Monday, January 1, 2024 New Year’s Celebration in Chiang Mai, Thailand You are probably wondering why the Thai greeting starts with 2567. The official year in Thailand is the Buddhist year, based on the death of the Buddha in 543 BC. So this works out to the Gregorian (international) year plus 543 years, or 2024 becomes 2567. The rest of the greeting says: Happy New YearMay it be a good year, be lucky here, be […]
Saturday, December 30, 2023A daytime train ride to Bangkok In a recent blog post, I walked east of the old Chiang Mai city out to the Chiang Mai Railway Station. That gave me the idea of making a daytime train ride to Bangkok again to really see the country. When flying, not much is seen. I traveled by train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on my second yoga-focused trip to Thailand in 2013. The train […]
Friday, December 29, 2023A look at various meals in Chiang Mai Over my many visits to Chiang Mai I’m often asked what does the food look like? The answer is that the food looks much like the food we eat at home. A slight challenge in sharing pictures of the food is that I am usually hungry and start eating before I think to photograph my meal. And often, when I do take a photo, […]
Saturday, December 23, 2023Hiking up to Wat Phalad and Wat Phra That Doi Suthep The morning temperatures have cooled a bit, and the afternoons, while still warm, are also a few degrees cooler. With no yoga class and no strength training scheduled today, it seemed like a good day to return to the Doi Suthep mountain and hike the monk’s trail for the first time this winter. “Doi” in Thai means mountain, and “Suthep” is […]
Thursday, December 21, 2023Temples nearby Akha Ama Coffee Shop Akha Ama is a coffee company that gets its coffee beans from selected small, organic, mostly hill tribe coffee growers in Northern Thailand. There are a few Akha Ama coffee shops in the Chiang Mai area, and one is easy walking distance from The 3-Sis guest house where I stay. Akha Ama is one of John’s favorites, as well as mine, so today we met there […]
Wednesday, December 20, 2023Walking east of the Old City Wat Muang Kai I continued my walk west along a road called “Rat Uthit Road.” A note about the English approximations of Thai words. The Thai language has 44 consonants and 12 vowels, so many of the sounds are approximated in English, and those approximations are inconsistent when there is no direct sound translation. For example, at Wat Ket, the English on the signs also show […]
Wednesday, December 20, 2023Walking east of the Old City Chiang Mai Railway Station It is a hot, sunny day, and I’m glad I have my hat to prevent sunburn on my head. I finally made it to the Chiang Mai Railway Station. Here is a view of the overall station and one of the entrance. I was last here very briefly 11 years ago when I arrived after taking the daytime train from Bangkok to […]
Wednesday, December 20, 2023Walking east of the Old City Wat San Pa Khoi Walking along Charoen Muang Road towards the railway station, I passed through the neighborhood known as San Pa Khoi in the Wat Ket district of Chiang Mai. There is a neighborhood temple here, so I went to have a look. This temple is clearly not as clean, polished, and restored as some of the busier temples, but a nice local temple. And there […]
Wednesday, December 20, 2023Walking east of the Old City With the weather not quite as hot as it has been, I decided to get out for a longer walk. I have not explored east of the Mae Ping River except right along the river, so I headed east thinking I might walk to the Chiang Mai Railway Station. I have been there only once, in 2012 when I arrived in Chiang Mai after taking the […]
Thursday, December 14, 2023Visa extension at Immigration and other adventures This post covers a few days and a few miscellaneous events. As I have stated in previous posts, I have a 60-day tourist visa obtained online from the Royal Thai Consulate Los Angeles. Since I am planning on being in the Kingdom of Thailand for a total of 74 days, I must go to Immigration to have my visa extended for 30 more days. Since […]
Wednesday, December 13, 2023Walking back from Chiang Mai Ram Hospital Chang Phuak Gate Chang Phuak Gate was originally named Hua Vien Gate. When King Mengrai had Chiang Mai built, the wall around the city had four gates, one on each side. The gate on the north was called “Hua Vieng Gate.” In Thai, “Hua” means head and in northern Thai, “Vieng” is a fortified place, so Hua Vieng Gate means the gate at the head […]
Wednesday, December 13, 2023Walking back from Chiang Mai Ram Hospital Wat Lok Moli Being one of my favorite temples, I have posted about Wat Lok Moli (sometimes spelled Wat Lok Molee) many times. The staff at The 3-Sis where I have stayed almost every year for 10 years, knowing that I like to visit and learn about the Thai temples, sometimes ask me what my favorite temple is today. After more than ten years, I […]
James the Intrepid Pilgrim 