Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai

I woke up unbelievably early and could not get back to sleep. Since it was before 6am I decided to get up and witness the alms ceremony for the monks. This is a daily event where a Buddhist or spiritual person offers alms (food) to a monk. It is not seen as charity but rather as showing respect to a secular group, in this case, Buddhism. The event can be watched or one can participate. Photographs are okay as long as you don’t get in the way, use flash (I found this out AFTER the fact) nor touch a monk.

I made my way to the street for 6am and waited about 20 minutes before a line of monks appeared.

Across the street from where I stood, several people had their offerings ready. They knelt on small bamboo mats with bowls of sticky rice, spring rolls, and fruit. A monk approaches and the person kneeling would place a small amount of rice into one container and the fruit into another.

Unfortunately, this event is becoming very touristy and hawkers have realized an opportunity to make some money. Signs have been posted around the town asking tourists to buy food from the market or have your hotel prepare it for you. Hawkers not only overcharge but the food is of poor quality.

The entire thing felt a bit like a circus and when I returned to the room, I told Ian not to go. I decided I would never go to another alms giving ceremony again – unless I was offering alms.

Ian and I had to decide what our plans for Laos were. Originally the goal was to enter and exit Laos through its border with Vietnam but that never panned out. We debated going to Vang Vieng but after some research, the area seemed wholly unappealing – filled with partiers and young backpackers. ‘Tubing’ is the big tourist draw there. Large rubber tubes are rented and travellers ride them down the river stopping for drinks (usually alcoholic) along the way, as a result, several Western tourists have drowned. My research indicated bus rides around the country were long and arduous, dirty and uncomfortable – and nothing about those appealed to us. After much debate, we decided to head on to Thailand where we could get a decent priced flight to Chiang Mai from Luang Prabang.

It was around this time that I got sick. My stomach started gurgling and feeling most odd and I eventually threw up; first time I have done that in years. I’m not sure what it was from – I’ve learned that it isn’t always the food – it could have been something I touched, or from a drink, or bacteria on someone’s hands which touched my plate or cutlery and voila – bacteria transferred and I was sick. So there I was, housebound and bedridden for two days.

Ian trekked around the town visiting the many temples of Luang Prabang.

He ate some spicy noodle soup at a café –

Then visited more temples (the interior of this one is quite lovely)-

And went to the Museum that was the former Royal Palace of Laos with its rooms preserved; photographs were not permitted so I cannot show you any. Ian also trekked up 328 steps on Mount Phou Si, a small hill in the centre of the old city, to see Vat That Chomsi Temple at its summit. When clear, it has quite a lovely view of the Mekong River and surrounding countryside.

He crammed in a lot in those few days; probably more than if I were with him. He does move fast.

I ventured out my second night for dinner and ate broth from some plain soup. Our day of departure, I was feeling a lot better.

Our flight was around 1pm and we received free transport to the airport from our guesthouse – driving in style….

We felt quite ridiculous perched at the back of this thing – and I’m sure we looked it too. Oh well, we arrived safe and sound (although slightly dusty). The airport was super tiny with one gate for international departures and one for domestic. Our flight to Chiang Mai was uneventful and we made our way through immigration without a problem. In retrospect, I wish we had asked about a 60day tourist visa at the airport b/c that has certainly turned into a bit of an ordeal – but I’ll explain that later. 

We purchased a meter ticket for a taxi and were on our way to our hotel De Chai, the Colonial just a few minutes’ walk from the east gate of the old city.

Chiang Mai is located in the north of Thailand with a population of approximately 175,000 people. It has a walled quarter (called the old city) with several temples and is very easy to navigate on foot. The city boasts about 300 temples – a number that doesn’t surprise you because literally everywhere you look, there is a temple.

Our hotel was quite lovely and well situated. The rooms were huge with a wonderfully SOFT bed, separate shower and tub, TV, WIFI, huge windows (but not much to look at), breakfast, kettle, fridge and a/c. It wasn’t the cheapest place – I think it was just under 90 dollars – but the location was perfect to start from. We were super close to laundry, restaurants, the old city, and the night market.

Ian and I had visited Chiang Mai when we lived in South Korea many many years ago but it was like we were seeing everything for the first time. It all looked new. It was very easy to get around, the sidewalks were in great shape and people were used to tourists. Restaurants were plentiful – we had vegetarian Thai at Taste From Heaven which was superb, and delicious pasta at a very busy, tiny De Stefano. The city has a Starbucks so we got our fix in air conditioned splendor.

First day we decided to do the temple walk found in our Lonely Planet Thailand book and started with Wat Phan Tao with an old teak temple that once was a royal residence.

It is constructed entirely of moulded teak panels fitted together and supported by 28 large teak pillars. Alongside the temple is a small pond and at the back we found monks’ robes set out to dry.

 Our next stop was Wat Chedhi Luang, not far from Wat Phan Tao.

Inside the temple are gorgeous pillars painted with gold –

The temple complex surrounds a partially ruined Chedhi dating back to 1441, believed to be one of the tallest structures in ancient Chiang Mai. Damage occurred either as a result of a 16^th C earthquake or by King Taksin during the recapture of Chiang Mai in the 1700s.

Around the back were several small chapels some with wax figures of deceased monks. Not only that, one shrine displayed glass jars with bits and pieces of one of the monks – hair, nail, bone, teeth…I found it a bit creepy to be honest so no photos of that.

As we wandered the site, a tiny ancient lady approached me holding a small wicker cage of birds. For 2 dollars I could free half a dozen birds and it would bring me good luck.

I was so in! She showed me how to release them and with a little shake, off they flew. It was such a great feeling sending those birds off to freedom; I only hoped they wouldn’t return to be captured another day.

Next up was Wat Phra Singh, Chiang Mai’s most visited temple (according to Lonely Planet). Since the 1360s, Phra Singh, the city’s most revered Buddha, has had its home in a small temple at the back. Closer to the front, in the larger temple a less important Buddha lives.

In the windows of the temple paper lanterns and banners were flapping in the hot breeze outside.

The paths led us easily through the grounds past gongs to hit and bells to clang for good luck. A band played at the entranceway and a Western woman did an improvised belly dance to the Thai music and for moment I was embarrassed to be Western, but then I noticed the Thai people were all smiling and nodding and I took in the spectacle with humour.  

There were a lot of tourists around and the day was super hot. I sat in some shade taking it all in and Ian visited another chapel. This one filled with wonderful murals –

We finished the day with a visit to the Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre for a Chiang Mai history lesson.

It was not overly interesting, most of the displays had English recordings (complete with British accents) that were very boring. We flew through the two floors and out a side door pretty quickly. The best thing about that visit was coming across this tree with the most interesting…fruit? Flowers? Not sure what they were but they were certainly alien looking…

Our Chiang Mai visit was off to a good start: the city was clean, there were decent restaurants and it was easy to get around. We had a list of things to do with a visit to the Elephant Nature Park next.