28 December 2014
On the main road to the summit of Doi Inthanon stand two adjacent pagodas or chedis. These temples were built by the Royal Thai Air Force to honour the 60th birthday anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1987, and the 60th birthday anniversary of Queen Sirikit in 1992, respectively.
We went to the King’s chedi first. A long flight of steps leads to the King’s chedi but there is also an escalator. So the smart thing to do is to take the escalator up and then walk down.
We went into the chedi to see the large statue of Buddha carved from a single stone but no photo taking allowed inside. Murals on the wall inside depict Buddhist themes such as the reclining Buddha surrounded by his disciplines.
This place is close to the peak of Doi Inthanon and offers the nice view points that was missing at the actual summit.
The King’s and Queen’s chedis are located on two facing hills. It is best to snap a photo of the Queen’s chedi from the King’s chedi and vice versa.
Before going to Queen’s chedi, we went to walk around the flower garden, about halfway down from the King’s chedi. Amazing flowers.
Next up was the Queen’s chedi. We took the escalator up and went inside to view the statue of Buddha. This Buddha was carved from a single piece of white jade.
The flower garden next to the Queen’s chedi was worth visiting. The garden featured a pond and provided good photo opportunities.
To conclude our visit, we walked down a terraced garden to the car pick up point.
Our final stop for this day trip is the Wachirathan Waterfall. But first, a brief stopover at roadside market selling local produce. We bought some macadamia nuts and almonds to bring home. Our guide actually bought some large mushrooms and vegetables for her family.
The Wachirathan Waterfall is accessible via a narrow single track road off the highway. There are many waterfalls within the Doi Inthanon park and this is one of the more impressive one that produces a lot of spray and mist, even during the dry winter season. Our guide told us that rainbow can be seen at the foot due to the mist but it was too late for any rainbow as the evening sun was behind the clouds.
The Wachirathan Waterfall was the last place we visited in Doi Inthanon before the journey back to Chiangmai city. As it was a Sunday, we requested to be drop off near the end of the Sunday walking market in Chiangmai.
The Sunday Market (or Walking Street) is a large market located right in the centre of the old walled city area of Chiang Mai. Starting at the Tha Phae Gate at one end, the Sunday Market extends for roughly 1 km down the full length of Ratchadamnoen Road.
We saw part of the old brick western city gate and moat before experiencing the great human crush at the Chiangmai Sunday market.
Only the gates remained. The walls were long gone.
The Sunday market was interesting but too crowded to do any serious shopping.
We tried some street food before getting a proper dinner at a nice Thai restaurant, located opposite a hotel called Hotel California.
We had to squeeze our way out through the crowded market and out via the Tha Phae gate to take a Tuk Tuk back to our hotel.
A ride on a Tuk Tuk (a three-wheeler “taxi”) is an unique experience for a visitor to Thailand. A cheap mode of transport and good fun too.
It had been a long but fun day out. A little surprise awaited us when we entered our hotel room.
Our hotel in Chiangmai (The Empress Hotel) gave us some nice good night snacks. Nice touch by the hotel.
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