In Thailand, a bpai tiao is a trip of any length. I’ve written about some of my more significant bpai tiaos to tourist destinations here, to be used as travel ideas and tips.
I finally made it up to the northern city of Chiang Mai, a place that other volunteers regularly rave about. But this wasn’t just any bpai tiao, I went to Chiang Mai to attend the 34th Annual Thailand TESOL International Conference along with two other Peace Corps volunteers, my counterpart Kruu Ning and five other counterparts. Kruu Ning had also never been to Chiang Mai, so we arrived early in the morning the day before the conference started to give us a chance to tour around to some of the highlights of the area.
Doi Suthep
We arrived at the bus station at about 4:30 in the morning, before the sun had even thought about arriving, and got a ride to the hotel, which let us check into our rooms. From there, we went to Doi Suthep and climbed the stairs to the wat perched on top of the mountain. When we arrived, the lights were still illuminating the gold chedi in the predawn light. We paid our respects to the relics housed within the chedi and found a veranda to watch the sunrise over the city.
Doi Pui and Bhubing Palace
Kruu Ning looked at the map for the area and was interested in going to Doi Pui, where there is a Hmong village and to Bhubing Palace, so we arranged with our driver to take us there. The part of the Hmong village that was open to tourists was pretty much one big market. There was a garden area with beautiful blooms that overlooked the valleys and vistas, and as you entered the garden one stall offered to rent you a traditional Hmong outfit to wear around and take pictures in. Kruu Ning was very excited about this, and so we both dressed up for an amateur photo shoot.
After walking around, admiring the flowers that need the cooler weather of the slightly high altitude to bloom, we headed to Bhubing Palace, the royal winter palace. The palace was built in 1961 and the grounds have many more buildings than just the palace, such as a log cabin that is the princess’s residence and some eucalyptus cottages that were built to study the use of eucalyptus wood and are where visiting dignitaries stay. The grounds are filled with a multitude of rose varieties, which reminded me of the International Test Rose Garden in Portland.
Walking Tour of Chiang Mai Old Town Wats
After strolling the grounds of the palace we headed back to Chiang Mai city and went on a walking tour to visit some of the more famous and venerable wats of the city. We started at Wat Phra Singh, . Then we walked a ways to Wat Chedi Luang, . After that we stopped at the all teak wat, Wat Phan Tao. We finished with Wat Chiang Man, the oldest wat in the city. After Ning told me that it’s very good luck to visit nine wats in one day, we ducked into a couple more that were on the way to pay our respects. At this point, Ning’s feet and knees were hurting and it was time to head back for her to attend an orientation for the conference.
One of my favorite things about my visit was going to eat Mexican food. I got to eat a couple of burritos and enchiladas. Not only that, but I took Ning to one of the restaurants and got her very first burrito. She thought it was very arroy! She didn’t like the pickled vegetable slices that came with the chips and salsa, but she did like the burrito and kept commenting on how the food “was all mixed together.” Peace Corps Second Goal: achieved. Another must go place was the North Gate Jazz Co-Op, with live music every night of the week. I sat on the grass across the street, as the seats were all full and felt like I was back in Portland. Definitely make it a priority to spend an evening there.