Thursday, January 19, 2023
Butter is Better and Wat Sri Don Chai

Several days ago I went on line to find the best cinnamon rolls in Chiang Mai. There are good ones at Blue Diamond, but they are have a bit too much icing, overpowering the cinnamon flavor of the roll itself. Mentioned on many lists were the cinnamon rolls at Butter is Better, a restaurant owned by a former New Yorker who wanted to create a real American diner, like what might have been found in the 1960s or 1970s. So I went there, and the cinnamon rolls were indeed good. Many other things on the menu looked good and read very well, also. Today, after a good strength workout with Ning at the O2 Gym, I had a bit of a craving for BLT for lunch, and Butter is Better came to mind.

Wat Sri Don Chai

Very near Butter is Better I noticed a temple I have seen many times and have never ventured inside the grounds to look at. Unusually, there are no signs in English at this temple, except on this one sign. I expect that they get very few visitors. Notice that the name on the sign in English is spelled “Si Don Chai.” The temple is located at the intersection of Sridonchai Road and Changklan Road, and everything I looked at online spelled it as Wat Sri Don Chai. The difference is likely the intrepretation of the sounds as many do not translate well from Thai to English. After all, Thai has 44 consonants and 12 vowels plus 8 diacritical marks that change the sound and/or tone of the vowels. Since English has 21 consants and 5 vowels, it is difficult to map the many sounds in the Thai language correctly to English.

Compared to other temples in and around Chiang Mai, Wat Sri Don Chai is unremarkable. It is nice, but looks very new and almost devoid of interesting personality. The first thing seen from the entrance is this tall standing Buddha at the back of the viharn (assembly or worship hall). Everything at Wat Sri Don Chai is in this white and dark red motif.

Also behind (west of) the viharn is a fairly small chedi, also white (of course):

Below the tall standing Buddha at the back of the viharn is this image of “mother earth” of Phra Mae Thoranee in Thai (sonetimes spelled Phra Mae Thorani), also in the white and burgundy motif. This particular depiction is quite appealing with the intricate, yet subtle carving decoration.

The viharn is fairly large, and in the Lanna style, with tiered, overlapping roof sections sweeping low on the sides and featuring naga dragon features on the sills. Also in the Lanna style, the entrance is guarded by the fierce-looking naga creatures:

The front of and entrance to the viharn:

Inside, the viharn is fairly plain, all white walls with almost no decoration, and stark white columns holding up the roof.

Butter is Better

I crossed over Sridonchai Road, walked about 50 meters, and there was the entrance to Butter is Better:

Inside, a corner is decorated with record album covers from the 1960s and 1970s:

I was hungry. For lunch I ordered a salad, a BLT, french fries, and a Coke. Mmmm… And yes, I ate all of it.

Walking back to See You Soon, I passed Katam Corner, the southeast corner of the wall/moat looking peaceful through the flowers:

Next: A return to Wat Lok Moli