Winter 2023-2024 in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Friday, December 1, 2023Walking West to Wat Suan Dok Today will be a very busy day. Because the morning is fairly cool, I wanted to get out for a walk and decided to walk out to Wat Suan Dok, one of my [many] favorite temples. Then I have scheduled yoga practice at 2 PM at Wild Rose Yoga, and then a Tok Sen session at 5 PM with Nun at Wat Sri Suphan. Chedi at […]
Monday, November 27, 2023Wat Inthakin South of and adjacent to the Monument to the Three Kings is a very old temple, Wat Inthakin, or more formally Wat Inthakin Sadeu Muang. This is where, it is said, the city pillar called “Inthakin” was erected in 1296 by King Mengrai when Chiang Mai was founded. “Wat Sadeu Muang” means “Temple of the naval of the city” reflecting its central position in the old city. The Inthakin pillar […]
Monday, November 27, 2023Wat Umong Mahatera Chan Across the street from the back entrance to Wat Pan Ping is the entrance to Wat Umong Mahatera Chan (not to be confused with Wat Umong east of the old city). In the Thai language, there are no spaces in a phrase or sentence, spaces delimit sentences. So it is often natural for a translator to run the words together in English, as seen in this sign. This […]
Monday, November 27, 2023Temples in the Neighborhood After the long travel to Thailand, the hot & humid day in Bangkok, a long walk around the perimeter of the old Chiang Mai city, and perhaps some vestiges of jet lag, I thought it best to have a less energetic day and explore some lesser visited temples in the neighborhood near The 3-Sis. This will be in three parts to keep the posts of reasonable length. I […]
Friday, November 24, 2023Walking around the perimeter of Chiang Mai The travel from home to Thailand, then a full, very busy day in the very hot and sweltering heat of Bangkok left me somewhat tired. I arrived in Chiang Mai on Wednesday afternoon, checked in to The 3-Sis, where I stay every year, then walked to Street Pizza for a large salad, a small pizza, and a watermelon smoothie. Street Pizza is a restaurant where […]
Tuesday, November 21, 2023Finding Jazz in Bangkok After a long day in the bright and hot sun and humid air, I realized I made a mistake for which I shall pay. Not a large mistake, but a stupid mistake. I forgot to take my hat with me. I have it, the same hat I used every day walking across Spain. My forehead and the top of my head are now quite burnt in places. Henceforth, […]
Tuesday, November 21, 2023Favorite Temples in Bangkok My plans for today echo almost exactly my one full day in Bangkok last year in early December, so this post will be quite similar to that from last year, and years past when I only had one full day in Bangkok. I arrived in Bangkok on Monday, very tired after the long journey from Los Angeles. Wednesday (tomorrow) I leave for Chiang Mai shortly after breakfast. Today, […]
Saturday, November 18, 2023The long journey to Thailand The journey to any Southeast Asian location is long from the United States. For me, it is easier to fly from Los Angeles International, and the most convenient way to get there is to walk about 3/4 mile to a neighborhood Avis location, pick up a car for a one-way drive to Los Angeles International (also known as LAX), drop off the car at Avis there and […]
Sunday, October 1, 2023Preparing for an Eleventh Winter in Chiang Mai For new readers, this blog records my eleventh successive winter in Bangkok & Chiang Mai, Thailand planned for November 20, 2023 until February 2, 2024. The intent is to share my journey, a little of what I did each day with a few pictures of what I saw, the places visited, and the food I ate. This blog is a continual travel blog of […]
Tuesday, September 12, 2023Returning home from Spain On Friday, May 12, four months ago, I arrived home in San Diego from Spain leaving my shortened Camino pilgrimage walk behind. How did I get home? I gave a very basic outline of my plans to get home in my last post. Because of the worsening tendonitis in my left leg after walking about 700 kilometers (435 miles) from Seville, I stopped walking in Granja de Moreruela. […]
James the Intrepid Pilgrim 