Improvised Free Walking Tour of Chiang Mai: Stop 1: Watchediluang Varaviharn

Inside the Men's Temple at the Watchediluang Varaviharn temple complex.
And it is a massive complex of temples.

Wat's it to ya?  That's a joke.  "Wat" is the Thai word for temple.  And Chiang Mai is packed to the gills with wats.  Let's go walking to the wats.

Leaving the Tha Phae Gate area, the first thing is the moat surrounding the square historic core of Chiang Mai is, of course, at the gate.

It's not very medieval looking.  But, technically, it meets all known definitions of "moat."

Even the secondary and tertiary temples you see along the way are interesting.  It's like Rome and its churches and cathedrals.  Yes, there are some spectacular massive cathedrals, but even some of the churches on side streets still can worth a look.

For example:  Wat Muen Lan.

Just a throw of the stone from the Tha Phae Gate.

And this isn't even one of the "must see" wats.

There's more to see,

Such as: an anthropomorphic mango:

Who doesn't love an anthropomorphic mango?

Soon it was time to explore the first stop on the Improvised Free Walking Tour of Chiang Mai:  Watchediluang Varaviharn:

The place is packed with tourists.  And when a place is packed with tourists, that means it is packed with tourists taking selfies everywhere.

Even particularly uncommonly handsome tourists with a vacation beard happening.  Virile.

Now we come to controversial part of our programming:

In 2025, men-only spaces are becoming less controversial.  But if you want to know why women are excluded from this particular sacred temple space, perhaps it would be best to consult Alice Cooper.

Moving out to the more inclusive sections of the temple complex:

I, in particular, liked this sign next to the dragon:

It just seemed like a euphemism.  For something.  That shouldn't be touched under ordinary circumstances.

Then we come to the highlight:

The ancient temple.

It reminded me of the step pyramids of Mayan Meso-America.  Only it's in Southeast Asia.  And Buddhist.

But it seems to be same theme.

Only the Mayan step pyramids did not have elephants.  No fault of the Maya.  If they'd only known about the elephant, I am very sure they would have included them.

Speaking of being included:

This friendly fellow.  I will call him "Boomer" because he was barking loudly to get the attention of the tourists who he just wanted to play with.  (He also looks a lot like Norm's old buddy from the neighborhood:  Boomer the white lab.)  I had no treats to offer, so I gave him the next best thing:  some scratches under the chin.  He was very happy and stayed silent throughout the scratchy session.  He appeared to be the dog of the house at which the monks residing at this temple lived.

The obligatory reclining Buddha:

But what I did not know that, apparently, in 2025, when you have a reclining Buddha, you also must have this admonition:

Apparently Fat Buddha right next door needs no admonition about wedding photography.

You would think otherwise.  In some cultures, a fat bride is a cause for celebration.  Plumpness = wealth.

And this is the great thing about Improvised Free Walking Tours and why, in many ways, they are superior to guided tours.  I could see as much as I wanted at this stop.  Take as many pictures as I wanted.  Dilly-dallying as much as I like.  All without throwing a guide off kilter.

Which is why this one tourist looks so happy.  Moving on ...