It was a very short 6-day trip to Chiang Mai in December, 2019. This is my very first visit to Thailand, and I chose to stay in Chiang Mai for the whole 6 days rather than traveling to Bangkok for a few days beforehand.
Something about this place has caught my attention. I was sick of city life, and desperate for a place where I could indulge myself with the shades of green and the smell of flowers.
The very first impression was probably the intricate design of all the pagodas here. Chiang Mai was built in 1296, to be the capital city of the Kingdom of Lanna, which later become part of Siam in 1892 and eventually called the name Thailand as we know today.
The city is characterized by the numbers of beautiful and intricately designed Chedis and temples, which can easily be found on any streets in the Old Town.
It's probably the golden and red colour that keep me attracted. There is so much going on in the design. The decorations are bold, gold, and "crazy", yet somehow they all go well together.
And of course, beside the traditional temples, I found the more unusual one. The White Temple was built in 1997 by the famous artist Chalermchai Kositpipat. The mix and match of traditional and modern decorative elements topped with the pure white colour has left me amazed. The most interesting part was perhaps the wall of Buddha with carvings of fiction character such as Superman, Mario and Doremon in the Main Hall. No photos were allowed in the area so I couldn't capture,but it was definitely worth the exploration.
THE BUDDHA CHEDI
Chedis originally house the relics of the Buddha, later on they also accomodate the remains of Kings and important monks.
The photo on the right is the Queen's Chedi in the Doi Inthanon National Park, built a few years after the King's Chedi. The King's Chedi (Naphamethinidon) was built in 1987 to honor the 60th birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It has more masculine shape and earthly toned colour representing the grace of land, while the Queen's Chedi's which is 55m tall has more soft and pastel colour, representing the land and the air.
Components of Buddha Chedi
The base
is usually in the shape of geometric forms such as square, circular or polygons. Its function is to support the "Ruaen That", which is the middle part of Chedis. I heard from people that the geometric form of the base representing the earth.
Ruaen That
plays an important role in determining the shape of the chedis. They are typically either "castle-shaped" or "bell-shaped". The Queen's chedi has the "bell-shaped Ruaen That.
Top
is formed into a conical shape.
Besides the Chedi, these mosaic sculpture walls are simply astonising.
This little girl is from the Long Neck village. She wasn't shy at all, saying hello to us and running between the stalls. It seems that she has already been used to having so many tourists looking at everyday.
The village was originated from Burma, escaping the war and settled down in Lanna Kingdom. The ladies in the village start wearing their first golden neck ring as soon as they turn Five and every year, one to two golden rings would be added until 21 or 27 I couldn't recall correctly. They will have to continue wearing them until their death. The rings are believed to provide spiritual protection and phyically protecting them from being biten by the wild animals in the forests.
A hidden germ I found in the Chiang Mai University campus. It was an elevated lake overlooking to the beautiful mountainous landscape. It was so peaceful and romantic that I just want to sit there forever to inhale the fresh humid air from the lake.
The food culture is something should not be missed in Chiang Mai. I was privileged to have my Airbnb host cook traditional Northern Thai food for most of the time I stayed there. The marinated Larb with the local spice and garden herbs has greatly imprinted in my memory/
And YES, TUK TUK!
I was lucky to stay in the traditional Lanna house, which was constructed entirely from wooden cut and pieces. This house was built by the very own host's father in 1940 for his extended family and he has been taking care of it for almost 30 years. The rustic scene and the sound of the bird chirping over the trees I woke up to every morning is simply poetic.
I want to finish this photo series with this scene of a disabled man carving the bamboo cup in a village we happened to pass by. His lower body was disabled and he could only sit in one place to do the work. The bamboo culm was chopped and carved into a water cup.
I was amazed by his friendliness, we couldn't communicate due to the language barriers but body gestures helped us to somehow connect. I bought one cup from him, he gave me a little handmade bamboo leaves as a gift. They both smiled and understood each other without even saying a word. He has all of my respect for being so positive and calm no matter at what state his life is at. Watching him doing the work brought me peace. All the complicated things I have to deal with in life suddenly turned into something so much more simple.
December, 2019
