A Few Temples in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is very much the spiritual capital of Thailand. There are many highly revered temples, and the atmosphere is a little more spiritual, and the way of life a little more relaxed. Thai people here even speak more slowly than in Bangkok.

I suspect that the way of life is somewhat changing under the massive influx of tourists here. Great swathes of the city are now given over to the tourist industry, and you can find restaurants reflecting almost any kind of cuisine from Mexican to Indian to Lebanese. Fortunately, you can still find good Thai cuisine, too, if you know where to look.

Anyway, on my final day in Chiang Mai I summoned up the strength to visit four of the city’s famous temples.

Wat Chiang Man
Wat Chiang Man is thought to be the oldest surviving temple in the city, though the exact date of its founding isn’t known. It has an impressive gilded exterior

And charming gilt lacquer window shutters

Wat Phan Tao

This little-touristed temple doesn’t have the flashy gilt of many of the temples around here; it’s a much simpler affair made of teak. The walls and windows have a simple, rustic charm:

Inside the viharn you can see the 24 large teak trunks which support the building and the temple’s main altar. It’s a simple place with a crudely-tiled floor.

Wat Chedi Luang

However, the temple is dominated by a massive chedi, partly in ruins, dating from 1441 (i.e. predating any surviving temple in Chiang Mai). The chedi has naga staircases on each side, and supporting elephants – though only one is original. The rest are modern cement reproductions.

One of this temple’s claims to fame is that it used to house the Emerald Buddha figure which now lives in at Royal temple, Wat Phra Kaew where the figure is given a change of costume three times a year at the change of each of Thailand’s three seasons. The costume is traditionally done by the King, but given the current King’s advancing years his son now performs the ceremony on his behalf.

Wat Phra Singh
Wat Phra Sing is another temple with an ornate gilded façade.

The interior has a large Buddha figure.

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Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai

The choice of buses from Chiang Rai is staggering, from clapped out wrecks cooled only by broken fans to VIP buses with airline business class-like seats and in-seat service. Needless to say, I decided to treat myself to the VIP option. For less than 5 pounds for a three hour trip it seemed like a bargain. Indeed, the trip was very comfortable – if it weren’t for the TV screens playing a selection of karaoke songs and Thai comedy programmes. (There’s nothing less funny than a Thai comedy. They’re so pathetic that they beat a drum at every punchline so that you know when you’re supposed to laugh – you wouldn’t know otherwise. The regular parade of supposedly stupid, obese women, shrieking katoeys and midgets is sickening.)

The hotel turned out to be both a delight and an horror. It was a charming boutique hotel in the Chiang Mai old city, close to many of the main attractions.

The rooms were attractively furnished in dark wood against light walls with a few Thai motifs. The bed was enormous with more pillows than any reasonable person could need and an attractive swag of brightly coloured Thai silk across it. Most agreeable.

So impressed was I by the hotel that I decided to take dinner in one of its two restaurants. I had some very tasty Vietnamese fresh spring rolls followed by a local curry and rice. I suspect that the term “fresh” with the spring rolls was a misnomer – at least with respect to the prawns within, for at five in the morning I was faced with a serious dilemma as to which end of my body I should position over the porcelain. So intense was my vomiting that after an hour or so I was bringing up blood and my muscles all over were aching. Needless to say I was out of action for a couple of days.

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