Two Museums on One Final Half-Day in the North

The King Mangrai Monument in downtown Chiang Rai.
Is he the king who put the "Rai" in Chiang Rai?

My final few hours before I jet down to the final destination of this vacation.  I saw some interesting sights on the east side of downtown.  And I wanted to visit the Hilltribe Museum to learn something about the Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand.  So let's walk.

To walk anywhere, it seems, given the location of my luxury resort hotel, The Imperial River House, I go through the grounds of the Blue Temple.

It was early enough that the day-tripper tourist hordes had not yet arrived.  It was beautiful in the morning sun and nearly empty, making it even more beautiful.  Beautifuller, so to speak.

There were a few people, but the massive bus loads?  Still en route.

And once again I exit through the front gate.

On to downtown:

I cross the mighty Kok River.  Contrary to what I would have guessed, the Kok River does not put the "kok" in Bangkok.

At first I thought this was a gate:

It was pedestrian overhead walkway.  Well done, walkway.

Then I hit elephant topiary:

I feared I had seen the last of the elephant topiary I would see this trip, but I found some more.  At the King Mangrai Monument:

Not all of the elephants are topiary.

Some are statuary.

As is this:

A nice little monument tucked away east of downtown Chiang Rai.

Then it was on to the Hilltribe Museum.  Right beside a restaurant called, I kid you not, Cabbages and Condoms.  Not something I would want paired on my plate.

The museum is about the various hill tribes that live in Northern Thailand.  Most migrated here from Southern China, although some came from Burma.

Meet the Hmong, probably the best known of the hill tribes in the United States.

The museum mostly is about the clothing/costumes of the various tribes, replicas of their traditional housing, and some tools.

One of the tribes, seriously, is the Karen.  Yes, as in "I want to speak to your manager" Karen.  But without the sensible haircuts of the American Karen.

Also there was a fascinating display on the history of opium cultivation by the hill tribes.  I thought the British were the bad guys in the opium trade, but the Arabs were the ones who first introduced the opium poppy to China.  The Brits are still, very much, the bad guys in the opium trade, getting the Chinese addicted to opium smoking like the Pablo Escobar or the Sinaloa cartel in their prime.  But the Brits get to share villain status with the Arab traders.

Meet the Yao tribe:

This is a replica of a traditional house of one of the tribes.

Here is the traditional house of the Yao:

And here is a tool used to get the kernels off the corn cobs.

Don't know if the hill tribes make a mean creamed corn once they use this, but I hope so.

Time to head back to the luxury resort hotel.  But there is always time for one more museum.  The Blue Temple has a museum that is all about:  the Blue Temple.

You got to walk up a steep staircase to get the museum, but it's a good spot for one last photo of the Blue Temple itself.

You know the best thing about this museum?  The entrance fee was 50 baht.  Fifty!  Well, that's not much.  Only about $1.75.  But, since I was over 60, the senior discount was 100%.  In other words:  free!  What's not to love about that.

I should have left a donation anyway, but I was so giddy about the free admission, I forgot.

Reclining Buddha:

Fat (and jolly) Buddha:

Not a buddha:

Elephants guarding ceramics pots:

The museum is a quick walk-through.  And the crowds were starting to arrive.

Time to head off to the airport for one last destination this trip.

Dinner in Chiang Rai Was Disturbing, Too

Dining indoors at the Chivit Thamma Da Coffee House did not save me from becoming mosquito food

Last night in Northern Thailand and I wanted an authentically Northern Thai meal.  About a ten-minute walk from my hotel was the highly-rated Chivit Thamma Da Coffee House, so I decided to give it a try.

Of course this meant walking past the Blue Temple, where even the shuttlebuses parked just inside the gate at the end of the long day are blue.

But soon I arrived at my restaurant choice.

Outdoor dining was full.

So inside I went.  I figured the mosquitos would be less of a bother.  Less, perhaps, but still hungry and out for blood.  My blood.  I talked about the dining options with the waitress and how I like my food "spicy" but not Thai-level heat.  So I ordered a pork dish.  (Can't recall the name).  And, as an "appetizer," a ginger shot, made from ginger, lemon and honey.

The waitress tried to warn me, especially after I said that I didn't like my food too spicy, that this was very "hot."  I told her that I've never complained about ginger being too intense.  So I ordered.  It was ginger-hot and awesome, with the lemon cutting the ginger heat nicely.  I definitely want one of these next time I feel like I'm coming down with a cold.

The pork dish -- name escapes me -- was excellent, in a sweet and savory and sesame sauce.

EDITED TO ADD:  the name of the dish, in case you're ever in Chiang Rai, was Grilled Mala Chili Kurobuta Pork with Sticky Rice.

I am guessing the lettuce was there, sans salad dressing, to turn these into lettuce wraps.  So I did.  It was served with a side of sticky rice.  How "sticky" was the sticky rice?  Sticky enough that my bridge in the back of my mouth fell out.

It was the end of the meal.  The night before, I noticed a dentist's office that I thought was open fairly late for a dentist.  Funny that thought stuck with me.  I googled it.  It was open for another 45 minutes or so.  So I paid my bill and walked as fast as I could to the dentist to have my bridge re-glued into place.  An hour later, and 2500 baht later (about $80 U.S.) (not bad for emergency dental work that made the office stay open a half-hour later than it should), the bridge was back in place.  I was whole.

And I walked past the Blue Temple on the way back to the hotel.  My day ended at the local dentist.  My first medical emergency in all my years of international travel.  And it was a dental emergency.

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.