Biking tour of Chiang Mai Old Quarter

Sunday, June 07, 2015
Chiang Mai, Chang Wat Chiang Mai, Thailand
Late breakfast, then off on the hotel bikes to explore Chiang Mai's Old Quarter. Originally had planned a walking tour thru the city but with this heat, a bike is absolutely the best way to get around. Once you get over the trepidation of sharing the road with the millions of cars, tuk tuks & scooters here, it's a breeze. It's also most helpful that tourists seem to have absolute priority on the road. I guess the locals know that the clueless tourists need a wide berth. Basically everyone just stops for you.
There are over 300 wats (temples) in Chiang Mai . As you wander around the city you find one around every corner. Some are large and showy and full of visitors. Others are hidden down quiet backstreets with not a soul in sight. Some are working temples of shimmering gold with hundreds of novice monks in glaring orange robes streaming past and Thais lighting incense in front of giant gold Buddhas. Others are long neglected, chedis crumbling and being taken over by tropical vegetation.
In the bigger wats you’ll be sure to find monks, young and old. Perhaps meditating quietly, perhaps chanting, or more surprisingly, listening to their iPod or in one instance working on their laptop. We were very surprised by their friendliness and approachability.
To prevent "wat burnout", we picked out the top 5 of interest to us. Each had something different to offer but all were stunning.
Afterwards we picked up some supplies at the local supermarket and came back to the hotel to have a late lunch by the pool (which we had all to ourselves for the afternoon).
Supper at the Riverside Restaurant (thai food) in a lovely setting, then off to bed.
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Comments

mom
2015-06-08

something funny ...today's crossword had "thai temple " ...well i aced that one !
Gab, i am curious to know about that yummy drink .
Lara , we are off to the Segal tonight to see Duddy ...they say it is their biggest production so far ...will let you know.
your photography is amazing . look forward each day to checking them out .
xxx

Lara
2015-06-09

Happy to help from halfway around the world on your crossword!
The drinks are some lovely lemonade actually.
Enjoy the Segal - hope it's awesome (hugs to my sis).
BTW, all the photography is courtesy of my 3 sidekicks. I am simply the humble blogger (I don't think they trust me with the cameras for fear my fumbly fingers will drop them - plus the pics would all turn out blurry!).
Xoxo

2025-02-18

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