After deliberating for several days about our next move - should we leave Thailand now? should we head straight to Cambodia? should we attempt Burma? - we committed to traveling north to spend some time in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Had we traveled by train, it would have been a journey of more than 24 hours, so we wasted little time in buying a $60, 1.5 hour flight from Krabi to Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai is definitely on the traveler circuit; we met many people in the south who were either coming from or on their way to Thailand’s “other” city. It’s also frequently cited as a “must see” destination in Thailand. Despite these factors, it didn’t feel too overrun with tourists, and it was much cheaper to hang here for a few days than it did in the south.
We spent some time wandering the streets of Old Town, which is a grid system of streets where most of the temples, historical sites, and tourist amenities are located. Within about twelve hours of arriving, Evan became pretty sick with what we believed to be food poisoning - the guy at the restaurant we ate was WAY too happy to see us and we were the only patrons there. Live and learn. This meant we had some down time, and I had some time to myself to wander the streets, running errands, and just checking things out. I took a yoga class, with a teacher who said things like, “is that all the further you can go? hmm...interesting, ok…” I strolled through a pretty public park with lots of colorful flowers and students eating lunch al fresco.
Once Evan was feeling better, we checked out a few of the temples, which serve as one of the main attractions in Chiang Mai. Out of respect, we were thoughtful about our dress, with me covering my legs and shoulder, and Evan wearing long pants. I didn’t quite know what to expect, but I did want to check out these houses of spirituality and worship. Many of the buildings that housed the statues of Buddha were refurbished or renovated from the originals, so they were more modern than expected, and some bordered on opulent; lots of gold, shimmer, and color. Inside we saw a mix of visitors: some were Buddhists, there to pray, which is done by kneeling on the floor before Buddha and bowing several times with your hands together in front of your forehead. Oftentimes, an offering of flowers or incense is made before leaving the altar. Other visitors were like us, there to check it out, take a few pictures, and continue on. There were donation boxes everywhere, giving visitors lots of opportunity to contribute, which is probably important for an active temple. We saw many monks, young and old, walking the temple grounds, blessing people, and chatting with the visitors. I am very curious about how one begins a life of monkhood, as many of the young monks are just boys, certainly not of age to make this kind of decision/commitment on their own. As we left, we passed another small building whose entrance carried a sign reading, “no women beyond the point.” At least there’s a consistency among world religions when it comes to inequality, disrespect, and misogyny.
Another day, we drove up to Doi Suthep, which is an important temple located on top of a small mountain overlooking the city. The drive was beautiful and winding, but once we reached the temple, it felt like Disney World, with swarms of tourists, vendors hawking souvenirs all around, and lots of general hub bub. We started our way up the giant staircase to approach the temple, which was crawling with visitors to this holy site. Once inside, we feasted our eyes up a giant golden stupa, reaching up toward the blue sky and glinting with light as tourists snapped thousands of pictures. There was a monk standing near me at one point, and I said hello, and made some small talk, which was a little scary for me. I’ll admit it, I’m afraid of monks. I’m afraid I’m going to do or say the wrong thing, and break one of the many rules that I always seem to be hearing and reading about. Another woman approached us, saying she was his friend, and would I like to take a picture with him. I said, “sure,” and stepped just a little closer, which caused her to have a minor panic attack. She clearly thought I was going to touch him, which I knew not to do, because if I did touch a monk, they would have to go through a cleansing process that can take hours. After the picture, we continued on, and I waved and smiled goodbye. As soon as we walked away, I kicked myself, because you’re supposed to “wai” (hands pressed together at forehead, bowing) to monks. I felt foolish, uncomfortable, and out of place. The point of sharing here is not to denigrate monks or Buddhism, but to share and explore my perceptions of Buddhism vs. my actual experiences and encounters.
I have noticed a striking difference between Buddhism in the West, which seems to be a little commercialized, a little trendy, a little new agey and branded, and the true, actual religious practice of Buddhism in mostly Buddhist countries like Thailand. I grew up Catholic, and visiting these temples, Buddhism didn’t seem all that dissimilar - perhaps in belief but not necessarily so in practice. It felt religious, dogmatic, full of rules, and just churchy. It seems that Buddhism has been co-opted by some, which was reinforced through the many pamphlets and signage we saw condemning the use of Buddha’s image for art or decoration, such as for tattoos, statues in gardens, and perhaps worst of all, on carpeting (feet are considered dirty and one is never to point the bottom of their foot - let alone step on - the image of the Buddha).
My favorite thing about Chiang Mai was the food - we discovered several excellent vegetarian restaurants that made these two black bean-loving, salad-munching, quinoa-eating travelers very happy following several weeks of spring rolls and white rice. The best place was Morning Glory, where we had incredibly cheap dishes (many for under $1), and the endless entertainment of the owners’ daughter, Opal, who practiced her English (which was quite good) with all the diners, asking where we were from and finding it on the giant map of the world that adorned the wall. Oh wait, my other favorite thing about Chiang Mai was running into my old college friend, Maura, on the street.
From Chiang Mai, we spent a few days in Pai, Thailand - a small mountain town with a growing reputation on the travel circuit. It was extremely dry and not very green when we were there, which left us wanting a bit. We circled back to Chiang Mai, and began the long, 24hour+ journey to Cambodia, marking the completion of our first month in SE Asia.
If I sound lackluster about Northern Thailand, it’s probably because I am :) It’s a fun challenge figuring out where to go, what to do, and how to make decisions using your own intuition, interests, and recommendations. I didn’t have a bad time, and I enjoyed myself, but I probably wouldn’t regret not going had I known what I know now. Live and learn!
