Returning to
Chiang Mai from Doi Suthep, I led my family around the city's old town, a a square in the center of the city surrounded by an ancient brick wall and defensive moat.
We followed a walking tour in my much-used Lonely Planet Thailand book to some of the old town's most historic and atmospheric temples.
Wat Phra Singh
Wat Phra Singh means "Lion Temple".
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| Wat Phra Singh |
The temple is a first-grade royal temple, and is located in the city's old town.
Although the morning had been a little bit chilly, as it got into the afternoon and the tropical sun beat down on us, Chiang Mai started to get kind of hot.
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| selfie at the lion temple |
The temple was founded in 1345 by Lanna King Phayu with the construction of a small stone chedi to hold the ashes of his father, King Kham Fu. That small ancient stupa is still there, but a magnificent temple in the northern Lanna style has grown up around it.
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| the ancient chedi |
Northern architecture is noticeably different from that in Bangkok. The temples are darker, taller, more narrow, and often made of lacquered teak wood rather than marble and metal.
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| Lanna-style architecture |
We walked around a bit, exploring the temple complex, but it was getting hot and we were nearly ready for a break. We didn't stay so long at Wat Phra Singh. I took the family into a small local restaurant for a cheap and delicious meal, then we made our way on foot to the next destination.
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| golden chedis |
Wat Phan Tao
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| teakwood spirit house |
The
next temple we visited was Wat Phan Tao. The temple itself is not
especially old or important, but it is absolutely beautiful!
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| temple interior |
The temple is built entirely of teak wood and the interior is open,
dark, and quiet. It felt very peaceful there despite all the visitors.
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| teak wood temple |
Wat Chedi Luang
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| the giant ancient chedi |
Our last destination that afternoon was Wat Chedi Luang, a temple with a massive ancient chedi at its heart.
Like Wat Si Saket in Laos, Wat Chedi Luang had once housed the Emerald Buddha at a time when it belonged to the Lanna Kingdom of Chiang Mai. The Emerald Buddha now resides at the Grand Palace complex in Bangkok.
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| Burmese/Lanna-style Buddhas |
One thing that really stood out to me at this temple was
the style of the Buddha statues. Rather than the gold of the traditional
Thai-style, the northern-style statues here looked a lot more Burmese.
When I looked at a map later, I realized just how close we were to the
border of Northern Burma, near the mysterious and notoriously difficult-to-enter Shan State.
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| beautiful architecture |
By then the family was hot and exhausted. It was time to go back to the hotel for a rest, a swim, and a nice dinner before our big adventure the next day...
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| in a tuk-tuk |
😘😘😘
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