With compliments from Tiger Airways (now Tigerair), my return to Chiang Mai has been materialise after five years. Ironically, my previous visit was also on Tiger Airways, but this time round, the flight timing is made more reasonable (it was a 6.35am flight five years ago). Back then, I barely had a day in Chiang Mai, merely staying overnight and using it as a transit point onward from Pai. This time round, I have the luxury of time to explore Chiang Mai in further details.
Chiang Mai does not possess much of Bangkok's glamour. And unlike Bangkok, there aren't many mega malls within town center to illustrate itself as Thailand's 2nd most prospered city. Nor does Chiang Mai own any mass rapid transit system. It simply doesn't need one. For most of Chiang Mai's major attractions within the town center can actually be covered on foot.
Without further delay, let me quickly touch on transport from the airport to town.
Transport
Taxi
This is naturally the most convenient way to get to town.
After clearing custom, there are two taxi booths inside the airport building, both offering the same price of 120 baht (฿) to almost any spot within town center (old town). Get a taxi coupon from either booth, on it you'll find taxi car plate number, then proceed outside the airport terminal and look out for the approaching cab. You pay upon reaching your destination. Other than from airport, it's difficult to spot any taxi, more so an empty cab.
Songthaew or Tuk-Tuk
Consider yourself lucky if you manage to flag a songthaew (a red pickup with two long benches by the side) or tuk-tuk (motorise tricycle) as they approach the terminal after dropping off passengers. Otherwise, walk across the airport carpark towards the main road, you can find them plying their trade there. Generally, a tuk-tuk cost around 100฿ per ride for a maximum of two passengers into town, while songthaew usually charge 40฿ per person (or generally 20฿ within town/moat). You can see the difference is not significant as compare to taxi, as such, I'd suggest stick to the taxi if you have at least one traveling companion with you. Do note the different colours of the songthaew are meant for respective region. There are yellow, blue, white, orange, green, and of course, red. As a rules of thumb, within Chiang Mai city just take the red songthaew (popularly known as red car).
Bus
There is really public buses in Chiang Mai. The last time I took five years ago, it cost just 15฿ from airport to Arcade Bus Station, but took a whopping 1 hour for what would be a 20 minutes trip by taxi. It detours to the zoo and university. Anyway, here's the best I can find from the www:
Both pictures are taken from
http://learnchiangmai.blogspot.sg/2011/06/new-chiang-mai-public-bus-route.html. Don't ask me to translate, I don't understand Thai. You may want to read it yourself for further details, but take note that it's already two years old. My previous research from guidebooks can be found here:
http://hanadventure.blogspot.sg/2009/07/pai-thailand.html. But this info is even much more older! LOL!
Lodging
It's logical to identify what you plan to visit in Chiang Mai. Stay near Tha Phae Gate if you plan to visit the Saturday Night Market (or walking street, whatever they call it) or Sunday Night Market. If you are not in Chiang Mai over the weekend, then I'd suggest staying near the Night Bazaar, which is a nightly affair, and where you can find lots of food for dinner! Unless, of course, you plan to utilise songthaew or tuk-tuk a lot. Having said that, let me share some maps to justify.
Maps
 |
| This one is useful, but I also don't know where I got it from. It comes with listing of Saturday Walking Street, Sunday Walking Street, and Night Bazaar. |
 |
| Chinese Map |
Alright, I think that should be enough for your tablet. You really ought to fetch a physical copy of the map from the airport or any tourist information you come upon beside having these, as some of these maps may be outdated by now.
OK, that's about all the basic information one needs to get around the city. Let me begin my blog proper :D
Day 1: 02 Nov 2013, Sat
Initially, I thought I would be allocated wee hour flight for Chiang Mai, I was greatly relieved when I learned that my flight would be departing 1.50pm instead, thus giving me ample time to travel as well as an early lunch prior to departure. I could afford to leave home at 10am, yet still managed to reach airport at 11.30am, and had pork spare parts soup for lunch at T3 food court before heading towards Tigerair's counter at T2.
By 12.30pm, mum & I had already cleared custom and bathing under the sunshine of T2's Sunflower Garden. We took some pictures and even enjoyed a moment of free foot massage before proceeding to the boarding gate. By 1.25pm, I had already placed my bum on the not-so-cosy seat of 28A! LOL!
Flight TR2176 departed Changi Airport at 2pm, some ten minutes late, but eventually landed Chiang Mai at 3.46pm local time (herewith. Thai is one hour behind Singapore).
I have little recollection of Chiang Mai airport, after all, my previous visit was rather rush. But Chiang Mai Airport is a small airport, with only a handful of custom counters, I suppose they'd struggle to handle more than one flight of passengers at any time.
After clearing the custom and collected your luggage, don't be too eager to leave the restricted zone. Right in front of the luggage belt, you can find a mobile AOT booth. They are giving away free SIM card! There is certain minimal amount embedded in the SIM, which can be tore out as mini-SIM or micro-SIM. This card also enable 'free' wifi at selected locations, so they claimed. It's good for making a few local calls just in case.
We managed to got a cab at 4.25pm, and reached Maninarakorn Hotel around 5pm (taxi 120 ฿). We were first allocated a residence room at 211C, but we found that the stairs were harsh and I almost tripped (I have a big foot!). While the room was large, we didn't like the ambience, too dim, and the fact that there was no lift. So, mum and I returned to the reception and asked for a change of room to the main building by topping up 500 ฿ per night, and switched to room 504. Even for topping up, we still didn't get any free breakfast. Anyway, that's fine, because I reckoned we wanted to offer alms to monks early morning, we probably had to sacrifice a day's breakfast anyway, after all, in Chiang Mai, how expensive a breakfast can get?
 |
| Maninarakorn Hotel main building |
 |
| Hotel lobby |
 |
| Room 504 |
 |
| (L) I love the couch behind the bed, (R) Shower room |
 |
| Window view... pool! The background is the residence apartment |
 |
| Chargeable consumable |
 |
| The freebies |
 |
| They were suppose to replenish these consumables daily, but on the 2nd day, they left out the juices :( |
About half an hour later, we settled down and ready to go for the night's itinerary, Saturday Night Market! Maninarakorn Hotel is located along the main road Sri Donchai Road, it lies in-between Saturday Night Market along Wua Lai Road and Night Bazaar along Chang Kian Road. Just in front of the hotel, we found this travel agent, who placed some very nostalgic items at their door front, which included an old TV, radio, fan, oil lantern, and mechanical scale. I don't think they have much practical use these days, but no garang guni eyeing them??
Anyway, to get to Saturday Night Market, we needed to walk westward towards Chiang Mai Gate for about 20 minutes, the walking street is just opposite Chiang Mai Gate, sealed off from traffic on Saturday evening for tourists' shopping pleasure.
 |
| Chiang Mai Gate |
Chiang Mai old town is very unique. It is enclosed by a river moat surrounding it, with walls built just inside. After many centuries, only significant part of the wall remains, and the local authority had made strenuous effort to preserve the few remaining gates. For tourists, the 3 gates that they will likely visit are firstly, Tha Phae Gate, followed by Chiang Mai Gate, and Chang Puak Gate (one may find the actual spelling differs because these names were directly converted from their Thai pronunciation), which I will elaborate their importance shortly.
We reached Saturday Walking Street around 6pm, just then, everybody suddenly stood still. A song was played over the PA system, which I understand must be Thai national anthem. The short stretch of Wua Lai Road was probably about a km long, but the massive crowd was a main reason we were almost inching.
 |
| It gets more congested as the night gains momentum |
 |
| Chocolate Cashew Nut Waffle, 40฿ |
Now I simply gotta mention this! I was very tempted by their waffle, more so because the ingredients they used were quite unique, I had never found anything similar back home. So I gleefully grabbed a Chocolate Cashew Nut waffle for 40 ฿. However, it was quite a mistake, as it was really filling, and I had little stomach left for many more tantalising food!
As far as I could recall, I thought Saturday Night Market was selling very different crafts from what I could remember from the Night Bazaar. There are definitely more variety here! But later I learn from other blogs, it seems like the local keeps having new handicrafts coming out. Very interesting! And although I am unlikely to buy, I really enjoy fascinating myself with these little things!
 |
| My favourite, Lemon Grass Drink! 10 ฿ |
I still remember when I first tried it at Pai, when my friend and I were offered a welcome drink at The Quarter Resort, it was truly refreshing! And then everytime I visit Thailand subsequently, I never fail to look out for it. But beside, Lemon Grass, I found out during this trip that Thai Herbal drink also very nice! And today, I also had the purest sugar cane juice I ever try. Look out for them!
 |
| OK, who dares try?? |
 |
| Mushroom with bacon, 20 ฿ |
 |
| And my new found love... Pad Thai! |
 |
| Rice noodle Pad Thai with egg and fresh shrimps, 45 ฿ |
Pad Thai is a kind of Thai fried noodle with all sort of sweet, sour, and spicy ingredients. I have never tried this before, and it's certinly more yummy than conventional Chinese fried noodle. Strongly recommended!
This looked like a normal taro ice cream. I was attracted by its description "Ancient dessert", and so tempted to try. Alas, there's nothing spectacular really. However, I was impressed by the 'innovation' of a paper cone underneath, which prevented melted ice cream from dirtying my hand.
The fruit below was more interesting though, my attention was caught by the Chinese lettering for it as well as its bright orange thorny appearance. It was stated that Gac Fruit can work wonders over certain illness, such as cancer. They even had it served in juice, but I dare not try it. I'm allergic to most fruits :(
 |
| Sushi, from 5 ฿ |
I was surprise to find sushi stalls in the market, because it was really nothing Thai. However, I found their sushi kind of cute, size wise, it's a little smaller. But I had doubt whether the ingredients were hygienic, because back in Singapore, sushi had to be kept refrigerated, and once purchased, needed to be consumed within 2 hours. How long would these be displayed on the tray under the sky? Mum told me she noticed some potential customer took it up and smelled it, whether he (or she?) bought it eventually, we did not know. LOL! No offence, just writing what we observed.
I love these! Used jeans were recycled as wallet, notebook etc, some of them Levi's, very creative of the Thai! Yet, that didn't tempt me to dig out my wallet still. :P
Make no mistake, these puppies were not for sale. It was listed as a mini dog show, only that the puppies didn't bother to catwalk, merely lazily sleeping on a cushioned chair, with (I suspect iced) mineral water bottle in-between. And then there was a canister for visitors to contribute to the well care of the owner's puppies. What a smart way of earning a quick buck! LOL!
These arts were lovely! If only I knew how to take good care of them, really felt like owning them!
Alas, something familiar from my previous visit, to Night Bazaar, that is. I had wanted to show mum how creative these people were, but she seem far from impressed.
 |
| There was something weird about this picture, notice it? |
Why did they need a traffic light there? Well, actually, this was suppose to be a road meant for vehicles. The road was sealed off for the night market every Saturday evening. On Sunday, there would be another road.
This was some open space where several stalls converted it to a temporary dining area. The stalls were not really aplenty, but tourists flooded this place.
During my visit to Saturday Night Market, I also witnessed someone let off a sky lantern. It's still a fortnight away from Chiang Mai's Loy Krathong (a.k.a. Yi Peng Festival), pity I could not postpone this trip for a further two weeks, but at least I saw one sky lantern flying off! If only I knew somewhere where I could light up a sky lantern, I would be eagered to do so.
It was closed to 9pm, and I thought we would better return to the hotel, but it was really difficult to manipulate through the congestion. We took a good hour to reach our hotel, enroute purchased some biscuits and instant noodles as alms for Chiang Mai's monks next morning.
Something weird happened that night in the hotel, I witnessed the TV switching channel and raising volume automatically with the remote control directly in front of the TV, and no one touching it! I was watching EPL, it changed to Bundesliga, I saw the TV displayed channel switched and volume up. I don't suppose I need to elaborate the channel button and volume button were two distinct buttons on the remote, and there's no reason both could have been spoilt at the same time? I realised the room must be dirty. It's the first time I experienced such supernatural happening.
Slept late.
Day 2: 03 Nov 2013, Sun
 |
| Songthaew, a.k.a. Red Car |
 |
| A tuk-tuk along the adnormally quiet Sri Donchai Road |
Woke up around 6.30am, I thought it was still early to make alms to those wandering monks (alright, I confess I don't know whether they have their own routine routes!), I took my own sweet time washing up. Eventually, when we left hotel at 7.20am, and reaching Tha Phae Gate a further 20 minutes later, we didn't meet any monk collecting alms.
Tha Phae Gate is probably Chiang Mai's most famous spot, and perhaps the best preserved among all its remaining gates. It is located at one end of old town's main road, Ratchadamroen Road, which turns into Sunday Night Market on Sunday evening, and is the intersection of several main streets. When we were there, the authority was setting up booths in the theme of Asean to commemorate Loy Krathong cum Yi Peng festival, which would be a fortnight away. And I found a Singapore booth there!
Whatever your belief, you don't go to Chiang Mai without visiting one of the many Wats (temples). Just like when you visit Europe in particular, tour guide will tend to bring you to certain famous churches, such as Notre-Dame and St Peter's Basilica. One doesn't have to take in their religion, go on and appreciate the amazing architectures and fascinating heritage (yeah, each temple depicts a portion of Chiang Mai's history), but remember to show some respect. Most importantly, take note of appropriate dress code. The generic poster on the right gives a clear guideline on what to avoid. Basically, T-shirt is fine, just remember cannot reveal excessive arm (definitely no shoulder), no above knee skirt nor pant, and generally, footwear have to be removed before entering the main temple.
 |
| Wat Phan Ohn |
The very first temple we visited, was Wat Phan Ohn along Ratchadamroen Road. It wasn't one of the three prestigious temples in Chiang Mai, but the Sareerikkatartsirirak Pagoda in the picture above was named by His Majesty King Bhumipol on 09 Jun 2550 B.E. (2007). Thai's solar calendar is interesting, it is generally 543 years greater than Christian Era, so if you see a product manufacturing date features the year 2556, no, it doesn't come from the future! LOL!
Nevertheless, I didn't really explore much of the temple, there are over 200 temples in Chiang Mai, it will be very time consuming, and so is writing this blog post here.
 |
| Wat Sum Pow |
Don't just keep your eyes on the temples in Chiang Mai, I noted Wawee Coffee is very popular in Chiang Mai, it started off as an outlet in Mae Sa Elephant Camp, and has now flourished somewhat like Starbucks there, but pity I didn't have a chance to get to try.
 |
| Thai Coin Museum |
 |
| King Mangrai Shrine |
King Mangrai Shrine was built in 1975 to commemorate the king who founded Chiang Mai in 1296. King Mangrai came from a royal Tai family in Yunnan, and set up an independent state at Chiang Rai in 1263. He founded a new capital in Chiang Mai after defeating the old Mon City of Lamphun, brought together the different Tai tribes in the north and established the Lanna Kingdom. He was later killed by lightning around 1311 in the middle of the city, but his legacy would to have last for another 250 years. The shrine was relocated here because the old shrine was too remote for local to pay homage to the city's founder.
 |
| Wat Phan Tao |
Wat Phan Tao means "The Monastery of a Thousand Kilns". It is believed that this is probably because, in the past, the temple used to cast Buddha images for Wat Chedi Luang down the road. The architecture was constructed out of teak wood, and was initially built as a royal residence for then ruler of Chiang Mai, Chao Mahawong. I love the teak feeling, particularly the front panel of the building, where a golden peacock standing over a dog, which represent the year Chao Mahawong was born.
I was also quite impressed by an outdoor shrine of Wat Phan Tao, with flowers decoration, and looked very pleasant. I read that during Feburary, they would plant tulips here!
 |
| Outdoor shrine of Wat Phan Tao |
 |
| Roof of a small hut.. made of dried leaves! |
 |
| Wat Chedi Luang |
Now we come to one of the three major temples in Chiang Mai, Wat Chedi Luang. There is a long story about Wat Chedi Luang (which I'm too lazy to reproduce it here, do google about it), but what is most interesting, is the ruin of its pagoda, which used to enshrined the Emerald Buddha for 20 years (now at Bangkok's Wat Phra Kaew), was damaged by an earthquake in 1545. What puzzled me was, there wasn't really much effort to resurrect the pagoda until this day. Some of the elephants around its base were restored in the 1990s, but the spire was never rebuilt. Even then, I can imagine its former glory in entirety by looking at a part of what it used to be!
 |
| Inside the main temple |
Around 9.15am, it's about time we set off for our next destination, Wat Phra Singh.
 |
| Wat Phra Singh |
There's a few reason why I love Wat Phra Singh. Again, I'll have to leave the official introduction to google :P From an outsider point of view, Wat Phra Singh is interesting. I was not sure whether it was because of Sunday, there were mobile stalls set up inside the temple compound, selling local delicacies as well as handicrafts, not that I was particularly impressed with those stuff, but I thought they brought much vibrancy to the temple. Second, Wat Phra Singh is the western end of Sunday Night Market. At this end, there would be an awesome lots of food come evening! Third, we discovered that we could donate monk robe to the temple, therewith amassing valuable karma for a mere 100 ฿. No, we didn't have to buy it from any store, just donate, collect a sealed monk robe from the shelf, carried it before the buddha and placed it there. The monk robe, though still in wrap, was apparently been there for ages (I don't know how many times it had been 're-cycled' to be honest). Obviously, the robe was just symbolic, we could only imagine it as display set, and that the money would be used to acquire new robe for the monks, and need not be wrapped at all. Mum told me a similar gesture in Singapore would fetch a minimum of S$25, and I later learned that it could cost a few times more!
 |
| Any guess what's this? |
Alright, if you are sharp enough to notice the male and female indication beside the door, you'd probably guessed it! It's toilet. So what's the big deal? Did you notice that shoes were placed outside? Visitors have to change to provided slippers before entering. I was amused! This was the first time I encountered this, but later I noted that all other temples whose toilets I patronise were also practising likewise. The toilet was clean, there's even donation box outside, where its collection would fund the purchase of detergent. Haha! Amazing culture!
At around 10.20am, we left Wat Phra Singh and were feeling hungry. Afterall, we had not had breakfast, and it's almost lunch time back in Singapore (1 hour ahead). We roamed the vicinity for decent food, and found this restaurant just a stone throw away from Wat Phra Singh's T-junction. And this restaurant, was the final reason why I love Wat Phra Singh!
Admittedly, we were attracted by the Chinese description on the banners, looking at the pictures, their dishes appeared appealing too. So, we took our seats inside. But made no mistake, the staffs spoke no mandarin. We were ushered with English (with Thai) menu, and I felt so sorry for mum, I couldn't translate everything inside, but the price was pretty reasonable, so to speak.
 |
| Stir fried sweet chilly with seafood on rice, 40 ฿ |
I had a Stir fried sweet chilly (chili) with seafood on rice. I was quite hungry, and rice would suit me. Though I confess their so-called seafood was a little short of my expectation, but with fish cake, mushroom, prawn, squid, and veggie, it was quite tastefully done, offering a homely taste but quite different from mum's cooking.
I was quite thirsty too, and ordered a coke (for 10 ฿) to go along.
 |
| Vegetarian Pad Thai, 35 ฿ |
It was lunar 1st day of tenth month, mum wanted something vegetarian and lite. Their vegetarian Pad Thai was a kind of local fried noddle with egg (wonder whether I remember wrongly, looks like a seafood Pad Thai to me though :P)
 |
| Tofu Seaweed Soup, 60 ฿ |
I thought might as well order a soup to go with our meal, so I asked for their Tofu Seaweed Soup. Mum noticed they sneaked out of the back door to acquire tofu for this soup! LOL! But comprising pork, egg tofu, carrot, sweet corn, cabbage, and seaweed, the soup was sweet and tasty, I finished till the last drop!
This restaurant has no identifiable name nor address. After the meal, I tried asking for their name card, but I couldn't communicate in Thai. So, I took out my own name card and demonstrated it to the staff, who almost took it in great puzzle! LOL!
 |
| Three Kings Monument (L-R: King Ngam Muang of Phayao, King Mangrai of Lanna, King Ramkhamhaeng of Sukhothai ) |
After our brunch, we set off for Three Kings Monument. The three kings here were responsible in building Chiang Mai. The backdrop, previously Chiang Mai's Provincial Hall, is now Chiang Mai City Arts and Culture Center. In the olden days, it was once royal residence.
 |
| Lanna Folklife Museum, opposite Three Kings Monument |
While in search of Wat Chiang Man, I hopelessly lost my way and found ourselves arriving at Moon Muang Road (or Mun Mueang Road in google map, as I mentioned, the English names are a direct conversion from Thai pronunciation), the road that runs alongside Tha Phae Gate! We came into a local market and were rather fascinated by the produce on sale. Bought some local peanuts fried with Thai curry leaves (10 ฿), and dried chilis which mum claimed was outrageously cheap! I love the peanuts, mum ended up buying a bigger pack (70 ฿) home, dad loves it too!
Mum also bought two bags of sugared fruit. I'm no fruit eater, but I have to admit it does look tempting.
It was around 12.20pm then, we walked through the small lane pass the market, and found this massage parlour, Le' Lux Thai Spa, sitting a stone throw away from the market. We had walked rigourously since morning, I reckoned we could do with a little massage so that we could feel refreshed and carry on the day's itinerary. Mum and I settled for their Traditional Thai Body Massage for 60 minutes at 180 ฿ each. We were each given a set of massage attire to change to. While mum had a lady masseur, mine was a guy. I didn't feel comfortable to have a male masseur, and had never tried one before. Alas, after the one-hour stretches, I had to admit his skill was good. We were served some blue color tea after the massage session. Somehow, I still find the lady masseur in Pai was the best I ever met, but then, Pai is more than 3 hours away!
After the massage, we felt recharged and ready to continue. We had some Latte (25 ฿) & Ice Mocha (25 ฿) at at tiny cafe nearby, before deciding to visit Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. We walked along Sri Poom Road towards Chiang Phueak Gate, where I understood we could take shared songthaew to Doi Suthep for a cost of 50 ฿ each, one way, or 100 ฿ return.
 |
| The quiet Chang Phueak Gate, from Manee Nopparat Road |
 |
| Songthaew to Doi Suthep |
We reached the songthaew terminal along Manee Nopparat Road at the other side of Chang Phueak Gate at 2.30pm. It was easy to identify, there's a booth there near 7-Eleven & a wet market. Behind the booth, one can find a placard listing the price to various attractions. Note that the price of 50 ฿ per person is conditional, usually a minimum of 10 persons will be required. We were ready to wait. We waited for about an hour, there were only four of us, including two ladies from Spain, seeing that it was unlikely that someone else joining, the driver proposed a returned fare of 130 ฿ per person instead, which I turned down. I had read about drivers willing to take 4 passengers for no extra charge barely half a year back when the price was only 40 ฿, and since we could come back again the next day, why should I fell prey? We walked away, hoping the driver could change his mind, he never did. I don't know whether the Spanish ladies paid for the full load? :D
 |
| Wat Kuan Kama |
We walked towards Wat Kuam Kama diagonally across the road, I was fairly amazed by the tall stair step, but didn't get in. And then, we saw Wat Lok Molee back across the road, I was quited attracted by its modest architecture, and decided to take a closer look.
 |
| Wat Lok Molee |
I felt that Wat Lok Molee was indifferent, I don't know whether they were lacked of fund, but this temple was one of the few that didn't bear any golden outlook. There was a shrine outside these pictures, which was cooling and decorated by pleasant flowers, and beside it, there were roof tiles available for adoption for 20 ฿ a piece. Contributors could write their names, address, and wishes op top, and I suppose these tiles would be replacing the old ones in times?
Behind the main temple, there's a pagoda. From far, I saw it was wrapped with an orange banner, I thought it was under some sort of renovation. No, notice the board and tables in the picture foreground? Devotees could scribble their names and wishes on top, and these banner would be wrapped around the pagoda for blessing. Interesting, I never seen such antic in Bangkok before.
Oh, I visited the toilet in the temple compound too, I have to say, it was clean and also came with shoe deposit, which means, patrons were required to swap their shoes with slippers provided.
 |
| Wat Dub Pai |
At about 4.25pm, we left for Wat Phra Singh. At that hour, certainly not going back to worship, but Sunday Night Market stretches from Wat Phra Singh to Tha Phae Gate along the entire Ratchadamroen Road (and some alley ways along the way).
Enroute, we came across Wat Dub Pai, on what looked like their administration building, we witnessed some young monks sweeping the building exterior in what we deemed a dangerous manner. They were at time playing on the sill, without any safety precaution!
Right opposite Wat Dub Pai, there's a clay workshop, selling handicraft that were also available in the night markets. I was particularly interested in the following clay work, but I couldn't imagine how it would remain intact if I bought it home.
 |
| I like the pig, but I think I probably love the sheep more! |
 |
| Sunday Walking Street! |
 |
| Wat Phra Singh in the background |
It was still early hour at 4.45pm when we reached Wat Phra Singh, some hawkers already set up their stall for business. My agenda was basically searching for food! As for the handicrafts and souvenirs, they were fascinating, but again, I would try to resist digging out my wallet :P
I observed that in general, the items available in both Saturday Night Market and Sunday Night Market were pretty much similar, except that the later was larger in scale. Even then, there were still some stalls I couldn't find despite almost finished the whole stretch.
 |
| I wonder whether he's a real police officer, but he's really stylo! |
 |
| I have a sweet tooth, and these really proved seductive! |
 |
| Love to have them all, but alas, only settled for this. 30 ฿ |
 |
| Had been seeing this everywhere, it's called Egg Parch |
 |
| Had one for 10 ฿, comprised of mushroom, crab stick, carrot, and egg |
 |
| Ooh! The lovely wallets! <3 |
 |
| I probably won't pay attention on the finished products, but watching the craftsman doing it was fascinating! |
 |
| Hard to imagine these models were made of papers! |
 |
| Like real? |
 |
| Thai loves to use sugar, peanuts, and chili as spices |
 |
| Seafood Omelette |
Alright, I may not have that much pictures to show for on Sunday Night Market, there's some reasons here. Firstly of course, I had already taken some pictures the day before, so I was reasonably less fascinated. Secondly, I planned to go massage, in wary of the lack of storage space, I didn't bring my DSLR out on Sunday, and my compact digital camera was mediocre for night shot. My point is, the Sunday Night Market is a bigger scale among the night markets, partly also because it's lying along the more convenient Ratchadamnoen Road.
So, to summarise, for dinner, I had a cherry chocolate cake, an egg parch, an egg tart, seafood omelette, the usual lemon grass drink, as well as Thai herbal drink. I think all in all, I spent less than 150 ฿. I found that Thai's portion is generally smaller than what we have back home, but so was the price. In a way, I was pleased, I could enjoy a bit of everything tempting!
We returned to the hotel about 8.30pm, I wanted to have a swim, sauna, and steam. I didn't bring slippers along, so I actually got there bare footed. To get to the hotel pool, I needed to pass by the restaurant (there's no door to the restaurant) at level 3, good thing there wasn't anyone dining there at such hour.
However, what greeted me was truly disappointing! The pool was full of dead mosquitoes, other than that, the water looked quite clean, to be fair, the mosquitoes could have dived in during the day. Next to the pool, Maninarakorn Hotel also have 2 steam rooms (1 for male, 1 for female), and 1 sauna. The male steam room lost its door, simply malfunction. The sauna temperature control knob was spoilt, you can heat it, but cannot control the temperature. These seemed to have been damaged for ages, and the hotel apparently paid no effort to maintain. I spent less than 30 minutes for the swim and sauna before retiring back to my room.
At night, I watched movies from my iPad, this time, mum noticed the abnormality TV auto tuning.
Slept late.
Day 3: 04 Nov 2013, Mon
Having missed the monks in their early session of alms collection the day before, I willingly woke up earlier at 5.40am. Although to be honest, I didn't sleep well for the past two days, quite rare whenever I travel. By 6.15am, we left hotel.
Almost immediately, we met a few young monks doing their rounds just along Sri Donchai Road. Actually, most of the monks we met were quite young, leading me to believe they were probably undergoing their monkhood during their primitive age (In Thai, guys will generally serve monkhood at least once in their lives). Mum offered instant noodles and biscuits to them, they would just lift up the lid of their almsbowl, and let donors place their offerings inside. Generally, these offerings are food, but I did notice some money inside. But it only made sense that monks are unlikely to finish the food they collected, so they would choose certain food as their morning meal, and the balance would be distributed among the staffs within their temple, or other monks who were unable to go out for alms. Guess the following link will provide an insight on Thailand monks' routine in general (I only found out this after returning from Chiang Mai):
http://www.buddhanet.net/wat_m5.htm
 |
| Young monks collecting alms bare-footed along Moon Muang Road |
It was later that I learned, the locals, after placing their alms inside the almsbowl, would kneel on their knees, and the monks would chant prayers in Thai for them. There was also some who would set up a small table by the roadside, or simply use their cars, and waiting for any monk who pass by.
We walked along Moon Muang Road, and turned into Ratchadamnoen Road at Tha Phae Gate, before heading towards Chiang Mai Gate, finally managed to finish our alms.
 |
| Stall owner offering alms to monk at Chiang Mai Gate Fresh Market |
 |
| Finally came across a bus stop along Wua Lai Road |
We finished offering alms around 7am, our next destination was a bit extraordinary, bet you won't have guessed it. I actually learned of it from Let's Go, that Baan Kingkaew Orphanage was accepting toys, food, cash donation. I initially intended to bring toys along, but ain't sure whether they needed them. However, mum brought some utensils for them, along with 3000 ฿ donation.
We reached there around 7.30am, I knew there would be somebody attending the children, but the lady in-charge could not communicate in English and struggled to inform us that the relevant personnel would only come in at 8.30am. I thought of leaving the donations behind, but mum insisted on waiting, very well, I took out my iPad and watch movie.
Surprisingly, a quarter later, a well-dressed old lady arrived in a car, apparently upon receiving call from the lady we met. That's really quick, I suspect she's staying nearby. She received us warmly, and expressed very sincere gratitude by holding our hands and saying a little prayer after writing us an official receipt.
The orphanage was very cleanly maintained, but according to Let's Go, photographs are forbidden, I guess that was to uphold the children's privacy (actually you can find plenty on their facebook). Anyway, I suppose there's no harm including a picture of its gate just so any interested kind soul can look it up easily. It's actually along the way to airport (from Tha Phae Gate / Night Bazaar), so if there's ample time before your flight, volunteers are welcome.
 |
| Baan Kingkaew Orphanage |
Baan Kingkaew Orphanage is located at 75 Wualai Road, Chiang Mai, 50100, Thailand, 200 meters southwest of Chiang Mai Gate.
Tel: +66 (53) 275-650
http://www.baan-kingkaew-orphanage.org/
Facebook (Although it has not been updated for sometime, there's a basic need list for the children):
https://www.facebook.com/baankingkaeworphanage
Let me quote the excerpt from Let's Go, while you can always read the official introduction from their homepage / facebook:
"
Volunteers are encouraged to drop by and play with the children any time. There's no need to call ahead and visitors can stay for as long or as little as they'd like.
The Baan Kingkaew Orphanage was establish in 1966 (by a group of Thai and expatriate ladies living in Chiang Mai who volunteered to look after orphaned children in the care of Suan Dok Hospital) to provide education and healthcare to these displaced children.
Volunteers are welcome at any time, but the best time to show up is at 2.30pm, after the children have taken their afternoon nap."
I believe it's located on a street that turns into night market on Saturday, so better avoid that period, or you'll have a hard time finding it behind those temporary stalls.
After leaving the orphanage, we walked around looking for breakfast but nothing suited mum's appetite, so we took a songthaew to Wat Phra Singh, and savour our favourite restaurant again! It was about 8.30am when we reached, the restaurant appeared to have just opened for business, the waiters were not in sight, only the old lady helming the noodle counter receiving us. I guessed she could see that we are Chinese, she ushered us Chinese menu with Thai description. But it appeared that she didn't understand Mandarin at all, and like yesterday, we ordered food by pointing. One thing strange though, the prices in English menu differ from that in Chinese! LOL! But I couldn't really be bother by the 5 ฿ or 10 ฿ difference (even if I wanted to dispute that, I couldn't communicate with her anyway).
 |
| Spicy noodle with seafood, 40 ฿ |
 |
| Spicy noodle with pork, 30 ฿ |
 |
| Shrimp wonton soup, 35 ฿ |
I had Spicy noodle with seafood, and must confess I thought I found their picture was more appealing than what was served. The ingredients comprised of shrimp, fish ball, squid, fish cake, and coriander leaves. Overall, the taste was homely and appetising.
Mum ordered their noodle with pork, she had wanted a clear broth, but there was just no way to tell the old lady. Eventually, she only managed to change the noodle to those hard instant noodle by pointing to the noodle, but gotta take the pork noodle with spicy broth. LOL!
We also ordered Shrimp wonton soup, but frankly speaking, I found it a little disappointing. The shrimp wonton was really mediocre. I thought I could hardly taste the shrimp inside, but at least the bean sprout and coriander leaves spiced up the clear broth moderately.
After breakfast, we dropped by Wat Lok Molee before heading towards the songthaew for Doi Suthep. This time, we had better luck, there were 8 passengers altogether, we merely waited for 15 minutes before the red car departing for Doi Suthep at 10am.
It took us about 35 minutes to reach Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, don't believe what some guide said about it being 2km from old town, much as I confess I ever thought of walking there, glad we didn't. Enroute, I saw some Caucasians attempting to cycle there, I had great respect for them, they were apparently struggling to overcome the not-so gentle slope.
Upon reaching the foot of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, there's two way of getting to the temple at the hill top. Either you climb the 309 steps uphill, or you can take the cable car (50 ฿ for foreigners, which included the 30 ฿ admission fee to the temple as well as return cable car ride). The story of the temple is very fascinating, again, I leave your curiousity in the hands of google.
The crowded cable car ride took a while to wait, but all it took was mere 3 minutes to reach the top. What greeted me first upon reaching the top, was a hugh billboard of the Thai King. Right behind, one finds the main temple and the famous golden chedi right inside.
 |
| On a clear day, Chiang Mai's airport and moat can be clearly visible |
 |
| Devotees doing their round of chanting around the golden chedi |
 |
| Blessings were written over a golden scroll, which would later be wrapped around the golden chedi |
We left Wat Phra That Doi Suthep at 11.55am, the driver who fetched us here was waiting at the foot of the hill looking out for us. We reached Chang Phuaek Gate at 12.30pm, mum and I went to a grocery store nearby and replenished some instant noodles for alms the next morning. Next, we went over to Lila Thai Massage 1st branch for traditional Thai massage (1 hr, 200 ฿), but it was something we truly regret.
Lila Massage is one of Chiang Mai's most recommended massage parlours with 5 branches. It was established by Naowarat Thanasrisutharat, former Director of Chiang Mai Women Prison (2001-2008), to help support the lives of ex-women inmates who might face discrimination elsewhere. The masseurs, of course, had undergone 180 hours massage training courses before being put on service. They provide a wide range of services including body and facial treatment beside Thai massages.
The branch we went to, had a nice and cosy setting for massage, with lockers to safekeep your belongings. We needed to pay the fee upfront before been led to change into massage attire, and were served tea before the massage started. Then mum's nightmare began. The masseur attending to her had twisted mum's knee, causing mum to walk with great pain soon afterward. We reflected this to the front desk staff, and a senior masseur immediately attend to mum, by rubbing mum's leg with some ointment for something like 30 over minutes. After that, she walked away to attend other matter. Mum felt slightly relieved after the post session, though the pain was still unbearable, but at least she could walk slowly. We decided to take a songthaew back to the hotel straightaway. Disregarding that incident, I have to say Lila's massage was overrated. Their ambiance was definitely better, but I didn't feel as re-energise as the previous day at Le' Lux Thai Spa, though still better than what I had in Bangkok.
We got back to the hotel at 2.50pm, good thing mum took some muscle relax medication along (she actually brought along a large variety of medication just in case), she had some sleep while I did some internet surfing.
I was wondering whether to accompany mum in the hotel or visit Night Bazaar later on. At 4.58pm, I decided to visit Night Bazaar, and at the same time, get some food back.
 |
| McShogun Pork Burger, 59 ฿ |
It was too early for the Night Bazaar, many stalls were still setting up. So I delved into a McDonald's and had a McShogun Pork Burger. At 5.30pm, more stalls were set up, I took the approach to walk up Chang Klan Road on the left side of the road, and coming down by its right (unlike the Saturday & Sunday night markets, Night Bazaar didn't shutdown the main traffic). I was trying to find the imitate soccer jersey that looked authentic (with serial number), which I acquired 5 years back. I didn't meet any success.
 |
| Kalare Night Bazaar, part of the night Bazaar, and inside one can find many economical food |
 |
| Anusarn Market |
The Night Bazaar was the only attraction I visited during my brief stay in Chiang Mai 5 years ago. I was impressed then. So to speak, I have high expectation in my re-visit. However, I was disappointed this time round. I used to find Anusarn Market fascinating, easy to walk around, and not so crowded. But I almost could not recognise Anusarn Market save for its gate. It's now congested with too many stalls (albeit not as bad as the other two night markets), very much larger, and many vendors were selling common items. Didn't see any mobile hawker selling food though, but behind Anusarn Market, there were a few popular Chinese restaurants.
 |
| Pad Thai, at the junction of Chang Klan Road and Sri Donchai Road |
 |
| You can really see I fell in love with Pad Thai! |
 |
| roast pork, with Pad Thai in the background |
I didn't spent much time there this time, partly also because I wanted to get dinner back early for mum. So I purchased turkey kebab (50 ฿), Pad Thai with egg and shrimp (45 ฿), roast pork (10 ฿), noodle soup (30 ฿), and got back to hotel by 7.05pm, a time when Night Bazaar was suppose to sparkle.
I guess Pad Thai need no firther introduction. It was my first time trying turkey kebab, nothing special. I only bought a stick of roast pork to try for fun, it tasted somewhat like satay, and the meat was very tender. As for the noodle soup, we passed by this modest stall along Sri Donchai Road (quite near our hotel) a couple of time, and each time saw many diners patronising them, and was tempted to give it a try. They used ingredients such as fish ball, and pork, quite tasty. For 30 ฿, really could not fault them. In fact, I hope I can try it again.
After dinner, slept early. If mum's leg got much better, we would be offering alms again the next morning.
Day 4: 05 Nov 2013, Tue
The final day of our trip, we woke up early at 5.30am, to offer alms to passing monks. Mum's leg was getting much better, and by 6.10am, we left hotel and walked towards Tae Phae Gate. While there, I saw a group of residents exercising to some Chinese song, I wondered whether they understood the song at all. Among them, there's even one Caucasian (the gentleman in blue) too! But anyway, exercises are good for all people, regardless of race :P
We carried on along Ratchadamnoen Road, until we reached Wat Chedi Luang, mum decided to wait outside for the monks to pass by. Indeed, there were many of them came here in batches. We managed to finish the offering in no time!
 |
| McPork, 27 ฿ |
We returned to Tha Phae Gate's McDonald's for breakfast. It was really difficult to find local breakfast in Chiang Mai, at least in the old town. Of course, breakfast from the restaurants, or perhaps hotel would be convenient, but the price would be high. It's 7.35am, we didn't want to be fussy, so settled for McPork. It is also my habit to have McPork whenever I travel, because this is not available in the region I stay.
 |
| Wat Bupp(h)aram |
After breakfast, we strolled along Tha Phae Road and came across Wat Bupparam, which was of historical importance, it was here that Chao Kawila took back Chiang Mai after 200 years of Burmese rule in 1797.
No offence, but somehow, I was more fascinated by the nature life at the backyard of the temple :P
It was about 8.15am, we retraced back along Tha Phae Road and decided to head towards Warorot Market. We didn't quite get there, but found ourselves at a local market nearby. I love wandering around markets, especially here, nice & clean.
 |
| Note the cakwe at the bottom left corner |
 |
| Croc looming |
We came into a cakwe (strip dough, a.k.a. You Tiao) stall, what caught my attention was... they were frying crocodile, dragon, & dinosaur! That wasn't all, what I didn't see includes elephant and frog. Ooh, now that's interesting. The normal tiny cakwe cost just 2 ฿ per piece, very affordable! While those cakwe in the shape of animals were significantly larger, and naturally cost a little more (between 10 ฿ to 20 ฿). With respect to the workmanship and for such paltry amount, it's consider a steal! We also ordered soya bean drink to go along with the cakwe for 5 ฿ each, very economical. Now that's the type of breakfast I was looking for in Chiang Mai.
I had a little chat with a stall helper who spoke moderate English, he told me Taiwan also have similar product, but I certainly never heard about it until now.
For those interested, their location is at:
194/9 Kampangdin A.Muang , Chiang Mai, Thailand
After our 2nd breakfast, it was about 9am. I brought mum to Chang Klan Road, to experience what would have been Night Bazaar in the evening. Clearly, at such early hours, there wasn't much to apprehend, not even shops along both sides of Chang Klan Road. So we walked back to the hotel and got some rest before checking out.
We got back to our room at 9.45am, still pretty early and had luxury of time to rest and relax while packing our luggage at the same time, before checking out at 11.53am. We then deposited our luggage at the concierge and left in search for lunch. Our flight won't be due until 6pm in the evening, given a 2 hours check-in procedure, I reckoned we didn't have to leave for airport until at least 3pm. In my initial plan, I actually intended to visit another massage parlour, but I dare not brought out the subject again after yesterday's fiasco. So we wandered along Chang Klan Road for lunch. But we found out that the search was rather tough. There were a few western restaurants, and the usual fast food burger chains, however, what we wanted was some decent local delicacy. Eventually, we found a fried rice stall hidden in a tiny alleyway helmed by local Thai (not local Chinese), their fried rice was flavourful, we even added a fried pork to go with it. And the price, was truly decent.
 |
| After our simple lunch, we ventured over to a Starbucks for some coffee to kill time. |
 |
| A little luxury enroute back to hotel, from 7-Eleven, 40 ฿ |
At about 1.20pm, we left Starbucks and heading back towards hotel. Passing by a 7-Eleven, I couldn't resist trying Magnum ice cream again! I got a Chocolate Truffle, something not available back home, at a price merely a fraction of Singapore's. I really felt like buying a dozen back, but for the cruel fact that they probably won't even last till I reached hotel :(
By 1.50pm, we reached Maninarakorn Hotel. They have a cosy corner where there's sofa and a LCD TV. To my surprise, we found they were serving fingers food to their Residence patrons! Frankly speaking, at such hour, how many current patrons would bother stay put in the hotel for these? And how many arriving would be here, at this hour exactly, and know about this? Nevertheless, I helped myself to some cookies, pastries, sandwiches. Just then, a monster arrived and took a big full plate of serving, horrendous! No prize guessing its origin, P.R.C. Truly disgraceful! Couldn't he just took a few at a time? It's not that it had to travel a mile to replenish it's food.
I surfed net until 2.30pm, when we collected our luggage and left the hotel for the main road. A relatively new sedan car was parked by the roadside, the driver saw us from across the road and asked us where were we going. I hesitated for a moment before telling him airport. He 'offered' a price of 300 ฿. Crazy! I was even ready to pay half that price. Not to mention I wouldn't trust such illegal driver. About seconds later, I saw a red car approaching and flagged it. After agreeing a fee of 40 ฿ per passenger, we gleefully carried our luggage onboard. A Caucasian passenger was already on the songthaew, and he would eventually alight at Central Plaza near airport. I guessed it must be the songthaew driver's lucky day! LOL!
 |
| Quite roomy |
 |
| There's McDonald's & Burger King |
 |
| Domestic check-in counters |
 |
| Chinese Ambassador... |
 |
| ... and its family! :P |
We reached Chiang Mai Airport at 2.50pm, still pretty early. Since we could not check-in yet, we took a seat at their domestic terminal waiting area and chat, and I had some time to explore the airport.
 |
| Passengers to Taiwan queueing at the boarding gate |
While checking in, it's worth knowing that over a full flight, Tigerair strictly adhere to the requirement of individual check-in luggage weight of 15kg. You can't have it that so long as you and your travel companion's luggage add up to 30kg (for 2 passengers), and then you'd be safe. They don't work that way. A group of tourists before us kicked up a big fuss when they learned it the hard way. What's the matter? Either you pay up or you repack. They have guidelines to follow, and what's the use arguing (for a long time by the way, disregarding disgruntling passengers queueing at the back)?
There was really nothing much to shop in Chiang Mai Airport, prices of local produces and even souvenir were easily marked up 100% or more. While waiting for flight, I watched movie on my iPad. Some passengers finished up their remaining Thai baht at a massage parlour nearby, which charged almost double the rate downtown. Surfing internet could be free, but the authority imposed lots of condition. For international travelers, they can visit the massage parlour at the back corner (Can't remember whether it was Lanna Massage) and register for a user ID & password chit, which allows user for a free 15 minutes surf after registration. The speed was mediocre, probably good enough to read a few emails. And if the massage parlour staffs are all busy serving customers, I suppose you'll have to wait. Though I question the authority's sincerity, it's still better than none. For domestic travelers, look out for Black Canyon Coffee, and you'll be given the same chit after similar registration I suppose.
 |
| TR2177 for Singapore |
Tigerair's flight arrived slightly more than half an hour before our scheduled flight, I boarded seat 8E at 5.30pm and flight TR2177 departed for Singapore at 7.08pm, reaching Singapore 10.08pm (GMT +8).
Coming to the end of this blog post, I would like to thank Tigerair again for this wonderful holiday despite some minor hiccups (it's no fault of them really). Hopefully, my travel journal here provided some help to fellow travelers intending to visit this charming city. But please do not reproduce any of my work for commercial purpose.
No comments:
Post a Comment