Chapter 14 - Chiang Mai, Thailand (again)

On returning to Chiang Mai with my two friends Mike (Australia) and Ilse (Dutchland), we went to their favorite hostel called Julie Guesthouse. It was the chill place with a backpacker community that I had missed last time in Chiang Mai.

They even had a 9 foot replica of my pool table at home. Somebody back home please tell my old pool table that I miss it and haven't forgotten the good times we've had. Its not that I love these foreign pool tables, its just that I'm on the road and sometimes I just want to have some fun. Please forgive me.

We went to see the movie Narnia(sucks) at the mall and killed some time in this arcade. I'm in the helicopter.

Muay Thai boxing. This is the fake version where they act and don't block as much as they fall down. Still fun to watch.

This is a reggae bar. Thai rasta-men singing Bob Marley with a thick accent is funny. The lead singer got really wasted and started shouting at all of us foreigners. I guess he wasn't "feeeelin I-Ray."

This is some artwork painted on the wall of another place called the Rooftop Bar.

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Some of you might be getting sick of pictures of temples and Wats. Frankly I don't give a damn. Sitting high above Chiang Mai is the Wat Doi Suthep, which is a place that Thai Buddhists make pilgrimages because a relic of Buddha was buried here.

The view from Doi Suthep looking over the city.

You must climb a bunch of stairs to get to the temple.

The tower is bright gold and when the sun bounces off it can be seen for miles. The people buy flowers, candles, and incense in bundles and walk around the tower in a line. It seemed similar to the Ka'ba in Mecca but on a much smaller scale.

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Through the course of a week I went to a few other temples and took a few more photos.

This is a painting on the wall of Wat U-Mong that is called the Circle of Life. Click on the picture to hopefully see it in full-screen mode.

I don't know what this one is called but I liked it. Even I can read some meaning into it.

New Years Eve was packed around the Pae Gate, which is the main hub for tourists in Chiang Mai.

They have these paper lanterns that fill up with hot air when you light this burning disc underneath. Then the thing lifts off and sails high into the sky. When you look up you can see dozens of them floating above. Nobody seems to worry about one of these floating fireballs landing on a house and burning down the city. That's just the American anxiety in me.

A crowd gathered in this square outside the wall and they blew fireworks right on top of us.

New Years Day had even larger crowds because Sunday is the biggest day of the week for the street markets. Check out these crowds.

This is taken from above the entrance to the Pae Gate. The movement is clear, but notice the little women standing still in the top left. She is one of the little hilltribe ladies who sell odd shiny jewelry and trinkets. If anyone comes to Chiang Mai they can count on seeing plenty of these colorful women.

This picture sums up Chiang Mai for me.

That's all for Chiang Mai. I ride to the border with Laos tomorrow and ride a slow boat on the Mekong river to Luang Prabang.

-Thanks for Reading-