A PASSAGE TO INDIA: 219. NORTHERN CHIANGMAI, CHIANG DAO

I've been to Chiangmai at least 3 times previously but not to the far North, Chiang Dao. It's chiefly agricultural, rural in parts, it has its charms.

The local markets have been marketed by their Tourism people quite successfully. The exotic foodstuffs are familiar to older Singaporeans. They've kept it neat and clean with packaging that appeals to the eyes. Parts unknown are plentiful...!

Dried fish that appear to be some fossilized remains...

What look like oversized wooden prayer beads are sausages!

Organic fly traps - free and effective

After the morning markets, time to prepare my lunch. What appears to be a cooking academy is the kitchen of this restaurant, set in a rustic green field with lovely mountains in the distance to gaze at during food and drinks. This is another area Thailand has capitalised on - the popularity of Thai cuisine - which has resulted in cooking classes where visitors on group tours prepare their own lunch...

This country resort has quite a collection of sculptures by different artists, really nice ones. The ones I liked most would be these young readers sculptured in bronze. I've long admired the artistry and fine detailed handwork of the Thais and their artists do it with pride. It's present in their buildings, their figurines, religious and otherwise, their fabrics and fashion accessories, their woven products, their food, lots more if you look around. Presentation is important to them too and things are tied up in eye appealing feminine or masculine packages.

They make use of what is around them to turn them into useful or attractive displays. These are dried betel nuts which deodorise a room and keep away insects

An artisan village where artists display their home made/hand made wares and edibles...

A-plucking we will go - for tea leaves...and how can I be expected to work in the sun when this thoughtful gent has his brolly over me...

20minutes of picking and all I had to show for it was this handful of shoots - enough for 1 cup. I'll never make a successful tea picker...fail!

Roast in a dry pan till dark and intense

....and of course, the Thais weave beautiful baskets too...and fabrics...

No frills - no airconditioning just a few fans, chillax and unlax with cold beers, juices, hot drinks and water - a singer strumming a guitar singing oldies and voila! - a successful corner in a bazaar. Cheap and good. Singapore can learn a thing or two about keeping things simple in a bazaar, without the loud recorded music and deep fried foods...

I found this comical - like time travel through a tunnel - drove along the countryside passing farms and plantations of lychees, rambutans, durians, small towns, roadside stalls - exiting a tunnel, I found myself in Japan! It's a theme park of sorts...! When you have so much land you can afford to play with it...!

A passion fruit I've not seen before - a hybrid maybe? It's yellow and large with a very rough skin which look more like blunt thorns...

Harvesting lychees...

...outside my room verandah...

Something the Thais are super at - fine detailed work, be it in wood, bronze, marble, stone ... their temples are dotted throughout the country and come in various colours - there's the usual common gold ones, carved wooden ones, on this trip, there's a silver one which is aluminium plate...

The Silver temple is aluminium plating with intricate work hammered into it...

This inner sanctum is open to men only...will not waste any energy giving it undue publicity...

Ganesha, the Elephant God so revered by Hindus. The Thais do not hide nor deny they were a Hindu kingdom before. Signs of that are actually everywhere in their displays and Sanskrit names, no idea if it's in their history books...

In the compound of this Silver temple, these were on the wall of its silversmith workshop...apparently, this temple was the brainchild of its abbot to give employment to the silversmiths who live and work in this town...It shows how good their craftspeople and artisans are who can work in many different mediums and do it so well...

A lavish hall in a grand building dedicated to their late last King who did plenty to improve the lot of the farmers and small businesses outside Bangkok and particularly Chiangmai, where there's a good many farms and plantations...he was instrumental in taking the hill tribes away from growing and processing opium in the infamous Golden Triangle...

Assorted pics from fellow travellers, Alec Chew and Johnson Tan, which showcase the beautiful work and creativity of the Thai crafts people...

The Naga - present throughout Asia in the form of a snake or dragon or a mythical serpent form, has always been revered by Asians. I've written and posted on the snake in earlier posts that its symbolic of the ultimate divine energy, the Kundalini Serpent Fire...often times represented by Shiva...It's the reason why Western influenced religions demonised anything that appears 'Serpent' as it's seen throughout Asia and is part and parcel of their culture...

This compound is so huge they filled it up with lots of Nagas in many hues - I post them as Art as they are well proportioned and the colours are lovely...