What wat?

Something I forgot to mention in my Bangkok post was a mistranslation that I ran into, that might be my favorite of the whole year. Outside of the Emerald Buddha Temple, there was a sign that read, "Beware of your valuable possessions." While it was intended to instruct people to be wary of theft, it seemed like a profound statement about worldly materials' effect on one's spirituality.

From Bangkok I went to Chiang Mai, more or less in the company of the friends I made in Bangkok, though we spent more time on our own in Chiang Mai. Our overnight train took an absurd seventeen hours to get us into town, but luckily it was comfortable if freezing so I won't complain much. We spent most of the afternoon looking for hostels though we did pass a few nice sights along the way, my favorite of which was a dramatically lit chedi which lent itself to some great photos. Funnily enough, our search for dinner landed us at a pseudo-Vietnamese restaurant that was ok but did not come close to anything Vietnam has to offer.

Three Kings Monument

The chedi (stupa)

The next day I started late, and had khao soy, a traditional curry soup with fried egg noodles, for lunch. After that I mostly wandered around and saw a lot of temples whose names I only remember because I took pictures of the entrance signs. The old city (it was a capital of Thailand) is contained in a square with a wall and a moat, and I was staying in the northeastern area, so Joe and I decided to take a tuk-tuk to the southwestern corner and work my way back. There are over 300 temples in Chiang Mai, so my pictures barely scratch the surface. Along the way I bought a mysterious fruit that had been tickling my curiosity. Salak, whose name I unearthed in order to write this entry, was very hit or miss. Some fruits were great, while others tasted unpleasant.

Khao Soy

Cool statue at the park on the NW corner

Wat Phrasingha Woramahawiharn

Wat Rajamontean T. Sripoom A. Muang Chiangmai

On the way back we heard some live music, and it was a jazz band jamming out in rehearsal. That night they would be performing at the opening of an exhibition featuring photography taken by one of the saxophonists during an overland trip from Brussels to Chiang Mai. We returned for the show after dinner, and while the photography left much to be desired, the music was great. The vibe and the people there were such that for a while I almost forgot I was in Asia.

The next day, Friday, I spent the morning wandering on my own. I intended to go to a particular temple but I took a wrong turn or got distracted, and ended up winding my way through the interior eastern side of the square until I made it to the southern edge and walked all the way around back to the northeast corner. I found a large market and a strange, out-of-place-looking all white building with European style statues and three white cars parked in front.

Egg truck. The driver laughed at me for taking this picture.

Strange white house, Janghuarinnakorn House

The main event of the day, though, took place at night. All of us met up for dinner and then went to see a muay thai boxing match. It started off with two local guys, then two local girls, and then the rest of the fights were between a Thai guy and a foreign fighter. I always rooted for the Thai. It was really fun to watch, and while you could hear the thwack of a good hit there was minimal gore. No blood, only sweat flying off on impact. I ended up in the front row behind the red corner, which was a great vantage point. There are fights every night,  and I'm pretty sure that if I lived in Chiang Mai I'd be going at least once a week.

Bam!

On Saturday I spent the day on my own. Having already seen a lot of the old city and its boundaries, I decided to dedicate the day to what lay beyond the walls. This mostly meant more temples.

Old City walls

Wat Chaisriphoom

Wat Pa Pao

At Wat Chiang Yeun

Unusual elephant heads on the eaves (usually mythical snakes)

My last stop was Chedi Luang, one of the most notable wats in Chiang Mai, built in the 14th century and known for it's very large stupa. By the time I got there I was hot and tired and hungry, so I spent some time just sitting in the shade and looking at the stupa/chedi. There were a lot of monks around, cleaning the stupa and roaming around presumably conducting quotidian monk activities. All of a sudden, a man pushing a wheel barrow in my direction let it drop and started running away, beating at bees around him. I thought it was strange and wondered where the bees had come from and why they were chasing him. Gradually but quickly, more people started running and eventually bees were everywhere. There wasn't a swarm, but there was a large and aggressive number. Some people were being chased, while others were just running away. It felt surreal, partly because, despite the panic indicated by the running, everyone maintained the respectful quiet requested at temples, so there was no screaming. I didn't feel particularly threatened but I didn't want to be the only target left so I decided to get up and walk away.

The chedi

Judging from this BBC article that came out later, stating that 70 monks were hospitalized from bee stings, I made the right choice. I'm lucky I made it out in one unswollen piece, because the next day I would be taking a day trip to Chiang Rai.