My, My Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is the gateway to the north of Thailand, which is more mountainous, more rugged, cooler than the rest of the country. The city is the jumping-off point for treks into the north – visiting hill tribes and/or having outdoorsy experiences. I have friends who have trekked in Nepal and they trained and packed rigorously; I didn’t feel prepared for that so I didn’t plan on a trek. When I got to Chiang Mai I realized that a trek from there can be rigorous but can also be what I could call an excursion – I could have done one after all, but once I was up there, I didn’t have the days. Too few days to go on a trek or do further exploration of the north (there are also interesting villages, for you non-outdoors types), and maybe too many days for Chiang Mai itself. Oh well – maybe when I come back with my 20-something husband for our honeymoon? I still made the most of my time in Chiang Mai – and it was kind of nice not to rush around.

I went on a half-day excursion to a nearby hill tribe village and a famous temple; the other people on the excursion were a family of four and a couple of honeymooners (they had been in the country two days and were sick of Thai food – how is that possible?). The Hmong town was a little touristy (you have to go on the multi-day treks to see something more authentic, but I would think even these have to feel the impact of tourists going through) but it was still interesting to see the costumes and the way of life.



I’m not one for giving money to little kids (every article on responsible tourism says to donate money instead) but this little girl was so cute that in exchange for a picture I gave her some.


We also went to a garden where the tour guide insisted on photographing each of us with opium poppies – there’s a big effort in the Golden Triangle (where Burma, Thailand and Laos meet – that is, not too far north of Chiang Mai) to get the hill tribes to do something other than produce opium, but there isn’t anything quite as lucrative with which to replace it (a note on Burma – everyone seems to call it that and not Myanmar. It was suggested to me by someone who works for the U.S. Government, and therefore maybe I shouldn’t say who, that I could easily go to Burma from Thailand, but I was afraid there might be State Department restrictions, and I didn’t want to chance it).


We then went on to the Doi Suthep temple, one of the city’s most sacred spots. The story behind this temple is that a monk placed a Buddha relic on the back of an elephant and set it loose; wherever the elephant stopped is where they would build the temple. It’s on a hill with a great view of Chiang Mai. There’s a funicular, but you accumulate more merit by walking up. There were people circumnavigating the big shrine, and I joined them for three walks around (three is an auspicious number). I also got blessed by a monk. We then went on to a jade factory – it’s always interesting to see how things are made, and I resisted the pressure to buy.



Back in Chiang Mai, I had a turkey dinner for lunch at a restaurant that was running Christmas specials (it was only Christmas Eve, but I went early lest it be crowded the next day). It brought me back to the great Thanksgiving dinner I had had less than a month before – it seemed longer ago, given all I had seen and done since!

And then I did more shopping – around the town during the day and to the night bazaar at night. I realized I could have bought a lot of Thai things for my imaginary apartment had I not bought so much Moroccan stuff! But I mostly bought things for other people.