Chiang Mai - Old Town

 So, I got into Chiang Mai after dark, hired a Grab, more about them later but one of the things that they do is a taxi service, similar to Uber, and went to my Airbnb. It was in Old Town. 

This is part of the old city wall which dates back, in some parts, 750 years. In fact, part of the old wall recently crumbled during a heavy rain storm. 

I stayed at Le Canal. A wonderful little place. It’s like a tiny boutique hotel, in the heart of Old Town, within walking distance to the Sunday night market and lots of shops and restaurants. 

Just PERFECT for me! And the owner and staff are very nice and accommodating!

I met some new friends at the airport leaving Bangkok to Chiang Mai. I asked them a question as they looked like they spoke English and, subsequently, we became friends. So my new friend met me for lunch and we had the opportunity to get acquainted. What fun! So, the photos above are my 15 minute walk from my place to hers. Along the way I met a very handsome French man who was also vacationing in Thailand, and a tuk tuk driver named Somkid. Easy name for me to remember! 

After lunch Somkid came to my friend’s hotel to pick me up and he drove me around showing me the sights of Chiang Mai. 

The first place we went was a silk factory. 

I think they are a little out of order but, you start with the worms then they make a cocoon, then they boil them then they can pull a very thin thread from them and gather the silk threads. Then they dye them (the jug video) then they weave them. (I forgot how the moths play into this). Anyway, they had a large showroom of all the beautiful silk products. I bought a scarf.

Next we went to a silver manufacturing plant. I didn’t know Thailand was known for its silver. 

Then we went to a beautiful pounded silver Buddhist temple! I have never seen a Buddhist temple made of silver! So, here it is!

Pretty magnificent, isn’t it? And there was an artisan creating beautiful works of art from pounded silver. 

I bought a piece - a Buddha. This is an elephant but you can see how talented he is. Somkid told me that the artisans have to donate some of their profits to charity. 

Next, Somkid took me to a tour agent and I booked an all day tour up in the mountains - the highest peak in Thailand, which I will talk about in my next blog.