Thailand, day 7. I've visited a wonderful elephant sanctuary, experienced famed Chiang Mai street food, and checked an item off my bucket list with a magical mass lantern release. But I've still got a few things to do on my final day in Chiang Mai: Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, a few wats in Chiang Mai Old City, tonight's Loy Krathong festivities and – of course – more incredible Thai street food.
Wat Ched Lin and Wat Chedi Luang
Google "best wat to see in Chiang Mai" and you'll find a host of top 10 lists; that's how common Buddhist temples are in Chiang Mai. I take a wander through the Old City, visiting one wat after another, all dating from the 1300s. I'm not religious, or even spiritual, but I enjoy the peacefulness and beauty of each temple. My favourites: the quiet Wat Ched Lin, with its lily-filled fish pond, and Wat Chedi Luang, with its crumbling central tower, beautiful reclining buddha, and ribbon-filled temple.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
Beautiful as these temples are, by the time lunch rolls around I'm feeling "templed out" and more interested in finding street food than visiting Wat Doi Suthep. But I find a red songtheaw leaving with a few other tourists, and pay 100 Baht for the return trip. We head out of town and up a winding mountain road to the temple.There are hoards of loud, jostling tourists outside the temple, which is hidden from view, and I'm tempted to take a pass. But I climb the 300 stairs up to the entrance, fight my way through more crowds, and am thankful I do. Inside I find the most stunning golden structure shining in the midday sun.
Unfortunately, the famed the views of the valley from Wat Doi Suthep are obstructed by smog (thanks to several nights of paper lantern releases), the crowd is suffocating, and many of the tourists are obnoxious (one person after another ignores the multi-lingual signs saying: Do not ring the bells!). But I'm still awed by the beauty of Wat Doi Suthep and the array of delicious street food outside.
My final bites of Chiang Mai street food
Before heading back down to Chiang Mai, I treat myself to a fresh passionfruit and mango smoothie and some pork and sausages on sticks. Then I laze away my final afternoon in the sunshine, nursing a Chang beer on a patio, and return to the Chiang Mai Gate Night Market for dinner of spicy meat something and grilled prawns. I could spend months in Chiang Mai and never get bored of the food. Endless, cheap and delicious.
An evening of Loy Krathong festivities mayhem
As my final day in Thailand comes to an end I join thousands of locals and tourists in the streets of Chiang Mai for the annual Loy Krathong parade and festival. The night sky is dotted with floating lanterns for miles around, and the air is filled with smoke. I watch police officers watch tourists light paper lanterns and send them burning into trees overhanging the crowded street; I wait for a tree to erupt into flames, and imagine the ensuing panic.I buy a krathong – a banana leaf boat, with flowers and candles, hoping it doesn't have a styrofoam base – and pay an enterprising man 100 baht to float my worries down the Ping River. I feel somewhat guilty as I do so: the edges of the river are clogged with krathongs, and the street is littered with trash and burned lanterns. Like thousands of other tourists, I am leaving Thailand slightly less beautiful than it was when I arrived.
The Loy Krathong parade snakes through the streets for hours – passing souvenir and street food vendors, bars with cheap beer, and tourists getting foot massages on the sidewalk – progress halted by low hanging power lines that must be held up with bamboo poles to let the floats pass by underneath. It feels less like a cultural experience and more like a slightly disorganized beauty pageant. I eat more street food, and watch the spectacle. Mayhem is the only word that comes to mind.
Next: off to Saigon, Vietnam (coming soon)
