About 700 kms north of Bangkok and 1,027 feet above sea level, Chiang Mai is like a mountain resort. It has about 300 temples reflecting the influence of various cultures: Lanna Thai, Burmese, Sri Lankan and Mon.
Because of its elevated location, it is blessed with a dry and cooler climate which we are enjoying very much. We have found this city to be extremely charming and easy to explore.
The old city is squared off by walls and moats and it is beautiful.
Of course, the hillside tribes are a major attraction here. There are six different tribes showing a real ethnic diversity: Karen, Hmong, Yeo, Akha, Lisu and Lahu. Their history seems to be shrouded in myth and legend and little is known about their exact origins, but each is distinct with its own culture, religion, language, art and dress.
We visited a few of these tribes on our recent trek...the Akha who are animists and famous for their elaborate head dresses of beads and silver. Their villages are on mountain ridges with steep slopes. They farm and rumour has it that they often cultivate opium for their own consumption. The Karen village that we visited farmed rice, vegetables and had a lot of livestock. They are predominantly Buddhist and Christian. They live more in the lowland valleys and practice crop rotation. There are four distinct grgoups and when combined they are the largest tribe in Thailand with about 250,000 people. The Lahu people also farm. They are animists and live in mountainous areas and are most famous for their intricate weavings. The Lisu tribe practice animism with ancestor worship and spirit possession. The women wear long multi-couloured trousers and turbans with tassels. Seeing how these mountain people live has been one of most interesting adventures yet!
Chiang Mai is also known for Thai massage and its long history of therapeutic healing. As many of you know, at home we ssem to spend all of our disposable income on travel, wining and dining. But now that we are travelling and food and drink is so cheap...all of our disposable income is going to massages!
As much as we have loved visiting all the temples, we are somewhat "watted" out...since we saw many temples in Bangkok as well. Then we hit here and visited Doi Suitep, a hillside temple high on a mountain up some 300 stairs lined by ceramic tailed dragons. This wat was truly spectacular.
The markets here are incredible as well...everything from Thai and Yunnanese food, to clpthes, to DVDs to tribal handicrafts. Last night there was an awesome Sunday street festival with vendors, food stalls and entertainment for miles. We ate and listened to music for hours!
We are soon headed north and happy to do so. You may have read about the violence in the south where martial law has been declared in three border provinces. Over 50 people have been killed in the fighting with the Muslim separatists since we arrived in Satun. It has had no effect on us or our travels but was very much a part of everday conversation when we were in Satun.
As has been our experience this whole trip, people are friendly and kind. We have found a marvelous little restaurant here in CM and have become "regulars." Last night we left the digital behind with all our hilltribe photos. By the time we got back to the guest house and realized we had left the camera (and were more than frantic!)...the owner had followed us on his motorbike and was getting the guest house owner to open the gate to get it back to us. How great is that!
Tomorrow we expect to head to the GoldenTriangle area (where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet.) We have not yet decided about entering Myanmar...this is just so controversial. It has such tight military rule and an evil and corrupt regime. All we have heard about for so many years is the number of political prisoners in jails and labour camps. Perhaps some of you have seen the movie, Beyond Rangoon?
In most regards it seems to be 100 years behind the rest of SE Asia (which also gives it such mystery and appeal...) It is hard to know if tourism contributes to government repression or it helps educate the world to what goes on there. We are thinking that if we do not engage in any activity that would benefit the horrendous governement (stay in locally owned guest houses and be sure our money goes directly to Burmese people) then it may be okay.
Either way (Myanmar or not) we will be heading down the mighty Mekong into Laos by week's end. More when we get to Luang Prabang!
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