Chiang Mai

I don't know what this says. Guess I'll play 'Does it hurt or is it good?' later.

Ate traditional Thai cuisine at someone's house. They tought how to make a Thai curry and also how to make some light, but spicy, quick snacks. Everything was super delicious but not overly spicy. After the meal we got a tour of the house including the Buddha room where they keep items belonging to people they want to remember. He talked through a few of those items.

If you don't have a motorcycle here I think you're in the minority. Haven't seen but one or two above 300cc though. Not a lot of high speed highways so I guess speed isn't a primary consideration.

2 wheels > 4 wheels

Stopped by the Chiang Mai Night Market after dinner. Interesting but quite a bit of the mass produced touristy stuff. Might stop down here tomorrow night... or might do something new. Not sure yet.

Definitely a beautiful and comfortable place to stay. Best night of sleep since I got here. Comfortable beds and pillows. The coffee in the restaurant is delicious. If you're looking for a bottle of wine there is a convenience store about a block away with a rack of about 20 bottles. There's a laundromat less than a block away. Everything you need right here.

First up this morning was a visit to the Queen Sirikit Canopy Walk. Beautiful views and listing to the moving water of the river over some falls is always soothing to the soul. A large tour of local kids added to the ambiance if culture for us. They were all pleasant and happy to practice their English greetings with us.

Lunch today was at the Bai Orchid. Buffet style authentic Thai food. More plants to take in. Butterfly Farm was closed for construction. Food was good. The fried bananas here were delicious!

After lunch and a short break we went to P. Collection Silver. Beautiful items but nothing we needed. Got a little bit of info on silver from the instructor there. Got about halfway through before realizing I wasn't supposed to be taking photos. Oops! C̄hạn s̄eīycı...

From the silver shop was a quick walk to the silk shop. I love watching people making hand made items. These skills are disappearing so getting the opportunity to experience them being used by talented people is rewarding.

I'm labeling the Bosang Umbrella Making Center as the "pleasantly surprised" excursion of the day. I wasn't holding out much hope for it being interesting but seeing the craftsmanship that goes into each one from the pulp used for the paper to the hand painting was fantastic. Julie and I both got items painted for 100 Thai baht...about $3. They did it really fast and well. Pretty fascinating.

First Temple of the day was Wat Inthakhin Sadue Muang. Small but great to photograph.

Reliquaries of Northern Thai Royalty. Tour guide Udom explained the sticks against the tree and other things. I suggest if you come you get a knowledgeable guide. There's lots to learn here.

Wat Suan Dok...our second Temple of the day. Very ornate. Great to photograph this one. Beautiful!

ABT (another bloody Temple) was a phrase used in a story our tour guide told us. This one was the best of the day. Not as large as the Grand Palace but beautiful in it's own right. We took a tram to the top but walked down the stairs on the way down.