An Incredible Trip To Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chiang Mai is a very adorable and charming city in Northern Thailand, surrounded by lush green mountains and dotted with ancient temples. We had a trip at Thailand in October 2019 and visited this lovely city. We narrated our journey in Why we love Chiang Mai so much. This is just a photo journey of our trip.

We stayed here only for two days, but I would like to recommend staying here for at least three to four days; it mainly depends on how much time you have on hand. There is a lot to explore and experience in this city. Here, I loved to walk, shop, eat, and visit beautiful temples. These pictures are from Silver Temple but mostly represent the beautiful culture of the city very well.

On the first day, we covered the majority of the temples and a handicraft shop by tuktuk only. My first day's visit covers:

Wat Sri Suphan (Silver Temple): The temple was originally built in the 16^th century, and it has been rebuilt and renovated over the different historical periods. The temple was renovated, covering the whole temple with silver, starting in 2008 and completed by 2016. The temple was renovated with intrinsic architecture by silver craftsmen from the local community.

My bad luck, I was not allowed to go inside (women are not allowed), so I was able to click it from outside only. But I heard that the amazing architecture is found only inside.

You can spend some time here and see the intricate silver decorations. The temple complex is quite big and decorated with beautiful worship articles.

Chaimonkhol Temple: It is a 600-year-old monastery in the Burmese-mon style. It has a very beautiful and peaceful complex where you can spend some leisure time here. It is located by the Ping River, so it has an enchanting view of the river too. You may earn merit by releasing fish into the river too. Inside the temple, you may pay respect to 'Phra Buddha Chaimongkol’, the principle Lord Buddha’s statue, visit the remarkable and attractive architecture of Mon Chedi and the statue of King Chulalongkorn, the 5th king of Thailand. 

I love how the Thai people decorate their temples with small idols and other decorative articles. The 6th pic is of Lord Ganesh, who is one of the important gods in India too. The last pic is of the view of the river.

Handicrafts Workshop: Thailand is well-known for its silk, with Chiang Mai producing some of the finest silk. Apart from silk weaving, there is wood carving, umbrella making, etc., which we missed visiting.

We went to a nearby area (not a typical tourist handicraft village) by tuktuk. We saw silk weaving processes, wood carving, lacquer art processes, diamond shop, etc. The lady in the last pic is doing lacquer art painting. The last pic is of larvae and pupae being raised as a part of the silk making process.

Wat Phra Singh: It is a 14^th-century temple built in the classic Lanna style. The temple is the most revered temple and is also known as "The Monastery of the Lion Buddha." The intricate interior architecture is amazing, and you may enjoy beautiful doors, golden roofs, Chedi, murals, etc.

Wat Chedi Luang: It is a very impressive temple area with a rich history. The construction started in 1391 and took a century to complete. It was constructed by the king to enshrine the ashes of his father. It is one of the tallest structures in Chiang Mai and earlier it was up to 80 meters, but afterwards it got damaged by the earthquake or cannon fire (conflict in stories) and now it is 60 metres.

The peripheral area of Wat Chedi Luang is quite large, so there’s lots to see in it. The most prominent feature here is, of course, the massive chedi that dominates the whole area, and it is photo-worthy. I would like to recommend that you visit this place in the evening, around 4.30–5 pm. It has an incredible view in the late evening. Spend some leisure time here; you will love it.

Take an evening walk in Chiang Mai towards the market. I would say late evening walks and marketing are must-do activities in Chiang Mai.

The large campus of the temple contains different prayer halls, different statues of Buddha - reclining Buddha statue (first pic), conquering evil posture (second pic), a small building of city pillar, etc. I found a quote, "All kinds of liberty are bliss." in the campus of temple.

On the second day, we took a packaged half-day tour to Doi Suthep and Hmong-Doi pui village.

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep: The temple is located at a height of 1073 metres on Doi Suthep mountain.The temple was established in 1383 and the story behind it is very interesting. The shoulder bone of Buddha was brought to Lanna by a wandering monk, which was broken into two pieces. One piece again travelled through a white elephant and died on this mountain where the monastery was later founded. The architecture of the temple is magnificent, along with the beautiful Chedi and lots of amazing Buddha statues.

 

 

We were still in the aura of Doi Suthep temple when we reached this traditional village. I was feeling like I was in a different world. It is a 1–2 km village market road and then a beautiful garden. Actually, I was so into that that I forgot to take proper clicks of the market road.

Traditional clothes, dolls, jewellery, snacks, dried fruits, handicrafts, etc. in the market were very attractive. We bought dolls, dried fruits, a few souvenirs, etc. Dried fruits are very delicious and organic.

After crossing the market road, there is a beautiful garden and a few traditional items and activities. I tried a bow and arrow and was successful on all three attempts.

The Phase Gate: It is one of the lively places and a popular landmark that once served as an old city fortress. The gate, located on the eastern wall of the city, dates back to the year 1296, when King Mangraj founded the city.

It is a big area and populated with local people and tourists, which makes it more lively and charming.

We spent quite enough time here before leaving Chiang Mai. Here, we spent time watching people enjoying and clicking pictures of the wall and pigeons (which I love to do).

The whole trip was totally unexpected and exceptionally amazing... Have you been here?

Have you experienced similar unexpected things on your trip? I would love to read your experience as you are reading mine.