Day 12 - Poppies/A dinner and a show

Trip Start Dec 17, 2007

Trip End Feb 14, 2008

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Flag of Thailand Chiang Mai, Thailand
Tuesday, January 22, 2008

I decided to have an easy morning as I had been traveling for two days. Took a walk to look at the moat and the remaining parts of the walls. The moat was maybe 20 meters wide and the walls were made of brick and looked like it was 5 to 10 meters tall. The bricks looked like they were slowly eroding after many years in the sun and the rain. Japanese castle's walls were made of large rocks and will last a long time. The remnant of the wall I saw was semi-preserved and I saw a well preserved section later from the van which I want to see later.

I had signed up on an afternoon tour to the top of the mountain over looking the city. Chiang Mai lies at 200 meters above sea level while the mountain is about 1500 meters. Tours are nice as they pick you up from your hotel, there is a guide and you don't have to worry about anything. We drove for awhile through the heavy traffic of the city and soon arrived at the base of the hill

The Wall

. The road was steep and curvy and the air-con was switched off so the engine could get more power. The driver was a little crazy passing cars on the road going up the hill.

After the white knuckled ride we arrived at a mountain tribe's village. There are a large number of tribes that have emigrated into Thailand over the years from China, Burma and other countries and have kept their cultures and languages. Many of them grew opium but the government, sorry, the king, have embarked on a series of royal projects to bring development to the tribes with tourism and agriculture programs.

The village was perched on the side of the hill and the largest flat spot was the parking lot which wasn't exactly level. There were shops selling locally made goods and/or made in China stuff to the tourist. After walking through the market, we entered a garden in which many flowers were growing on several terraces covering the hillside. You could wear the local costumes and get your picture taken. They also had a small patch of the opium poppies which are quite beautiful.

After the village, we drove past one of the king's palaces, high on the mountain before we arrived at a temple which is one of famous temples of Northern Thailand

The Moat

. We took a cable car to the top as it was over 300 steps to the top. The temple grounds had several building around The Thai version of the pagoda, a beautiful golden tower. Around the temple were many bells which if you ring, you can make a wish. There was a great view spot and the whole city of Chiang Mai could be seen including the moat and the outline of the old city and you could watch airplanes taking off from the airport.

One thing that was interesting to me was that many people were actively worshiping. In Japan, many of the temples and shrines are seen just as a sightseeing place and not as a place of worship (OK, Hatsumode, the first shrine visit of the year but that is just one time a year and is more of a custom than worship). My opinion is that Japan religion is dormant while Buddhism in Thailand is active and is part of people's daily lives.

We headed back down the hill arrived back at the hotel alive. I rested a little and then it was time to go to dinner and a show. Tak and I had signed up for a program that included dinner and traditional Thai dancing. Tak was late so I caught the van to the Thai arts center alone. There was a large hall with a small raised stage and lots of Gaijin sitting on the floor eating and drinking from small tables

Beautiful poppy flowers

. I was escorted to my seat down near the stage. After a few minutes, Tak arrived after taking a tuk-tuk and also our table of food arrived. But we ate off plates which were on the floor which was a bit strange.

A small group of musicians had been playing on the stage and they sound good but they moved behind the stage curtain and the main show started. Six beautifully dressed female dancers cam out and performed the first dance, the fingernail dance in which they danced with long finger nails. The dance movement were slow and graceful. There were several other dances including one with just one guy and a bunch of knives. It was a bit difficult to eat, watch the show and try to take pictures at the same time. Finally, the last dance of the first stage was the candle dance where the lights were dimmed and the girls danced with candles in each hand. Very beautiful and hot.

Then we moved to an outdoor stage to watch the mountain tribes dances. It started with four kids who had to jump over bamboo poles that several other kids where sliding back in forth in pairs on the ground. So the kids would step in an opening and then raise up their foot as the bamboo poles closed and then stop into another hole. I think it was closer to a game than a dance and they needed great timing to avoid getting their ankles hit. It was fun to watch. There were several other dances including a man playing a type of flute and he would roll on the ground while playing the instrument.

All in all, a great evening of good food, good music and a good show. I enjoyed seeing some of the traditional Thai culture.