Winter 2024-2025 in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Sunday 29 December 2024 Visiting temples north of the old city of Chiang Mai Wat Ku Tao Wat Ku Tao is a Burmese temple north of the Chiang Mai old city. The temple, which supports the Shan community, was built in 1613 to enshrine the ashes of Nawrahta Minsaw, a Burmese prince who successfully invaded the Kingdom of Lanna and reigned as King from 1579 to 1608. The temple is very colorful in a different […]
Sunday 29 December 2024 Visiting temples north of the old city of Chiang Mai After visiting Wat Chiang Chom, I made my way through a few twisting sois to get to Chang Phuak Road and turned right to go south towards Wat Ku Tao, a Burmese temple I may have never visited. In Chiang Mai, there are a number of very old chedis (pagodas) standing by themselves. These are probably from temples that are now […]
Sunday 29 December 2024 Visiting temples north of the old city of Chiang Mai Today I have no yoga, strength training, or a specific hike planned. I decided to revisit a temple quite a distance north of the old city, Wat Chiang Chom with an especially appealing chedi. On the walk back, I’ll stop at a Burmese temple I have not seen for a while, Wat Ku Tao, and then have another look at Wat […]
Sunday 22 December 2024 Hiking the Monks’ Trail to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep It is December 22 in Thailand and still December 21 in the United States, so it is my sister Carol’s birthday (she was a Christmas Carol). In honor of her birthday, I decided to hike up the Monks’ Trail all the way to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. “Doi” in Thai is “mountain” and “Suthep” is the name of the mountain. […]
Sunday 15 December 2024Excursion to Mae Rim to Wat Pa Darapirom and Darapirom Palace Museum I covered the summary of Princess Dararasmi’s life in my previous blog post where I visited the temple honoring her. This post covers my visit to the Darapirom Palace Museum. From what I have learned and surmise, the name of the palace home in which Princess Dararasmi lived is “Darapirom.” Princess Dararasmi, originally from Chiang Mai, was a preferred consort […]
Sunday 15 December 2024 Excursion to Mae Rim to Wat Pa Darapirom and Darapirom Palace Museum This is a long post with many pictures, so it will be in two parts. First some background history followed by many pictures.Also note that the Princess’ name is commonly written in English four different ways: Dararasmi, Dararasmee, Dara Rasmi, Dara Rasmee. I will use the first, Dararasmi. Princess Dararasmi History Princess Dararasmi was the daughter of Prince Intavichayanon […]
Tuesday 16 December 2024 Walking east to see flood damage Walking away from the railroad I was going west towards the road to the Iron Bridge to get back to a more familiar part of Chiang Mai. I forgot to mention in my post about the Railway Station that the State Railways of Thailand is facing a challenge with the railroads regarding gauge. Railroad gauge is the distance between the insides of the two rails. […]
Tuesday 16 December 2024 Walking east to see flood damage Chiang Mai Railway Station I have arrived! The Chiang Mai Railway Station. The station was first opened in 1922. In 1943, while the Japanese occupied Thailand, Allied bombings destroyed it. The current station was finished after the war in 1948. The station: Inside a picture of Chulalongkorn, King Rama V (fifth king of the Chakri Dynasty), is seen: Chulalongkorn was a significant king, reigning from […]
Tuesday 16 December 2024Walking east to see flood damage Continuing east from the Nawarat Bridge, I turned right onto San Pa Koi Road to visit the small, neighborhood temple Wat San Pa Khoi again, as I did on this same walk last year. There was some evidence that the area had been flooded with dried mud on some sidewalks, but the area is generally well cleaned up. Wat San Pa Khoi I entered the temple […]
Tuesday 16 December 2024 Walking east to see flood damage Over the Nawarat Bridge Tha Phae Road ends at the Nawarat Bridge and the road becomes Charoen Muang Road which eventually continues east to San Kamphaeng. This year, the Nawarat Bridge will be closed for the New Year’s Countdown celebration, and fairly massive decorative structures have been added. When I walked by the Nawarat Bridge on December 1, none of this decorative structure was there, […]
Monday 16 December 2024 Walking east to see flood damage Being a little cooler than recent days, I decided to go for a longer walk east of the old city to the area around the Chiang Mai Railway Station. This is a longer walk of over 11 kilometers (7 miles) during which I passed places I visited a year ago and wanted to revisit, so this post will be in five parts. Here is the […]
Tuesday 17 December 2024 A birthday hike to Wat Phalad on the Monks Trail Today is the 121st anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, USA on 17 December 1903. Their first flight was 12 seconds covering 120 feet at a speed of 6.8 miles per hour, and on their fourth flight that day, they covered over 850 feet in 59 seconds. I contemplate this when I am in an […]
James the Intrepid Pilgrim 