James the Intrepid Pilgrim

Wednesday, January 8, 2020 A walk around the Southeast quadrant of the old Chiang Mai city The day today started with an invigorating, energetic yoga practice with Annie as instructor. Although Annie’s practice is challenging, she is always smiling, she is a very good teacher, and her adjustments are always an improvement in the pose. After practice I walked over to the Amazing Alleyway for a fresh juice smoothie with a young man from Israel. […]

Tuesday, January 7, 2020 A mellow, rest day in Chiang Mai I have been practicing yoga every day, walking around the old city every day, and some fatigue is easing in. Time for some rest and a bit of rejuvenation. After breakfast and catching up on personal and work e-mail. I decided to go in search of the Samlaan Barber who cut my hair very nicely twice while I was here last year. While in […]

Sunday, January 5, 2020 A routine day in Chiang Mai Insofar as any day in Chiang Mai can be considered “routine,” this Sunday was a relatively routine day, except that I did not practice yoga today as I had another appointment at the same time. The day started with breakfast at the Good Morning Chiang Mai. After breakfast I grabbed my camera and left early to walk to Om’s for a gua sha session. Wat […]

Wednesday, January 1, 2020 New Year’s Day Forest Hike to Wat Palad Started the day with a invigorating yoga practice with Annie. Annie is a truly gifted teacher, her yoga skills are unsurpassed, heavily influenced by the Ashtanga yoga style, and her passion for yoga comes through in her teaching at every class. The idea of starting the new year with a hike through the forest/jungle up to Wat Palad came to me, so after […]

Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Chiang Mai Second Day Walk Inside the Old City After another very strong yoga session bright and early at 8 AM, I had breakfast and decided to make a walk inside the old city. Seemed appropriate after walking the circumference of the wall/moat yesterday. And, I might see what preparations are being made for the New Year celebrations. After King Bhumibol Adulyadej (King Rama IX) passed away three years ago, there […]

Monday, December 30, 2019 Chiang Mai First Day Walk Around the Wall/Moat After a strong yoga session bright and early at 8 AM, I had breakfast at the Good Morning Chiang Mai cafe (Good Morning Chiang Mai is the cafe/coffee shop and Tropical Inn is the guest house). Breakfast is included with the room, so it is convenient. Here is photo of the entrance area of Good Morning Chiang Mai/Tropical Inn. I decided to sort […]

Monday, January 28, 2019 Return to Two Favorite Temples on My Last Day After our visit to Wat Suan Dok, our driver took us up the canal road to the north of the old city and Wat Jed Yod, right by the rather nice Chiang Mai Historical Museum. Wat Jed Yod History Wat Jed Yod, sometimes translated as Wat Chet Yot, is a major temple in the Chiang Mai area, outside and north of the […]

Monday, January 28, 2019 Return to Two Favorite Temples on My Last Day Today is my last day in Chiang Mai. My flight leaves tonight at 11:15 PM, arriving at the Incheon (Seoul) airport tomorrow morning at 6:15 AM local time. After breakfast, I finished packing and checked out from See You Soon just before noon, leaving my luggage with them. A taxi will take me to the airport at about 7:30 PM, so I […]

Saturday, January 26, 2019 Return Visit to Wat Sri Suphan My friends Liz and Bryan from the Seattle, Washington area were visiting Southeast Asia, and their time in Chiang Mai overlapped my last few days. After they got settled in their accomodation inside the old city, I met them and we walked to the Saturday Night Market along Wua Lai Road near Wat Sri Suphan. We made our way to Wat Sri Suphan as the […]

Saturday, January 26, 2019 Walking Along the South and West Side of the Wall – Part 2 Wat Phra Singh After entering the old city through Suan Dok Gate, I was close to Wat Phra Singh. Wat Phra Singh is of four temples in Chiang Mai with the Royal Temple status. King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII), the older brother of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), bestowed on it the status of Royal Temple […]

Saturday, January 26, 2019 Walking Along the South and West Side of the Wall – Part 1 It is Saturday, and I leave late Monday. After yoga, a cleanup, lunch, and some shopping (for a few souvenirs for friends at home), I decided to take a walk. I intended to walk south from Chiang Mai Gate along the south end of the wall/moat, then up along the west side to Suan Dok Gate, and check […]

Tuesday, January 22, 2019 A Second Hike Up Doi Suthep, Part 2 We left Wat Phalad and headed up the trail towards Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. The trail leads from Wat Phalad to the main road, and that 300 meters is a very steep section. Once across the road, we follow the trail back into the jungle and the noise of the road is soon gone, replaced by the jungle noise, birds and insects. […]