Chiang Mai 1/29

We hired a car and driver to take us to several places. The first was the royal family palace (Bhubing Palace)atop a mountain overlooking the city. It was 10 miles from the city at 3500 feet. It was extremely misty and the palace was not open for visit. But the grounds were spectacular. A short drive away we visited another temple – Wat Doi Suthep. It is described as a must visit in guide books and our driver told us that every Thai person who comes to Chang Mai visits this temple to pay respect to Buddha’s relics. There is a 300 step climb to get to it but fortunately there is a cable car alternative. It is a big beautiful temple. We were going to visit a Hmong village a few miles away at a higher altitude, but the driver was afraid to go there because of thick fog and the road being curvy and narrow. Instead, he offered to take us to a silk village. We agreed, but asked him to take a short detour to another temple – Wat Jed Yod, which we were told is dedicated to the snake. Since both of us were born in the year of the snake, we had to go there. It turned out to be one of the oldest and most beautiful wats in Chiang Mai. All around its base, people put small statues of snakes in different colors. Then on to the silk village. A definite tourist trap. When we got back, we took a short rest and then set out to find lunch. We walked down a main street where they were setting up for the night market. The night market is immense. It seems to go on forever. We went back for a rest before going out in the evening. Around 7 pm we left only to find out it was raining. The hotel staff gave us a large umbrella and we embarked on our evening adventure.