One week down, one more to go! It’s hard to believe there’s only a week left of this adventure abroad. This past week has been a mix of working and touring. On Monday, I set out to tour some temples in the Old City in the morning. Before noon, I had made it to Wat Lok Moli, Wat Chiang Man, Wat Pan Ping, and Wat Inthakhin Sadue Muang as well as stopping by the Three Kings Monument. It sounds like a lot but most of these were pretty close together and I didn’t spend too long at each one. I’d walk around a little, snap some pictures, and move on to the next.
I took a break for lunch then made my way to Punspace to get to work. Punspace is a favorite coworking space in Chiang Mai for nomadic workers and was actually on my list of places to see in Chiang Mai. It was indeed a great place to grab a desk and get some work done; quieter than a library plus they had a coffee shop on site for some great Thai iced coffee. I ended up returning on Tuesday morning for more quality work time in the city and afterwards set out to continue the wat tour. I made it to Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan in time for an evening service so I observed that a bit as monks chanted and sang to the Buddha. Afterwards, I was hanging around outside the temple when a local came up and started talking with me. He commented on my beard, envious of how full it was and noting that Thais couldn’t grow beards quite like that, and he asked where I was from, how I liked Thailand, and where all I had toured. He asked if I had toured Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand, and when he found out I hadn’t I was abruptly whisked into a tuk-tuk bound for a tour office!
I’m still unclear if the man I had been talking with had any connection with the tour office. Perhaps he did but I believe he was just trying to be helpful and make sure I got the most out of my trip. I did end up buying a couple tours there; one to Doi Inthanon and another to an elephant sanctuary. By the time I got out of the tour office, it was dark and raining so I hopped on the scooter and made my way back home.
Wednesday I had an early conference call which helped me get all my work done before noon so I saddled up the scooter and zipped back up Doi Suthep to visit Hmong Village, a small town near the top of the mountain. It was a peaceful place with lots of shops selling things from locally grown strawberries to gems and silk scarves. At the end of the market street was a hillside garden and waterfall which were pleasant to walk through.
On the way back down the mountain, I decided to stop at Wat Pha Lat again. This is the temple I inadvertently discovered along the Monk’s Trail on my first day here. This time, I was armed with a better camera and a bit more time. I enjoyed walking around the temple grounds again although it was a little busier than my first visit. I met a nice chap from Sweden who was a frequent visitor to Chiang Mai. We talked a bit as we enjoyed the afternoon sun and I learned a lot about the area from him during our visit.
Thursday, I got more work done in the morning then headed into town. I visited Wat Srisuphan, the Silver Temple. This unique temple is decorated almost entirely with silver. The original temple, built in 1502, no longer stands but the silver temple, finished in 2006, sits on top of the original foundation. I found the temple fascinating as it had very ornate decoration that included some rather odd characters. In one corner, I found images of Captain America, Spiderman, Ironman, and the Incredible Hulk; not something you’d expect to find at a temple!
That evening, I participated in my first of two Thai cooking classes. I attended an evening class with Aromdii Cooking School, a small school run by Nok and Aek, a husband and wife teaching from their home in Chiang Mai. The class was excellent and I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a good value cooking class. For 800 bhat ($24), we visited a local market to shop for fresh ingredients and took them back to Nok and Aek’s place to prepare our meals. I made pad thai, spring rolls, tom kha soup, massaman curry paste and curry, then fried banana for desert. It was a lot of delicious food. I took the class with three new friends from Poland; we all had a great time together. Nok and Aek were perfect hosts, skilled instructors, and really made the course enjoyable.
Today was pretty low-key. I got some work done and on my lunch break met a new friend, Patrick, traveling from Germany. We got to talking over lunch and discovered we had a lot in common! We’re both web developers, divers, and setting out on our first extended journey abroad. We also happen to be staying at the same condo complex and will be in Chiang Mai about the same length of time. We had a great conversation and talked a good portion of the afternoon. I took the rest of the day to get some laundry done and get ready for tomorrow. I’ll be setting off for my day-long tour to Doi Inthanon early in the morning. It’ll be a busy weekend with that and my second cooking class on Sunday, this time out at a farm. More on that in the next post though! It’s getting late and I am ready to get to bed.