chiang mai v1.1

note on chiang mai

from 1296 chiang mai was the cultural and religious centre of northern thailand. in 1556, the walled city was captured by the burmese, and it was not subsequently taken back until 1775. this explains the strong burmese presence in the city's architecture, religion, language, and food. wats (temples) are everywhere, as are palaces for the ancient princes. these blend in among hill tribe markets, fast food outlets, fancy hotels and ghetto housing. like bangkok, tuk-tuks (motorized 3 wheelers) are prevalent, however, new to us are the songtaos (covered pickup cabs).

for our first full day in chiang mai we continued our theme of mai pen rai and wandered down this road or that. on the ping river we discovered a local flower market where beautiful and intricate flowers are cheap and numerous. after extending our stay at the guest house we did touristy stops the next day. the wats here are so beautiful and immense. they can be next to the worst hovels - a striking contrast of intricate gold designs and giant bronze buddahs. wat chedi luang, which we quickly named the jedi temple, was built in 1411. beyond discription at over 280 feet, it made me want to become a buddist. visiting this wat also provided us with the opportunity to meet with a student monk, and we sat with him for awhile asking about thailand, buddist practices and monastic life. thinking back he probably would have wanted to know more about us, but it gives them a chance to practice english. here every alley leads to an adventure from the women's prison we stumbled upon to a local brazil-style children's soccer game we watched and wagered on (note: i won and lyds welched saying that my team's winning goal did not go in).

the night bazaar has lived up to expectations as the city's premier attraction. here switchblades mingle with rolexes amd hagglers, and everything is worth your ability to barter. the market spills in every direction and it is very crowded with fellow backpackers and tourists. there is no system and i get turned around easily but lyds helps orientate us. we never miss a night if we can go. i already have two beckham jerseys at prices my grandmother would be proud of.

thanks to my call to cibc my bank card is working again. i almost had to call pierre at td.