Holidays in Thai: Chiang Mai on February 2nd, 2016

I woke up to a quite pleasant morning that’s unique to little towns like Chiang Mai, which the occasional horns of motorbikes and constant peddling of vendors striking a delicate balance between scary silence and annoying noise. It’s like, the whole town has been born again.

Morning, outside hotel

Breakfast, chicken rice in a Chinese restaurant

With the help of that restaurant owner, we got on a Songthaew for Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep.

Songthaews outside Su Thep, this is apparently a buyer market, yet they were very much united in their high prices. #UnionMakesUsStrong

Path to/from Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep

Gateway to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. To avoid having people in the photo I could only shoot at this angle

There's a "ticket counter" at the front entrance of Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, which only sold tickets for foreigners. But don't worry, just turn right and walk a few steps out, it's the side entrance of the temple, no ticket stands.

Three-King sculpture in Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep

It seems every temple in Thailand has got some homeless dogs

It feels that Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep is barely a religious institution given all these photo-taking tourists. (Anyway, this is still better than Five-Tower temple in Hohhot under Communism reign.)

And there’s quite some tourists in the temple, a majority of which were tours by Chinese travel agencies.

Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep is definitely one of the richer temples (of course, it’s royal temple), not a lot of temples in Chiang Mai can kept their towers so shiny

Shoes off to enter the inner part of Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep./caption]

I came across some website that said it’s cherry season in Chiang Mai from late January to early February, and cherries are quire awesome in Miao Village on Mount. Suthep, so we took a Songthaew and went further up Mount. Suthep. It turned out the whole Miao Village was a shopping street, which not-so-convenient commute. Some said that the prices here are at least reasonable, but it seemed that I, being secluded from the commercial world for so long, had totally no idea how much things were. So after wandering in the village for half an hour, we returned with only some fruits, which we ate up in an hour. As for cherry, again, this is a shopping village.

The only cherry tree blossoming in Miao Village

Fruits in Miao Village

After quite a phenomenal cold wave, it feelt good to see some flowers. (Though later they were everywhere in Bhuping Palace.)

Non-Commercial part of Miao Villagee

It’s rumored that Bhuping Palace was for Royal Families exclusively between January and March, so we didn’t plan to visit it. But the Songthaew drivers along the way all said they could take us there, after which it turned out that Phuping Palace was open. (Guess the correct rumor should be that Bhuping Palace “might” be close), probably due to that, there weren’t many people around.

And this is Bhuping Palace (Botanic Garden)

Looking at this, it reminds me of

Roses in Phuping Botanic Garden

Rose in Phuping Botanic Garden

Rose in Phuping Botanic Garden

Greenhouse in Phuping Botanic Garden

I hadn't seen any flowers for so long

Still Bhuping Botanic Garden

Still Bhuping Botanic Garden

Finally Bhuping Palace, though it's pivate

Jungle in Bhuping Botanic Palace

And there's a pool here

Abnormally large bamboo

Ending the Botanic Garden part with this strange-looking flower

Then we carpooled to Nimmanhaemin Road. (Of course, after quite a long wait for 8 enough people for a Songthaew.)

Now I understood why they asymmetrically designed a three-lane road, as people are usually reluctant to brake when going downhill, so they are given more space.

We had heard by rumors of motion sickness about Mount. Suthep before. When going uphill, it’s nothing; yet when it comes to downhill and it became a fast and dizzy ride. #FreeRollerCoaster

After going down from Mount. Suthep, we find a restaurant to alleviate that motion sickness.

Lunch in that same restaurant

Then we walked along Nimmanhaemin Road to Wat Suan Dok.

Quite interesting burger design

And AliPay has occupied every shop here

Some artwork along the road

Ubosot of Wat Suan Dok

Groups of white towers

It’s quite nice to enjoy the tranquility without tour groups

Groups of white towers

Like the lighting from this angle

It feels like “Oxford: City of Dreaming Spires” under sunset

The white towers from another angle

Wat Suan Dok is located just north of Chiang Mai Airport, a China Eastern plane taking off

The animals in the temple were fed regularly

And they were well clothed too. (I’m really curious whether this monk cloth was custom-made)

Sun pouring on this wall of Ubosot

Then we left Wat Suan Dok, as the sun had almost set. Mom said she’s still fine and felt like walking, so we wandered back to hotel.

At dusk, I purchased a coconut with 25THB

We had dinner at a local restaurant with no English menu. I ordered this bowl of noodles with hand gestures and 50THB

Motion & Stillness

Wat Phra Sing at night

Back to hotel, I came across some astonishing TV channels. First, a sell-everything channel.

Selling toothbrushes on television. #WeSellEverything

I don’t read the Thai words on the left, in the best guess, quite a blackmail to sell four toothbrushes at 580THB.

And there’s education channel, it seems the whole Thai education can go online.

A program on a educational channel

Yes, this man on a strange channel

In just a few minutes that man finished all the electric fields in high school textbook.#UniversityDiplomaInAMonth

END