No Women Allowed
Oh really?
All these temples, and I hadn’t been banned from any yet! But, alas, I found a ‘He-Man Woman Haters Club’ temple here in Chiang Mai.
city pillar shrine – women are not permitted
I thought to myself: Wow, what great Karma! Right after I complain that the temples are boring – voila! This! Modern day misogyny in the form of discrimination is SO not boring!
So, not one to back down from a challenge, I decided to permit myself entry. I said to that city pillar: “I’ll take your ‘No Women’ rule, and I’ll raise you a Woman in Shorts!” (gasp! the horror!).
Feast your eyes upon this, fellow women of the world, I got a pic inside the Top Secret Man Cave!
sacred interior only men shall pass through (i skipped the optional donation jar)
Wowwww! I don’t know how I handled seeing this – I mean, I didn’t even get lightheaded and faint.
And guess what… NOTHING happened. The temple did not crumble. Buddha did not roll over in his grave. The monks did not all decide to leave monk college. In fact, the man who was inside the pillar ‘guarding’ it didn’t see me because he was on his cell phone… hmmmm… I wonder if a woman sentry would’ve caught me?
Now I feel so empowered – I’m thinking I can do anything. What’s next? They’ll let me vote? I’ll be allowed to drive a car? Go to college? Make eye contact with married men? Maybe even get a job??? A girl can dream, can’t she?
Still feeling mighty privileged, I decided to tour the rest of the Wat Chedi Luang temple complex – it was cool😆
wat chedi luang – partially crumbled from earthquake in the 1500’s
monks in training❤️
wat chedi luang
viharn
enormous buddha inside the viharn
pretty paper lanterns
buddha
awesome tree
buddhist university
monk laundry day
The site also has a branch of Mahamakut Buddhist University on its grounds, so there were lots of monks roaming about.
A few other temples:
wat phra singh
wat phra singh
wat buppharam – Donald Duck!!!?
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I love Chiang Mai. It’s small but has plenty to do, has mountains in the backdrop, and is on a river. The “Old City” is a few miles by few miles square at the center of Chiang Mai, and it is surrounded by a moat and what’s left of an old wall. If you look at Chiang Mai on a map, you’ll see it – very unique. Inside and outside of the Old City are both all developed with retail and houses, just the Old City has a lot more temples (probably 1-2 every small block).
main gate to the Old City
old city wall remnants
bridge over moat
old & new
typical CM old city street
pano from coffeeshop
ping river
night market
cute street
I have an SPG hotel room with cash and points, which means I paid $35/night (tax and all) for a great, upgraded room with a view of the mountains:
tub & room
picture window
view from room
sunset view
nice to wake-up to
The weather has been perfect. Sunny and low-80s, with no humidity! I think I will hike in the mountains tomorrow😊
Next up: Chiang Mai Zoo & Illusions
Darjeeling Limited-esque
I took an overnight sleeper train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, and all I could think about the whole time was Wes Anderson.
my train & ‘chief steward’
darjeeling train and ‘chief steward’
I love Wes Anderson’s movies, I think he’s the most creative, brilliant, weird director (and Houstonian!). I LOVED using the sleeper train (Thai Railway’s First Class Sleeper; instead of The Darjeeling Limited). I left Bangkok at 7:35pm and arrived in Chiang Mai around 9am the next morning.
train car hallway
last car view
I had a private room:
my seating setup
darjeeling seating setup
I ordered dinner, and they brought it to my room. Soup, duck curry, chicken vege stir fry, rice, banana – only $4:
my dinner
darjeeling dinner (this scene is so awesome)
Then the ‘chief steward’ came in and setup my room into bunk beds:
my sleeping style
darjeeling sleeping style
I could lock the door, had a little sink with mirror, electrical outlet, lights, curtains, and could control the temperature in my cabin. I was awake before sunrise, so I walked to the last car in the train and watched the scenery from the tail end:
last car view – sunrise
through the natl park and mountains
When the sun was up, I had a really scenic, nice view the rest of the trip into Chiang Mai out my window:
countryside
khuntan station
passerby
cute building
train dogs
khuntan station stop
field
darjeeling view
Also, the night before, I took a picture of my ghost:
ghost me? totoro real.
I had breakfast before we disembarked the train (was gross – but only $3):
breakfast
Another The Darjeeling Limited association – I’m totally starting to identify with Adrien Brody’s character in the movie, when he says, “I’m gonna go pray at another thing.”😂 BECAUSE: I’m so sick of seeing temples. I mean, they’re colorful/beautiful, ornate/impressive, are historic/hold obvious importance, and each are unique/significant in their own right… all of which I appreciate. But I’m tired of being around them and tired of being around the hordes of people that are always around them.
Too many temples in a small amount of time = temple overload. I will still tour some of them (particularly the freebies) – I like seeing how the architecture changes from country to country and century to century. Saul Good(man)!☺️
Next up: I’m gonna go pray at another thing (in Chiang Mai)
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