Monday 03 February 2025Afternoon excursion near Mae Rim, Air Diamond Cafe When we were driving north to the Dantewada Waterfall Park, we passed an actual airplane just off the main highway. Mukda said it was a coffee shop but she had never stopped there. On the way back from Dantewada, I suggested that stopping there might be fun. Air Diamond, part of the Black Canyon Coffee chain, is a coffee shop in an actual Airbus […]
Monday 03 February 2025Afternoon excursion near Mae Rim, the waterfall park We left the lake at Huay Teung Thao and headed north, farther from the city of Chiang Mai. We are going to a place with a waterfall or more than one (more photo opportunities), and it is in the district north of Mae Rim called Mae Taeng. The place is the Datewada Waterfall Park, and it was a lot of fun being there and […]
Monday 03 February 2025Afternoon excursion near Mae Rim, lunch on a lake My friend Mukda had told me that on Monday she had to go north of Chiang Mai to pay her business tax and she asked me to come with her. She said there was a nice place where we could have lunch near the provincial tax office. I met at her massage shop and her two massage ladies, Yui and Anna joined us. […]
Saturday 1 February 2025 Returning to Khun Chang Khian to see the Sakura Mukda is a long-time friend of mine who owns a massage shop on Loi Kroh Road here in Chiang Mai. I often sit and chat with her after an evening walk, watching the people walk by. She told me that one of her massage ladies, Yui, wanted to go up the mountain to Khun Chang Khian to see the Sakura. She came […]
Friday 31 January 2025 Some miscellaneous pictures and descriptions I am all caught up with this blog, enjoying some mellow days in Chiang Mai as my winter here is eroding away. It is the last day of January and I start the journey home in just six days, next Thursday evening. A couple of posts ago, at the end, I noted that the next post would be miscellaneous photos. So to round out January, here […]
Wednesday 29 January 2025 Temples I see often and seldom visit On Ratchamanka Road is Wat Pha Khao, a temple I pass often and have seldom felt compelled to enter and explore. Here is the sign on the corner with very sexy-looking angels in the carving. Inside, there is a coffee shop by the entrance, and further in, a viharn and chedi. There are always several people and monks here, so this is a fairly […]
Wednesday 29 January 2025 Temples I see often and seldom visit Writing my blog was easier when I was walking the pilgrimage routes in Spain to Santiago de Compostela. Every day while walking to the next town, I took many photographs. At the end of the day, while resting and waiting for laundry to finish, I would select a representative few, process them (crop and resize), upload them to my blog host site, and then […]
Sunday 26 January 2025 Hiking to Wat Umong via Wat Suan Dok After crossing the hectic canal road, like a divided highway, I found a route to Wat Umong through the smaller and less busy sois instead of the main roads. I arrived at Wat Umong from Wat Suan Dok in a respectable 45 minutes. Wat Umong Wat Umong is located south of Chiang Mai University in deep woodland near the base of Doi Suthep […]
Sunday 26 January 2025 Hike to Wat Umong via Wat Suan Dok I typically hike with my friend Rudy from France on Sundays when he is in Chiang Mai, but he was not available today. I considered returning to the Monks Trail and hiking all the way up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, but I just was not psyched for that difficult of a hike today. Instead, I decided to return to Wat Umong, […]
Saturday 25 January 2025 Moving from The 3-Sis to See You Soon After leaving Wat Phan Tao, I walked north to Chang Phuak Gate, the gate on the north side of the wall. Part of the wall by the gate collapsed after being undermined by heavy rains about three years ago. When the damage was assessed, more of the ancient gate foundation was discovered which led to the entire area of the gate and road […]
Saturday 25 January 2025 Moving from The 3-Sis to See You Soon For the 12 winters I visited Chiang Mai, I stayed at The 3-Sis, a guesthouse and restaurant in the middle of the old city. The 3-Sis is so named because it is owned by three sisters and their parents. I know all of the family. Poppy manages The 3-Sis. About 6 or 7 years ago, Ice, one of the sisters, and her husband […]
Friday 17 January 2025 Exploring Wiang Kum Kam Again Wat Chedi Liam Our last stop was Wat Chedi Liam (also Wat Chedi Lem, Wat Chedi Liem, and Wat Ku Kham), a temple that is active today. Wat Chedi Liam is considered a premier attraction of Wiang Kum Kam. Although no ruins exist at Wat Chedi Liam, the pyramidal-shaped chedi is from the early era of the ancient city. The chedi at Wat Chedi Liam is […]
James the Intrepid Pilgrim 