Chiang Mai Tuesday Dec 16

 Tuesday Dec 16 2025 - Chiang Mai

Previous posts can be found on the right side under BLOG ARCHIVE.

STEPS

WEATHER

TOUR DAY 21 On our own

ITALICS TOUR DESCRIPTION

Breakfast at the hotel. Today is free for you to explore Chiang Mai at your own pace. You can also opt for a wonderful optional half-day excursion ($) to the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. (Breakfast)

A visit to the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary will offer visitors an enjoyable opportunity to spend quality time with elephants in their natural habitat, as well as gain insight into their lifestyle and behavior, and create cherished lifelong memories of the time spent with these amazing animals. You can touch, feed, photograph, and interact with the elephants at your leisure before accompanying them to a nearby mud spa. Then, you will walk with the elephants to a nearby river and join them in the water for a refreshing bath. Finally, you will be offered some snacks and seasonal fresh fruits before enjoying once again the impressive rural scenery as you drive back to Chiang Mai.

We did an Elephant Sanctuary in 2015 , at Saiyok Elephant Camp (near Wang Po)  along with tigers and monkeys oh my!!

This morning we had our usual buffet breakfast and started out to visit old town Chiang Mai. We laid out our walking path and headed out. We decided to capture the murals on the wall of the restaurant next to our hotel and I will cover these later.

We came across a small temple in the Ban Hom community. The Ban Hom community was the community of Thai Yuan who was here from Chiang Saen in 1804 during Prince Kawila's reign. They are known for their unique style in art, architecture, costume and cuisine which they retained from Chiang Saen. Today Ban Hom community is located in Chiang Klan district near the Tha Phae gate entrance to the old city.

As we walked along the wall, we noticed many tourists taking pictures of themselves along the wall where hundreds of pigeons were sitting and would fly down above their heads..We then headed to the THA PHAE GATE which is one of the most famous landmarks in Chiang Mai. Located on the eastern side of the wall, it is one of the gates to enter the Old City. The other gates are Chang Phuak Gate, Chiang Mai Gate, Suan Dok Gate, and Saen Pung Gate. 

Continuing on, we arrived at the Tha Phae gate entrance to the old city.

  Before passing through the gate we noticed a memorial type of trellis honoring the Queen Mother's passing.

Entering the old city, we spotted the Wat Muen Larn temple located west of the Tha Phae Gate. It’s the first temple you encounter after entering the Old City through Tha Phae Gate. The temple grounds include a whitewashed chedi, a small viharn, and intricate gilded naga motifs around the windows and doors.

A Nāga (or Naga) refers to divine, semi-divine, or mythical serpent beings in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions, often depicted as half-human/half-snake or as large cobras, acting as guardians of water and treasure in an underworld kingdom.

Exiting the temple we continued on our walk and came across the Wat Phan On temple in a huge courtyard.. It is a small serene temple built in 1501 during the Lanna Kingdom. It is known for its brilliant golden chedi, one of the most striking in Chiang Mai and built in 2007.

After leaving the temple, we decided it was time for a beverage since it was a very hot and humid day.

. We stopped at the ILY cafe for ice cream matcha tea. In all honesty, it was not very good even though matcha tea is supposed to be good for you. 

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Finishing our ices, we continued to the end of the street and come across the Wat Phan Tao temple which is a classic wooden teak  temple built in the mid 15th century during the Lanna Kingdom. The name means, "Temple of a Thousand Kins", referring to the many furnaces once used here to cast Buddha images. Originally part of the Wat Chedi Luang which sits right next door. The main viharn (restangular hall where people gather to pray and where the main Buddha is kept).

There was a family here, posing and taking NUMEROUS  photos, totally ignoring the McGuinness glare!

This street has more temples than coffee shops. We then exit and enter the temple next door which is the Wat Chedi Luang temple that is a major Buddhist and  one of the most striking temples carrying centuries of Lanna history. It is considered to be the historical heart of Chiang Mai. It was built in the 14th century under King Saen Muang Ma, originally to enshrine his father’s ashes. This is a UNESCO site and cost 50 baht each to enter.

Once inside there were an amalgam of temples  to view. We were quite taken by Inthakin City Pillar Shrine  that allowed "men only" to enter. This represents the spiritual heart of Chiang Mai by long standing tradition allowing men only to enter the shrine. Well, not we as Jackie was very annoyed as were the other women, standing around, shaking their heads.

Local tradition holds that the guardian spirit inside the shrine must not be disturbed by the “impurity” associated with childbirth and menstruation. These beliefs are ancient and symbolic, not personal or discriminatory in intent — similar restrictions exist at other historic shrines in Thailand and parts of Southeast Asia. Jackie was not impressed by the shrine and its symbolism.

John is going in to have a peek.

Photos taken inside the "men only" shrine. There were murals on the walls and ceiling. The murals traditionally show: deities associated with protection, mythic warriors and scenes symbolizing stability and cosmic order. They reinforce the founding myth of Chiang Mai.

As we continue on, we come across, "The Great Chedi",(Phra Chedi Luang). This 600 year old stupa was once the tallest structure in the Lanna Kingdom and the former home of the Emerald Buddha. The chedi was ordered by King Saen Muang Ma to enshrine the ashes of his father. Construction began in 1391 and lasted almost a century. When the chedi was finally finished in 1475 during the reign of King Tilokarat it had reached a height of about 85 meters and a width of 44 meters, which made it by far the largest structure of Chiang Mai.

All four sides contain large staircases flanked by guardian mythical Naga serpents. At the top of the stairs are niches, where Buddha images are enshrined. Just below the top of the stairs is a platform containing Sinhalese style stone elephants on one side emerging from the chedi.

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As we continue to explore this large temple, we come across the Reclining Buddha hall.

The temple grounds contain two viharns (prayer halls). The first one is a large, impressive building with a three tiered roof and a front facade in golden colors. This viharn was built in 1928. The high red ceiling is supported by two rows of tall, round columns. This viharn contains a large standing Buddha image opposite the entrance, named Phra Chao Attarot. This image displaying the Abhaya mudra (the dispelling of fear hand gesture) dates back to the time when the Wat Chedi Luang was founded; it was cast towards the end of the 14th century.

Another temple, the Wat Phan Tao (Standing Buddha in a large viharn), is located on the same grounds.

As we were exiting the temple, we saw the 7 Buddha postures for the days of the weeks. In Thai culture, the Buddha images are associated with the days of the week based on the birth day of an individual. Each Buddha posture represents a day of the week and is linked to a specific moment in the Buddha's life.

John is Sunday and Jackie is Thursday.

In Thailand, offerings to the Buddha at temples are a significant part of the Buddhist practice. These offerings can include food, flowers, incense, and candles, which are used to honor the Buddha and his teachings. The lanterns, especially during the Yi Peng Lantern Festival, are a symbol of hope and enlightenment, and the act of releasing them is believed to free one of misfortune and send wishes to the heavens. The lanterns are often handmade and decorated with auspicious patterns, reflecting the artistic and cultural heritage of the region.

Leaving the temple, we decided it was time for a cold beer. So we crossed the street and went into Poppy's for a cold one. 

The entrance to the Wat Chedi Luang temple.

It was time to head back to our hotel Along the way we spotted the Chala Hotel.

A little further on we stopped to checkout a menu, to no avail sandwiches only. 

A little further along the street, we came upon the Wat Muentoom temple, however I think we were templed out.

We continued on our walk and found a small family owned restaurant for lunch. We ordered spicy pork with rice and fried pork dumplings.

After lunch, we continued on our way to the hotel, leaving the old city via the west Chiang Mai gate.  We walked along the moat, identified some great murals which we will add later. A lot of water lilies/lotus flowers  in the moat.

We finally arrive at our hotel and decide to relax before we hit the night market.

Our Movenpick Suriwongse hotel is centrally located right next to the Anusarn Night market. An undercover night market open seven days a week, Anusarn Night Market can be found near the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar, generally springing to life from around 5pm until midnight. Anusarn Night Market is one of the better night markets in Chiang Mai, with lots of stalls selling crafts, souvenirs and clothing.

Lots of dining choices at the Anusarn Night Market with a trip to Chill Square, a well lit and clean food court with multiple food outlets.

We also spotted a new cowboy themed food-court area, where all the the vendors where cowboy hats and the area is themed like a ranch.

We decided it was time for dinner so we opted for Le Bistrot restaurant next to our hotel and owned by Movenpick. I had a steak stirfry and Jackie had the fish and chips with a great bottle of red. We also enjoyed the entertainment.

Following dinner, we headed back to our hotel to get ready for tomorrow's flight to Phuket.