We always enjoy walking around a new city and seeing the sights. The sights in Chiang Mai proved rather exceptional.
We were especially intrigued by their electrical wiring system.
In case you might be wondering how they repair the wiring, we saw a handmade bamboo ladder leaning against a van that was double-parked on a busy street.
When we looked up, we saw that the bamboo ladder was leaning on the electical wires!
We also witnessed one of the most interesting ways of pouring concrete to form a building. It involved multiple workers, both male and female, handing each other buckets full of cement from the lower floor to the upper floor!
We passed artwork that adorned back street walls.
There were flowers in full bloom everywhere.
We also saw the makings of the annual Flower Festival which is an international event the first weekend in February. Thousands of Chinese flock to Chaing Mai for this festival each year which is quite an infusion of tourist baht in the Thai economy. Yet with the Corona Virus out of Wuhan, no Chinese came to the Flower Festival in Chiang Mai this year.
And even though Christmas was last month, Santa was still in town!
And they are hedging their bets by decorating elephants early for Valentine's Day.
While Chiang Mai is known for its multitude of multi-ethnic cuisine, these two were not what we expected.
We wandered through the streets and there were temples under reconstruction
and beautifully restored ones.
Nearly every temple had a gleaming and slightly different looking Phaya Naga guarding it.
Some temples had the Phaya Naga on the roof and even gold-leaf horses on the pedestals of the surrounding walls.
Side street shrines were everywhere.
And outside the doors of major shrines and temples,
there is this explanation of respect for Buddha.
Throughout the city, there were bridges over intersections with the king's face at different stages of his life. Thai people love their king. It is against the law to say anything derogatory about the king. In addition, if a baht (which has the king's likeness on it) falls on the ground and you step on it to keep the money from flying away, that is considered a jailable offense.
We also visited the Sunday Night Market.
There were vendors selling virtually any and everything one's heart could desire.
First by the entrance was Mrs. Tavee Saeheng"s one stop shopping...pedicure and Thai massage. There were plenty of takers.
Beside the pedicure and Thai areas, there were vendors selling their wares.
Handmade items 100 baht is $3.00 and 150 baht is $5.00
Masks were very popular! 20 baht is 67 cents.
There were some beautiful creations
If you want your purchase altered, there is one on-site who can help you.
There are shoes galore! 109 bahts is around $3.50 US dollars.
These lovelies are handmade soaps in the intricate shapes of flowers. They were so beautifully made.
There also was every type of food one could enjoy from the "yummy food tastes so great" stand
to fresh seafood
and fish that has been smoked.
to meat kabobs next to vegetarian delights
to popsicles
made in metal cylinders filled with flavored syrup that are then plunged into the vat of dry ice. When they emerge from the ice they are pulled out of the cylinders and are in the perfect popsicle shape. This stand was VERY popular!
The pizza stand was also popular although it was not like our pizza. It was Vietnamese pizza.
40 bhat is about $1.35
When not in use as a taxi, this songthaew is a coffee stand.
The jelly coconut stand was hugely popular.
Coconut milk was served up by the vendor hacking a fresh coconut open with a machete! It was impressive to see!
Directly beside the cricket stand was a dessert stand with a beautiful array of confectionary treats.
If you were interested in skateboards, there was a vendor there to help you part with your money.
All too soon it was time to head back to our Chiang Mai home away from home, The Green Tiger House. We needed to get packed and head for bed for tomorrow we start our 10 day journey north to the Hill Tribes.
There were vendors selling virtually any and everything one's heart could desire.
First by the entrance was Mrs. Tavee Saeheng"s one stop shopping...pedicure and Thai massage. There were plenty of takers.
Beside the pedicure and Thai areas, there were vendors selling their wares.
Handmade items 100 baht is $3.00 and 150 baht is $5.00
Masks were very popular! 20 baht is 67 cents.
There were some beautiful creations
If you want your purchase altered, there is one on-site who can help you.
There are shoes galore! 109 bahts is around $3.50 US dollars.
These lovelies are handmade soaps in the intricate shapes of flowers. They were so beautifully made.
There also was every type of food one could enjoy from the "yummy food tastes so great" stand
to fresh seafood
and fish that has been smoked.
to meat kabobs next to vegetarian delights
to popsicles
The pizza stand was also popular although it was not like our pizza. It was Vietnamese pizza.
And who can possibly resist eating a "delectable" selection of fried crunchy crickets, lots of crickets, Big crickets, Small, crickets, Mole crickets, you name it crickets oh, and grasshoppers!
Directly beside the cricket stand was a dessert stand with a beautiful array of confectionary treats.
Throughout the Sunday Night Market there were stands upon stands of corn! The grilled corn on the cob was very delicious.
If you were interested in skateboards, there was a vendor there to help you part with your money.
And if you didn't want to skateboard home with your purchases, you could always take a tuk tuk.
We walked home and while we had seen these sights during the daylight
we so enjoyed seeing the sights all lit up at night even more.
All too soon it was time to head back to our Chiang Mai home away from home, The Green Tiger House. We needed to get packed and head for bed for tomorrow we start our 10 day journey north to the Hill Tribes.
