RadioRoryWelcome to Chang Mai. But if you’re a hippie European college backpacker, you’re probably already here.
I loved this place. You can’t walk 10-minutes without stumbling across another gilded temple and there are night markets, elephant encounters, and a lot of great food in a city that embraces visitors. It’s a short, easy flight from Bangkok to Chang Mai and the town is just built for exploring.
There’s a large wall that surrounds the heart of Chang Mai and many of the oldest temples are inside. Places like Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Phra Singh still adhere to strict rules and dress codes, which is why those harem pants are so popular with women (and some guys too).
These aren’t ruins. These are active, busy temples that draw big crowds every day.
But where there are tourists, their are con artists.
Worshipers buy sheets of gold leaf at the temple and adorn the statues along the room’s perimeter. There are also collection boxes throughout the temple where people make small token donations. It’s like using a roll of quarters to make a $10 donation.
Some of the displays are weirder than others.
It’s a life-size fiberglass replica of the principle monk who was 98 when he died in 2009. He lived as a monk for 77 years!
Notice the picture of the king and his wife on the right. He died a couple of months after I left Thailand and the country is in an official year of mourning. He was the world’s longest-serving monarch and incredibly popular.
There is a school next to Wat Chedi Luang.
There, young “monks in training” spend time sitting outside talking to visitors and answering questions about their faith and their lifestyle. It’s a chance to demystify their religion, practice their foreign language skills, and make friends.
After sightseeing, I guess the two most popular activities for travelers are eating and shopping. (I don’t really shop, I just people watch).
The night markets take over the streets. It seems they spend the day setting up, sell for a few hours, break it all down, sleep for about four hours, and start the assembly process all over again.
There’s a more permanent night market building with dozens, maybe hundreds, of stalls. Three out of four stock all the exact same stuff.
For me, the highlight was a food (and beer) area set up just off the main drag. It’s a food truck rally, carnival, seafood fest, and beer fest all rolled into one.
Here, they have items laid out you pick the one you want and they fry it. Hey, don’t overthink it, right?
There’s a band playing cover songs which manages to be both fantastic and terrible in a ten-minute window.
Still, the open air, all that beer, all that food.
You can’t go wrong.