Improvised Free Walking Tour of Chiang Rai

Along Thanan Baanpa Pragarn Road through the heart of Chiang Rai

There is no organized free walking tour of downtown Chiang Rai.  I don't think there is even an organized for-fee walking tour of downtown Chiang Rai.

But to get to downtown Chiang Rai, I must cross the Phaya Mangrai Bridge.

The reason there is no organized walking tour, free or for-fee, is because nearly all of the sights a Chiang Rai tourist wants to see are on the outskirts of the city.  Even the Blue Temple, not far from the downtown, is about a two-mile walk to the main attraction in downtown Chiang Rai.

But when you see a temple complex, the walking tour tourist gets an itchy camera-clicking finger.  Let's look at the Wat Phra Sing Chiang Rai, shall we?

Inside:

Lots of animals decorating the exterior.  Not sure what this is.  It looks like a ferocious capybara.

I don't think capybara are found in the Old World.  And I don't think they are capable of being ferocious, or even slightly miffed.  But, you never know.

The tall spire within Wat Phra Sing Chiang Rai.

Note the use of elephants at the base of the spire.

Of course there would be elephants.

The next temple on the tour features a tubby Buddha:

I believe this is the Wat Mung Muang, but keeping the names straight on these various temples is getting to be complicated.

This is not a tourist temple.

I am walking toward the star attraction of downtown Chiang Rai, which requires me to walk through a street market:

There are two types of street markets in Thailand and never shall the two meet.

The tourist-oriented markets sell souvenir trinkets (little elephant statues and dolls are particularly popular).  The signage is in English.  Prices are prominently displayed.

Then there are the locals-oriented markets:

Focused on food.  No English language signage.  No prices on display that I could see.  But fish on the grill!

I now come to the star attraction of downtown Chiang Rai:

The clock tower.

It's in the middle of a busy intersection, with no apron around it to actually get up close.  So the photography was difficult.

Time to go find a place for yet another Thai massage.

Speaking of tourist markets, this is the locale of Chiang Rai night market.

I am guessing this one will be more tourist-friendly.

Time to scurry back to my side of town.  Why I think I see my luxury resort hotel from across the Kok River.

But, first, I light snack for supper.

And here's where "local" and "authentic" are not necessarily a good thing.  This was definitely "local" and "authentic."  No English spoken.  No English signage.  Communication possible only through google translate.

The way this one works is that select a skewer -- multiple skewers depending on how hungry you are -- of raw material:  meat, vegetable, tofu.  And you have it grilled.  I didn't recognize the meats, so, to be safe, I asked for chicken.

I got two skewers of what I was told was chicken.  Maybe it was the way things are for us locals, but it tasted like crunchy chicken cartilage.  However, the grilled corn of the cob was awesome.  And very, very spicy, this being Thailand after all, and not only Thailand, but far northern Thailand which is known for having the spiciest variant on Thai cuisine.  Ever had hot and spicy corn on the cob?  I highly recommend it.  It rescued the meal.

Walking back to the hotel at the end of the day, I walked past the Blue Temple.

Most of the tourists have gone, back to their hotels in Chiang Mai or elsewhere, and the place is lit very nicely.  Not too bright.  Not too dim.

The blue does not look so gimmicky after dark.

I like this version of the Blue Temple much better, after I'm the only left from the tourist horde.

Free Walking Tour of Centro Quito

Photo opportunity at the Plaza Independencia

The historic core of Quito is worth seeing. It's worth the visit. It's a UNESCO world heritage site. Not only that, in 1978, it became the first city on Planet Earth (can't vouch for other planets and planet-like heavenly bodies) to be named a UNESCO world heritage site. (Krakow, Poland, very quickly followed, if you're keeping score at home.)

I signed up for one of these free walking tours that they have in all the cities because (a) it's free, and (b) it's a tour. You tip what you think the tour was worth.

We had a small group for the Quito walking tour. Nine of us, I think, plus the guide. I was the token non-European. Germany was very well-represented, with single entries from Denmark, Switzerland, and Ireland. As well as Las Vegas, Nevada USA. This is the group, under a tree.

The first stop was the Mercado Central.

Lots of meats, but (sadly) no cuy (guinea pig to us gringos) on display.  Lots of chicken.

They sell them with an egg inside because, apparently, they make tastier soup that way. Ecuadorians love soup. They love soup so much that ceviche, the fish dish from Peru and copied by Mexico, is a cold soup. And Ecuadorians love chicken. Lots and lots of chicken restaurants in Quito.

And Ecuadorians love potatoes.

Not as much as the Peruanos, as they only have about 300 varieties in Ecuador, compared to 700-plus in Peru. They also have an excellent assortment of fruit, probably from the lowlands of either the coast (to the west of the Andes) or the Amazonian jungle (to the east).

The dragonfruit was actually tasty. It had flavor, which it usually doesn't on hotel breakfast buffets I've eaten at in Latin America and China.

Here is the price list.

And that concludes the Mercado Central portion of walking tour. Off to see what made Quito a worthy UNESCO world heritage site.

The market might be in the downtown, Centro, but it's not part of the historic core. So let's walk.

We are on a Free Walking Tour, aren't we?

This is interesting:

That design was made by embedding cow bones into the concrete. This is an older home that was converted in a hostel. But not a youth hostel. A hostel where you rent rooms by the hour. And the room comes furnished for that hour with a girl. Hence the leg in the shot. I believe. I make no representations about the career choice made by the young lady in the pink hot pants.

Let's keep walking.

These are the historic old doors to the Iglesia y Convento Del Carmen Bajo.

Up the street, in the distance, you can see the beautiful, ornate La Basílica del Voto Nacional.

Yes, that translates to "Basilica of the National Vote." We didn't go there, since there is an admission charge and this was a free tour. Something to do on one of my free days!

And, looking down Garcia Moreno in the other direction, faintly visible is the landmark Virgen de Panecillo.

On Garcia Moreno were buskers, busking with a harp.

Not every day you see someone busking with a harp. Apparently they were Venezolanos. I know. You see a harp on the streets of Latin America and you think what I thought. Admit it. You thought, "They must be Paraguayan." Traditional Paraguayan music, as we all know, is very harp intensive. But, no, not Paraguayos. Venezolanos.

This is inside the Palacio Arzobispal. The Archbishop's Palace. Only the Archbishop doesn't live here anymore. It's a shopping center. Upscale. For those tourist people you know who I'm talking about not me or you. Well, OK, me. I'm tourist people.

And from the Palacio Arzobispal is Plaza Independencia, the main central plaza in Centro.

By the way, the guanabana ice cream that I had in the Palacio Arzobispal? You know I love me some guanabana, especially when it is in ice cream form. (Very few flavors are not enhanced through ice-creamifaction.) It was OK. Would've been excellent if you had told me it was sherbet. But it was insufficiently creamy for world heritage site quality ice cream.

This is the statue in the center of Plaza Independencia.

It's got a condor, a symbol of Ecuador, and a lion, symbol of Spain. Notice which one is in the power position? It ain't the lion.

This is the Catedral Metropolitana:

Weirdly enough, even though it is the "Catedral Metropolitana," it may be the only church in all of Quito, Centro definitely, that is underwhelming.

A view of Panecillo from the roof, I believe, I wasn't taking very good notes apparently on my Free Walking Tour, of the Centro Cultural Metropolitano.

And looking down, again, on Garcia Moreno.

The white tower you see, looking the other direction, I believe, again, faulty note-taking here, is the Iglesia de la Inmaculada Concepción, Church of the Immaculate Conception.

Because every town with more than a couple dozen Catholics needs a Church of the Immaculate Conception.

Artsy view of the dome of the Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús:

This is the entrance of the Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús.

Again, we didn't go in. They charge admission; free walking tour. Beautiful ornate gold interior but no pictures allowed (yet the internets are full of them). Saved for free day, etc. etc. etc.

But we did go in this one.

There was a mass going on, so I had to be surreptitious in snapping my no-flash-please photos of the church's beautiful interior.

It is the second oldest church in Quito, going back to the 1500's. The indigenous learned Bible stories working on the ornate designs for the church.

And it's not even one of the most beautiful churches in Quito. Those are saved for the free day.

And the rain stops and the old city starts to dry out just as the sun goes down and it's time to scurry back north to my upscale barrio La Floresta.