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 […]
Wednesday, December 13, 2023Walking back from Chiang Mai Ram Hospital I read the news today oh boy; about a lucky man who made the grade… An interesting few days in Chiang Mai, and three visits to Chiang Mai Ram Hospital, two unplanned. Not at all detached from reality as is suggested by the Beatles song, “A Day in the Life.” Suffered through a short but intense bout of food poisoning, making me feel lucky to […]
Thursday, December 7, 2023Walking from Story 106 Co-working Space to The 3-Sis Wat Saen Fang Since I had a little extra time, I decided to visit Wat Saen Fang before the walk back to The 3-Sis. This is a relatively new temple next door to Story 106. According to a plaque on the grounds, this temple was built in the 1870s making it new compared to many temples in and around Chiang Mai. Wat Saen […]
Thursday, December 7, 2023Walking to Story 106 Café and Co-working Space A question I often get regarding my visits to Chiang Mai is, “What is your daily life like?” I do not have exciting adventures every day, but having said that, every day is something of an adventure, and while I do have something of a routine, no days are close to the same. This afternoon I’m scheduled to have a chi nei tsang (CNT) […]
Monday, December 4, 2023Wat Nantaram When I was writing my post about my walk south of the old Chiang Mai city, it seemed to be long so I skipped a couple of the temples I had stopped to view. Those temples are Wat Nantaram (which I mentioned) and Wat Puak Hong close to the Samlaan Barber near Saen Pung Gate. I have mixed feelings about Wat Nantaram. Historically, this was an important temple in the […]
Monday, December 4, 2023Walking south of the Old Chiang Mai City As I mentioned yesterday, mornings are cool with afternoons and evenings hot and humid, so getting out for a walk earlier is better. Despite good intentions, I seem to not get out walking before 9:30. Since I made my blog post yesterday with the quotes from the naturalist John Muir and the philosopher Kierkegaard, those quotes have stayed in my mind. “I only went […]
Sunday, December 3, 2023Walking to and along the Mae Ping River Mornings are cool, suggesting that winter is coming. By late morning, the heat is back, continuing well into the evening and making my usual after-dinner walks less comfortable than I remember. I wanted to get out for a walk today, having been reminded of a quote from John Muir (American Naturalist, Writer, Founder of the Sierra Club 1838 -1914) “I only went out for […]
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 […]
James the Intrepid Pilgrim 