Thursday 29 January 2026 Revisiting an old favorite temple in Hang Dong District During my first or possibly my second winter in Chiang Mai, I got to visit a unique temple. A Thai lady who is long-time friend-of-a-friend had retired and moved back to Mae Rim where she grew up. She and I connected during my visit and she showed me what she considered some special sights. Back then, I knew very little about Chiang […]
Tuesday 13 January 2026 Revisiting the closest temple to Tha Phae Gate Wat Dok Kham is a small temple very close to Tha Phae Gate, so many tourists who are in the area visit the temple. I can find almost no history on the internet about this temple. The temple grounds are small. And because the viharn door is so close to the sidewalk and the road, what would be the main entrance, on the […]
Saturday 10 January 2026 The “White Castle” temple in the Hang Dong District of Chiang Mai Thailand has 77 provinces. Chiang Mai Province in northern Thailand is relatively large, and includes 25 districts. The Hang Dong District of Chiang Mai province is a large, rural district south and west of Chiang Mai city (although there are other larger districts). Here is a map of the districts of Chiang Mai Province. Number 1, “Mueang” is the […]
Thursday 15 January 2026 Another Day in the Life A few photos I took while walking in Chiang Mai over a couple of fairly routine days. First, while walking back to The 3-Sis from the French boulangerie Chouquette I passed by Sri Phum Corner, the northeast corner of the old city wall. The first photo is looking north at Sri Phum Corner through some flowers growing along the side of the moat. The second photo […]
Wednesday 14 January 2026 Visiting an important but very quiet temple Walking back to The 3-Sis through the sois (a soi is a small road, smaller than a road, larger than an alley, perhaps a “lane”) after getting a haircut at Samlaan Barber (my favorite barber), I found myself on Ratchamanka Soi 6. And I came upon a temple that is something of an “old friend.” I have visited Wat Phra Chao Mengrai many times […]
Sunday 4 January 2026 Back to the main part of Chiang Mai after seeing the Railway Station After walking from central Chiang Mai to the Railway Station, then along the railway yards, and finally crossing the railway, I am now headed back towards central Chiang Mai. I am walking west along a local road, Rat Uthit Road, towards an access road to get to Chiang Mai-Lamphun Road, the main highway between (you guessed it) Chiang […]
Sunday 4 January 2026 Walking by the Chiang Mai Railway Station approach yards I left the Chiang Mai Railway Station and east a short distance on Charoen Muang Road to the next intersection. This road is called “Road Along the Railway” on Google Maps, and is indeed a road along the railway. I highly suspect there is a more official name documented somewhere. While I am walking along this road, I can look in through […]
Sunday 4 January 2026 Revisiting the Chiang Mai Railway Station I continued walking along Charoen Muang Road focusing on the uneven and sometimes non-existant sidewalk and suddenly – not really suddenly, but sooner than I expected, I was at the Chiang Mai Railway Station. The original station opened in 1922. In 1943, while the Japanese occupied Thailand, Allied bombings destroyed it. After the war, the current station was built and finished in 1948, so it […]
Sunday 4 January 2026 Returning to the Railway Station Walk It is Sunday and I have no yoga, no strength training, and no hikes on my schedule. I decided to take a long walk to the railway station, revisiting the same walk I made the last two winters. I’ll break this into three or four posts, in an attempt to follow my New Year’s resolution to make more frequent and shorter posts. [And I am […]
Thursday 01 January 2026 Happy New Year! Let’s eat dinner! [This is the second of two food-related blog posts.] As I said, I eat food every day…every day. And while I am here in Thailand, I eat Thai food most days. A question I was often asked after my first few winters in Chiang Mai —when I first spent a month or more here—and is still asked: “what does the food there look like?” The […]
Thursday 01 January 2026 Happy New Year! Let’s eat! [I’m spitting this blog post into two, because there is so much food to show.] I eat food every day…every day. And while I am here in Thailand, I eat Thai food most days. A question I was often asked after my first few winters in Chiang Mai —when I first spent a month or more here—and is still asked frequently: “what does the food there […]
James the Intrepid Pilgrim 