Chiang Mai is perhaps Thailand’s second largest city, after Bangkok (it depends on how you define the size of a city!). But it is a major tourist and cultural destination. Unlike gigantic Bangkok, Chiang Mai is calmer and more approachable. And generally cooler.
We’d read that, in recent years, quite a few digital nomads have settled in Chiang Mai; they contribute to both a cosmopolitan vibe but also a kind of blurring of local culture. It also feels friendly to tourists like us. In the historic center, we found lots of shops and cafés and restaurants to enjoy.
For example, a good friend of our niece had lived in Chiang Mai for several years. She recommended this little welcoming restaurant for good grilled chicken and pork-rib dishes.
Nonetheless, we’re in Thailand, and when you’re in Thailand, you visit the temples! In Chiang Mai, we enjoyed two notable ones.
Golden Wat Prathat Doi Suthep
The temple of Wat Prathat on Doi Suthep mountain looks down 700 m / 2,300 ft to the city of Chiang Mai on the valley floor below.
Wat Prathat Doi Suthep is one of the most significant spiritual and cultural landmarks in Thailand. It enshrines a sacred relic of the Buddha, believed to be a fragment of his shoulder bone. According to legend, a white elephant carried this relic to the mountain’s summit, trumpeted three times, and died, marking the site as holy ground. King Nu Naone then ordered the construction of the temple in 1383. ※ ※ ※
The centerpiece of the temple complex is the shiny golden chedi (or stupa, or tower) which houses the Buddha relic.
When we visited, there was quite a crowd of visitors — tourists and faithful too. Our guide, a practicing Buddha, said that walking three times in silence around the chedi brings merit. She was going to do that, and we were welcome to join her. The route around the base of the chedi sits behind a low wall lined with sculptures of the Buddha, other buddhas and noted monks. The wall creates a welcome barrier between us walking meditators and the general crowd. We took off our shoes, and started the circuit on the cool stone floor. Neither one of us is particularly spiritual, but the quiet and calm of the single-file walk, surrounded by really beautiful golden forms and statues, was like a gentle massage.
As always, Thai Buddhist temple complexes are full of such gorgeous artwork and sculptures.
Silver Wat Sri Suphan
As you’ve probably noticed already, almost all Thai temples are golden color, and/or white and bright primary colors. Chiang Mai is home to an unusual Silver Temple: Wat Sri Suphan.
The temple sits in the Wualai neighborhod, which has long been the center of the silver handicraft industry. More than 200 years ago, silver artisans from Burma started settling here. Not only is Wat Sri Suphan a temple complex, it is also a place where you can learn skills of metal and silver chasing and repoussé. Repoussé is the art of hammering decorative patterns into sheets of metal from the back side; chasing is hammering from the front.
Repoussé-ed silver and silver-aluminum panels cover all the exterior of this temple.
Temple structures have been here since around 1500 CE. The main assembly or ordination hall, the ubosot, was constructed in the mid-19th century. However, a major reconstruction took place in 1993. Pretty much all that you see today is no more than 30 years old. ※
A close look at the designs both inside and outside the ubosot show a lot of worldly modern imagery. This is a living place.
Although with one stubborn anachronism: We were surprised to find that women are not allowed in the ubosot. It seems that this restriction is, as is so often the case around the world, more about misogyny than any doctrine:
While women are barred from entering the ordination hall, they are allowed to visit other parts of the temple complex. This restriction reflects broader gender-based practices in Theravada Buddhism in Thailand, where women face limitations in religious participation, including ordination as monks. Critics argue that these rules stem more from patriarchal cultural norms than Buddhist scripture, as there is no explicit doctrinal basis for such exclusions. (※) (※)
Saturday night street market
We spent a Saturday evening strolling up and down a long pedestrianized street among a gazillion vendor stands. It seemed that most of what was on sale was aimed at tourists like us (or especially those much younger than us). If you ever want to buy a pair or two or three of elephant pants, this is a good place!
The food stalls, however, attracted locals and tourists alike.
As we got hungrier and hungrier, we discovered a kind of food court just off the main street. Plenty of enticing choices. After a circuit feeding our eyes and noses, we selected some yummy fried pork and fried chicken, and a rather tame noodle, fishball and chicken soup. We found a couple table spots amid the crowd, and enjoyed both the local food and people watching.
After our snacking supper, we came across these percussionists just outside the gates of the Silver Temple.
January 2025