Day 8 - Chiang Mai — Wayfaring Abroad

After getting back to our Airbnb feeling incredibly exhausted the night before we decided to really take it easy in the morning. We woke up at 8, slowly got ready for the day.

We finally got out the door a little before 10. The plan was to explore the city, hitting a couple markets and generally getting a feel for Chiang Mai. We began by going to Nimman and stopping at Ristr8o, a coffee shop that boast barista art champions of Thailand. We stopped for a couple coffee concoctions and a scone from the shop next door. After we were finished there we headed back to the main road for our long walk over to Old Town.

We walked to the northwest corner of Old Town to the remaining wall and kept going past to Wat Lok Molee and then into Old Town to Wat Khuan Khama. Even around 11 am both temples were almost empty and we spent our time enjoying the quiet and looking through the temples at the intricate designs.

Looking through the Walled entrance at Wat Lok Molee.

We continued along the perimeter of Old Town stopping at different temples before heading south through Old Town towards the Ping River. We walked through Warorot Market, a large collection of different food stalls, clothing and trinkets. We went through and out to the Ping River which we crossed so that we could find lunch.

Looking down at the end of Warorot Market from the top of the walking bridge over the Ping River.

We stopped at The Gallery for lunch and relief from the heat. Even before 1 pm the heat was oppressive when not shaded by the trees. While we ate there was about 20 minutes of rain that was threatening to open up into a storm.

By the time we had finished eating and finalizing plans for the day, the rain had completely ceased. We left the restaurant heading back across the Ping River so that we could see The Phae Gate and make our way down to a store we had spotted the day before.

We were looking to bide our time until the Sunday Walking Street began and we could walk through the numerous stalls that would be lining the streets of Old Town. However, we still had a couple hours to keep occupied.

We made it to Phae Gate and made our way through Old town and down to Wat Srisuphan, the silver temple.

It is quite remarkable to see a silver temple. It is visually remarkable and quite opposite the other temples in the city. We still had a couple hours until the street was supposed to be shut down for Sunday so we made our way back to Old Town to a little park for a little rest and relaxation.

We spent the next hour laying on the grass in the shade, doing a mix of reading and chatting. Eventually we decided it was time to check on the street and made our way north to where we had read the closure was. Unfortunately the street was not closed, and it didnt appear that it would be anytime soon. We believed that we had the time wrong and decided to go back to our apartment and then come back to Old Town later in the evening.

However, we couldn't get a tuk tuk driver down to a price we wanted so we began walking back with the intent of finding a driver at the right price. We made it as far north as Wat Phra Singh where it turns out the street closure began. We were still very early and not many of the stalls were set up yet. So we went into the temple grounds and found a shaded and cool place to take a seat and wait.

After a short time we went back into the receding sunlight and began our walk through the many stalls and thousands of people. The street closure ran the length of Old Town and took us about an hour and a half to walk through.

Wat Phra Singh in the distance with the Sunday market stretched out before it.

Normally we walk a brisk pace but with so many people and so many stands dotting the streets we were forced to really take our time. Once we had made it fully through the market we kept going east towards the Nigh Bazaar. When we finally got there we found that all the people and most of the stalls in the bazaar were at the Sunday Walking Street.

This was fine with us and meant we were going to grab some dinner and then end our night with a couple hours in the air conditioned apartment, finishing of a fine day in Chiang Mai.

The food stalls outside of the Chang Phuak Gate.