soon in with the doctor and a nurse. He looked in my ears first and told me the right ear was completely blocked and the left only partially. We then went into the treatment room. Here I laid down ( I suspect so my head is more stable), and the doctor used a suction device that melts the wax and sucks it out. I think this is the preferred method now. The whole process took only about 10 minutes. And the doctor told me my eardrums on both side looked very healthy. The different was dramatic. Over time, as the wax builds up, some of the high frequencies are absorbed by the wax. Without the wax, I was hearing high frequency sounds that I had been missing.

Next, to the cashier. When I was here three years ago, the total was 2300 baht, or about $70. I presumed that the prices would have gone up, soo I was prepared for 3000 baht or more. To my surprise, the total was 1210 baht, about $35. I have no idea why the cost was so much lower and I did not ask questions. I was out the door in about 90 minutes total.

Wat Pan Sao

Walking south along the outer moat road (the western northound, outer road is Bumrueang Rit Road), I passed (of all things) a Starbucks, then this interesting little temple, Wat Pan Sao, or Wat Pansao, sometimes referred to as Wat Pot Suan. The sign says Wat Pan Sao, so I use that name.

Note – in the Thai language, spaces delimit sentences, not words. (How do they know where the words are? It is their language, they know.) When they translate, they often join words that we would normally separate with a space. I sometimes see Chiang Mai as two words, and then I’ll see Chiangmai as one word.

This is a rather nice temple, and has been open every time I have happened to pass by. Here is the ornate entrance through the wall surrounding the temple grounds:

Once inside, the viharn (worship or assembly hall) is right there:

While I did not get a picture of the side and the roof, this viharn is mostly teak, in the pure Lanna style with multi-tiered roofs sweeping low almost to the ground, steeply pitched. Given that is is so obviously Lanna style, I was surprised to not see more elaborate naga (dragon-like creature) on the stairway bannisters as is so common with Lanna styled temples.

Inside the viharn are rich dark red teak pillars and ceramic tile floor to reflect light.

This is a beautiful viharn inside. A closer view of the main Buddha image shows that it is (as is so common) in the Vitarka Mudra with palm forwards in the gesture of teaching. On its forehead is an  Urna mark which signifies the third eye which it is said enables the wearer to see into the divine world.

A simple, but very beautiful viharn.

I walked behind the viharn and found what appears to be a library or Ho Trai. These are almost always guarded by the “mom” creatures (pronounced like moam) at the stairway. The entrance is elaborate, below with the two fierce-looking mom guarding the entrance:

Phra Mae Thorani

A little further, I saw a statue of what is known as Thai Mother Earth, Phra Mae Thorani. From Wikipedia: “Images of Phra Mae Thorani are common in shrines and Buddhist temples of Burma, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos. According to Buddhist myths, Phra Mae Thorani is personified as a young woman wringing the cool waters of detachment out of her hair to drown Mara, the demon sent to tempt Gautama Buddha as he meditated under the Bodhi Tree.”

This statue of Phra Mae Thorani is more elaborate than most I see. It looks to be an actual fountain, but was not on today.

Chedi at Wat Pan Sao

Instead of being right behind the viharn, the chedi is situated in its own space amongst the trees at the back of the temple grounds and looks like it is almost struggling to stay upright. The area in front of it is grassed and may have been the sight of an older viharn which would have faced east in front of it. The chedi appears to be in need of some serious renovation or restoration, although it did survive the intense rainy season ths year:

After this visit to Wat Pan Sao, I headed back into the old city to The 3-Sis.

Mueang versus Chiang

Along the way I passed the City of Chiang Mai police station. I reminded me of my first learning the meaning of the prefix “Chiang” in many cities in northern Thailand. When I first asked what “Chiang” meant, I was told it meant “city.” But from this and other signs, I knew that “Mueang” meant city so I presisted in trying to learn the meaning of “Chiang” and that led me to learn that “Chiang” historically meant “a walled city.”

After working on my blog and a few other things, I had dinner at a Thai restaurant called Mush at the intersection of Samlarn Road and Rathchmanka Road, about 500 meters from where I am staying. Mush was highly recommended by John and Rose, and I found the food very good (and I forgot to take a picture). I got there when they opened at 5:00 PM. By the time I left at 6:00, they were very busy. John told me they fill up almost every night they are open.

Next: Wat Lok Moli (one of many favorites)