September 15-16
Editor’s note: some of the pictures I’m posting in the blog have been supplied by Ken and Janine. There is no way to know which ones and it’s highly unlikely I’m going to give any photo credit to them, similar to how I don’t give Michael any credit for his photos. Additionally, one of the photos I “borrowed” for the last post Ken had stolen off the internet. So… thank you and sorry about that to whatever random person took the photo. You also will not be getting any credit for your shot.
We left Hong Kong on Saturday, about a day before the typhoon arrived. Random fun fact since the US is busy tackling storms also: what’s the difference between a typhoon and a hurricane? Only difference is where the storm occurs. Hurricanes occur in the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and eastern North Pacific. The same storm occurring in the Northwest Pacific is called a typhoon while the storm would be called a tropical cyclone in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean.
Here’s us enjoying our default pastime while waiting for our flight:
We arrived that night in time to check into our airbnb before heading out to see the night market…
… and play some more cards. If it aint broke, am I right?
The next morning we jumped into Ken and Janine’s first tuk tuk and raced into the old city.
A little tight up front, Janine?
Mike wasn’t impressed.
We found a great place to have brunch, complete with coffee, delicious food, and champagne (if you wait until 11am which we did).
Then we were off to check out a temple. We wandered through the old city to Wat Chedi Luang.
This Wat is a large ruined temple. It gets its name from this building, below, which is a Stupa or Chedi, meaning someone is buried there:
Wat Chedi Luang was originally build to hold the ashes of King Saen Muang Ma’s father. Construction was completed in 1475. In 1575 the temple fell to ruin and was never rebuilt.
In the 1990s, UNESCO and the Japanese Government built a new Chedi right next to the original structure. Not sure why the Japanese Government was involved, but the internet told me that, so I’ll assume it’s true. So we got to check that out as well and go into it.
And then a few cool pictures outside as well:
This tree is an ancient Dipterocarp tree which was planted by the King who originally commissioned the temple. It is believed that great catastrophe will befall the city when the tree falls. Hence, tiny bamboo sticks symbolically holding it up.
There is also a small cross shaped building adjacent to the tree that houses the “city pillar” which is dedicated to the spirit of the city. The tree and the pillar are said to protect Chiang Mai from evil and disaster. But that building was off limits to women, so no pictures and we didn’t get to figure out what they mean by pillar. Ken got a kick out of the idea that Janine and I were barred from entering a building. I’m not sure how I feel about the fact that it doesn’t phase me any more. I’m sure I’ll get over that indifference the second I leave Asia.
The rest of our short amount of time in Chiang Mai was spent checking out a cool beer bar, riding tuk tuks, playing cards and eating delicious food.
Oh and I wouldn’t want to forget to mention the fact that the restaurant we were eating at had a mini bus that carted around bottles of alcohol. We don’t know where it went or who it served, but it’s a thing.
With less than 48 hours in the city, it wasn’t enough to really explore too much (also it was crazy hot), but it was better than getting stuck in the typhoon and it was a good chance for Ken and Janine to get a feel for Northern Thailand. Now it’s off to the south!