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 […]
Saturday 21 December 2024 Revisiting the Klong Mae Kha in the evening When I first visited the renovated part of the Klong Mae Kha back in late November, I said I would return at night to get a few photos of how it looks with the decorations lit. Today, four days before Christmas, on my sister Carol’s birthday (she was a Christmas “Carol”), I took an evening walk down to Kamphaengdin Road, then onto Ragang […]
Friday, 27 December 2024 Western meals in Chiang Mai, Thailand I am often asked why I eat western-style food while I am in Thailand. The answer is simpler than you might think: because it tastes so good. There is a difference in the food chain in Thailand and at home in the U.S.A. Here, the distance from the farm to your plate is very, very short. The egg I ate for breakfast might have been […]
Thursday 19 December 2024 The Labyrinth at Wat Jedlin I walk by Wat Jedlin almost every day when going to Wild Rose Yoga or to Pump Fitness 2.0 for strength training with PT Ning. Every holiday season there is a labyrinth set up in the parking area of Wat Jedlin. And every year a different labyrinth is built. Walking back from a workout with Ning, I stopped to see this year’s labyrinth. I’ll cover more […]
James the Intrepid Pilgrim 