Chaing Mai is the cultural capital of the north and former capital of the Lanna kingdom, before it merged with Siam to become the Thailand we know today (a simplification of history). It is also one of the few Thai cities with its original moat and city gates relatively intact, and it boasts a large number of well preserved and function in Wats, or temples.Our first temple visit was Wat Chedi Luang, the oldest in the city walls.
Here you can see us making an offering to Buddha, incense, fresh flowers, and a birthday candle for the days of our birth. These offerings are supposed to bring luck.
It was a windy day, so the candle didn't stay lit particularly long, I don't know what that says about our luck prospects.
The temple is quite large, with the traditional red lacquer ceiling, decorated with gold and zodiac symbols. The banners hanging overhead are also zodiac offerings to the Buddha. It is important to note, when visiting a Wat, shoulders and knees must be covered, no shoes allowed, and you must never show your feet to the Buddha who always resides at the front of the temple.
And though you pay admission, it's nominal, so a donation is welcome. Sometimes fun kitsch is an incentive to do so. These monks are actually coin accepting banks. Except that one on the left, what's he doing there?
Most Wats are also guarded by some pretty epic creatures, usually dragons, or nagas, as you can see here.
And lastly, a Wat visiting tip. Above you can see the ruins of the actual Chedi Luang that is the oldest in the city, ringed by elephants and guard by nagas. I know, you're thinking what are all those pictures I just looked at then? They're the front temple complex, this is actually around back. Jim and I actually thought we had seen the whole thing before we saw this, and left the compound to go to the Chaing Mai Arts and Cultural museum, where they had pictures like the one above that let us on to then fact that we hadn't actually seen the whole thing. So we went back. Moral of the story, to see the whole Wat, be sure to do a thorough lap. You never know what surprises await.
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