James the Intrepid Pilgrim

January 20, 2014 Monday Part 1 This “post” will be in three parts. Jo dropped Lucia off at 3-Sis in the morning, and Lucia, Linda, and I hired Ms. Ying, a Red Truck driver, to take us up Suthep Mountain (Doi Suthep). When I needed a Red Truck last year, I met Ms. Ying in front of Wat Chedi Luang, and used her a few times for various excursions, and I now have her phone […]

January 18, 2014 Saturday After a little break, Linda and I met and walked past the Monument to the Three Kings and over to Wat Phra Singh. Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Phra Singh are the two most important temples to the Thai buddhist people in Chiang Mai. Every day (EVERY day), busloads of Thai tourists from Bangkok or other places go to both temple grounds. I walk around Wat Chedi Luang every day once […]

January 18, 2014 Saturday After a fairly aggressive schedule yesterday showing Linda some of my favorite temples in the old city, today we ventured outside the old city to look at Wat U-Mong, and Wat Jet Yod. I arranged with a Red Truck driver to take us to both, wait for us at both locations, and then take us back to Wat Chedi Luang (across the street from the 3-Sis) – probably a three hour […]

January 17, 2014 Friday A long-time good friend, Linda, is visiting Chiang Mai on something of a tour of part of SE Asia. She has been to Vietnam and Cambodia, is now in Chiang Mai, and will soon visit other parts of Thailand. I am showing her around a bit, sharing my experience and some of my favorite temples. This is great fun in that it is forcing me to explain what it is in […]

January 16, 2014 Thursday Across the street at Wat Chedi Luang, there is a construction project in progress. When many Asian cities were built long ago, the first thing that was done was to sink a “city pillar”, a pole or something similar indicating the center of the city. In Chiang Mai, the city pillar is at Wat Chedi Luang (which makes much sense as Wat Chedi Luang is approximately at the center of the […]

January 15, 2014 Wednesday I was going to walk around most of the moat today, and started out by going to Tha Phae Gate, the gate entrance on the east side of the wall. Guess who at Tha Phae Gate! Another view of one of the actual doors of the gate. Blue Diamond Coffee Club I was walking around the sois (lanes) in the NE quadrant of the old city (north of Tha Phae Gate) […]

January 14, 2014 Tuesday Today was a walking day, as are many. I start out walking around Wat Chedi Luang in the morning. If I rise early enough, I love being near Wat Checi Luang before 7 AM before breakfast. It is most peaceful then, and the old chedi is beautiful in the rising sun. This is a frequent view of mine of the large chedi from the east, although this was not taken in […]

January 13, 2014 Monday I am feeling fine – the drama of Friday is in the past. But I am still a little tired, and my back is not back to normal, so I am not going to return to yoga just yet. Wat Jet Lin On the way to Wild Rose Yoga, I always pass by Wat Jet Lin, sometimes spelled Wat Chedlin. This temple is also known as Wat Nong Chalin, but the […]

January 12, 2014 Sunday I was offline much of this past weekend. As life unfolds, there are moments of drama, even when one is in a wonderful place like Chiang Mai. I debated about posting this, but it is part of the journey, and overall, it was more of a positive than negative experience. A little background: I have a friend named Jo who used to live in San Diego. My long-time friend Lucia is […]

January 9, 2014 Thursday Today was a day for a haircut. Rose had put me in touch with Eva, a young lady from Estonia (or was it Latvia?) who is living in Chiang Mai. Rose told me that Eva gave the best haircut in Chiang Mai! So I met Eva, and she cut my hair. I did not get a picture, but it was a very good haircut (the best haircut in Chiang Mai)! Thank-you, […]

January 8, 2014 Wednesday I am backing off from yoga for several days to really allow my back to relax and heal. Between all of the walking around, the yoga, and the general activity, even on the days I reported as being resting or relaxing days, I was pretty active. And with friends coming into Chiang Mai, I’ll have much to do and little time to rest. Hot stone-oil massage It was recommended by Dao […]

January 7, 2014 Tuesday Walked around the north side of the wall/moat today. Along the way, I say a Ford / New Holland tractor dealership … inside the city. The location seems a bit odd to me, but it is real. Wat Lok Molee I stopped at Wat Lok Molee, one of my many favorite temples. Wat Lok Molee is just outside the moat, along the north side just a few hundred meters from Chang […]