Chiang Mai has so many things going on. It is a beautiful area of Thailand, contains all the conveniences we feel we need, and is smaller and more affordable than Bangkok. Hence this city is very attractive to ex-pats from all over the world.
We enjoyed seeing local artisans working while we learned more about their craft. Silver makers, gem carvers, textile weavers, umbrella makers and painters, paper makers, embroidery artists, silk weavers and dyers, and on and on. Chiang Mai has most of these in town.
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| umbrella factory |
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| some of the handpainted umbrellas |
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| woman makes the bamboo spines |
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| our guide shows off her umbrella style |
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| umbrellas ready for painting |
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| some with extra work |
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| Turk tries out a bike taxi |
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| silver artisan |
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| detail of silver bowl |
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| part of our hotel pool - le Meridien |
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| the morning procession for a Buddhist wedding-continuing into late night |
We made dinner reservations at
Blackitch a month in advance. The room - the living room of the chef, holds only 10 people. We had a wonderful fusion meal with many of the ingredients having been harvested or caught by the chef himself. This restaurant is truly a labor of love. His wife runs an ice cream shop downstairs and provided us a savory pumpkin ice cream for dessert.
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| flowers and wreaths for recently passed Thai employee of our tour company |
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| writing up the funeral schedule crossing several days |
Towards the end of a day of sightseeing, our guide asked if we would mind stopping at a local temple so that she could give her respects to a colleague who had recently died. We stopped and several of us went into the temple with our guide, Usa. We were greeted by the deceased brother. The body lay in a refrigerated ornate box draped in fake flowers. The rest of the room was decorated with real wreaths and bouquets from colleagues, friends and family. The small temple was colorfully painted with more modern style pictures depicting scenes from the Buddhas life.
The community was gathering and would have a big pot luck dinner that night. More visits and ceremonies were to take place the next day and on the final day, her body would be cremated.
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| a photo and beautiful wreath greets visitors |
On our last night in Chiang Mai, we went to a home made dinner prepared by a Thai family. The mother, a retired tour guide, works with our travel company to bring the Thai culture a bit closer to us. She, her son and some other family members made and served a delicious meal of traditional Thai foods. The son told us his story - after school ended, he became a monk for a few weeks to please his Buddhist father. Then he was baptized Catholic to please his Catholic mother. He got his high school education in Los Angeles while living with a close friend of his mother. Now, he owns a restaurant/bar in this suburb of Chiang Mai. Their home is made of teak, and stands on tall teak logs so it will not flood during monsoon season. Each family member, mother and 2 sons, has their own bungalow attached with a deck. One room in the central part of the compound is used as the family offering room. Photos of family members with offerings sit on tables, shelves and alters. In Thailand and other SE Asian countries, families respect and pray to their ancestors. You remember your parents, grand parents' death days, not birthdays.
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| prepping spices for Thai dish |
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| amazing foods |
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| a short helper |
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| dessert - jelloish something and green tea cupcake |
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learning to build an appetizer
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| learning about the family alters |
