Thailand Day 20: Free Day in Chiang Mai

We made the decision to cancel our planned trip to Mae Wang National Park because the planned trail (Phachor) was only 1.5 miles and it would have been a 2-hour drive roundtrip. Now that the faculty have a better sense of options and opportunities for outdoor recreation, we'll be able to plan accordingly for future years. That being said, the students seemed *pretty pumped* to have a full free day in Chiang Mai, and it seems like everyone got out and found fun and unique ways to spend their time today.

Some students spent their afternoon at the Grand Canyon Water Park (link), where they played on giant floating trampolines, shot out of a giant slide, etc. Other students walked a few miles to Wat Umong Suan Phutthatham, a 700-year-old Buddhist temple. Some students used today as a "Treat Yo'self" day and got mani/pedis.

After waking up to complete a run on the Chiang Mai University campus (I didn't take any pictures of my running route, but take my word for it, the on-campus reservoir is lovely), I joined up with a group of students and Han to visit the Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Center, which ended up being one of the highlights of my trip experience thus far. The Center is a museum that showcases the history and and culture of Chiang Mai. It was a fabulous experience and I learned so much. As our small group of 6 were basically the only people in the Center, one of the English-fluent employees gave us a guided tour of the museum, which dramatically enhanced our appreciation and understanding of the things we were looking at.

Han and the students and I all agreed that the Cultural Center might need to be added as a permanent fixture on this trip, preferably on one of the first days spent in Chiang Mai. The Center (link), housed in a colonial style building, features 14 permanent exhibitions that showcase and educate on a variety of topics ranging from early settlement to modern-day Chiang Mai.

Note: I edited this post on 5/29 because I decided that the verbatim description of the individual exhibitions was incredibly boring to read and didn't do justice to how good the exhibitions were. Instead, I'll give a brief summary:

The Center was laid out in an IKEA-esque format where visitors traveled sequentially from one exhibit to the next. Exhibits were a mixture of multimedia (film / touchscreens), 3D miniature models, actual artifacts (e.g. stone tools), and examples of crafts (textiles, lanterns, jewelry). For me, I especially enjoyed the "Life on the Hill," "Constructing the City," and "Life in the City" exhibitions--getting to learn more about the Karen people and their lifestyles, understanding a traditional historical Thai home, what is being sold in the market, and how Chiang Mai became such an important political and economic center--it was all such useful context for the things we've seen and experienced over the past several weeks. I also think touring the Center was especially helpful in understanding the practice and evolution of Theravada Buddhism and understanding the political savvy and influence of King Rama V.

Watching a video that gave an overview of "Chiang Mai, today."

This model helped us understand where Chiang Mai is situated within the larger topography of Thailand. It also helped illustrate the importance of being located near rivers for agriculture and commerce.

A handmade lantern, one of the signature crafts of Chiang Mai

Dried betel nuts--chewing betel nuts gives the same effect (more or less) as chewing tobacco or using a nicotine pouch. A common occurrence in northern Thailand, you can point out someone who chews betel from the stains on their teeth

A map of the city

Provides an overview of unique regional aspects of Theravada Buddhism and its connection to the 12 month calendar 

Additional context for the importance and craft of textiles and clothing

After touring the Center, we ate lunch at Khao Soi Khun Yai, which is a Khao Soi open-air restaurant that was recommended by many locals, including our driver. We snuck in right before closing time (and before they ran out of food!). Khao Soi is perhaps the most famous of the Northern Thai dishes and is a signature dish of Chiang Mai. From Wikipedia:

The name means 'cut rice', although it is possible that it is simply a corruption of the Burmese word for noodles – "khao swè" – which may account for the variations. Traditionally, the dough for the rice noodles is spread out on a cloth stretched over boiling water. After steaming the large sheet noodle is then rolled and cut with scissors. Lao khao soi is traditionally made with hand sliced rice noodles in clear soup broth and topped with minced pork and tomato sauce. In some markets in Luang Namtha and Muang Sing vendors still hand cut the noodles. These traditionally cut noodles can also be found in several places in northern Thailand.

Khao Soi

Yum.

After lunch, I went back to the hotel with a student so that I could meet Kathryn before our scheduled Thai massages at "The Artist," a local Thai massage parlor near our hotel. This massage was gifted to me by my dear friend, Pete. Thank you Pete! After putting in a tough 8 miles this morning, a deep tissue massage was exactly what I needed, and my masseuse had the strongest thumbs of any person I've ever met in my life. We were laughing along with our masseuses because Kathryn and I were comically stiff, and they kept trying to get us to relax our muscles (to no avail...ha!). The parlor itself was charming and the staff were so kind--they served us tea and cookies afterwards. Treat yo'self.

Let's see...what happened after the massage...we grabbed a cup of fancy coffee at a local roaster (this day sure does sound nice now that I'm writing it all out...) and then went back to the hotel to check in with students before distributing laundry and heading back out for dinner. We ate dinner at a restaurant in the Old City called "Dash." We opted for "family style" and everyone ordered something different, so it was cool to try a bunch of different dishes.

We leave Chiang Mai tomorrow morning. We'll take a few days to make a slow return to Bangkok. On the docket for tomorrow is an elephant sanctuary.

------ from the original post -------

Descriptions from the Cultural Center website:

• Chiang Mai Today: A digital video presentation presenting "Chiang Mai in the Present Day", an overview of the entire exhibition as an introduction to the interesting culture, traditions and the way of life of Chiang Mai.
• Pre-Chaing Mai: The prehistory of Chiang Mai with evidences indicate that people lived in the area of Lanna Kingdom many thousands of years ago. traces of prehistoric civilizations and the settlement of former inhabitants including tools that they used.
• Two Sivers Civilization: King Mangrai founded the city of Chiang Rai or Yonok Nakorn as his new capital in the Kok River basin. Decades later, he determined to go further south to conquer the prosperous Mon kingdom of Hariphunchai.
• Constructing the City: The founding of Chiang Mai started from looking for "Auspicious Signs" and "Seven Signs of Good Omens".The city was built according to traditional astrological and religious belief of Trai Phum or the Three Worlds. Unlike earlier settlements of other cities which ware oval, the fortified city was rectangular in shape. almost a square.
• External Relations: Chiang Mai culture has a positive influence on other cities in the region. Chiang Mai and neighboring regions are culturally similar in Buddhism, food, attire and language.
• A century of Chiang Mai: Chiang Mai has changed rapidly in the past century due to the construction of the railway line from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, logging concessions of teak, trading and the change of the administration.
• The Best of Chiang Mai: The unique culture, traditions, rituals, arts and crafts as well as traces of settlement and architecture that represent the glory of Chiang Mai City in the past.
• The Building History: The history and importance of "Chiang Mai City Arts & Cultural Centre" building.
• Dynasty Rulers: Administration under the ruler of Chiang Mai after the Burmese were driven away and King Kawila began to restore Chiang Mai including other important events are shown here.
• Life Along The Ping River: Rowing a wooden boat for fishing.... and rice farming along the Ping river banks, this was a typical Lanna Lifestyle in the past .... The importance of the Ping River for the people of Chiang Mai and how they made the banks their home.
• Life in the city: Chiang Mai was a melting pot of cultures living together. There were local shops and markets where people enjoy exchanging everyday items.
• Buddhism: Buddhism has been a number of Lanna culture. Vihara (Buddhist monastery) host a number of religious activities and also represents Lanna Buddhist Art.
• Traditions of the 12 months: The Twelve Month Traditions are related to supernatural beliefs, ancestors worship, faith in Buddhism and contemporary traditions.
• Agricultural Life: Chiang Mai province encompasses both fertile plains along the Ping River and high mountain ranges. The people used local wisdom to manager water resources by building weirs for sharing water fairly.
• Life on the hill: Scattered through the mountains and valleys of Northern Thailand, a home to interesting ethnic minorities with different culture and beliefs from Chiang Mai people who live on lowland but they all depend on each other and live peacefully together creating a rich melting pot of cultures