Chiang Mai Buddha - Photo of the Week

Ok...here is another attempt at getting Photo of the Week started up again.  Let's see how long I can keep it going this time!  Care to make a wager? Anyone?

This week's photo has always been one of my favorites.  Not just because I (biased-ly) think it's beautiful, but also because it brings back fond memories of Chiang Mai.

My first weekend in Chiang Mai, I strolled through the Sunday Walking Street market.  The Sunday Walking Street begins (or ends) at Tha Pae Gate and runs along Rachadamnoen Road until it reaches the temple of Wat Phra Singh, breaking off on little side Soi's (streets).  Thai craftsmen, artists, masseurs, and food stalls line up in the masses to sell their fare to tourists and Thai's alike.  That first stroll I took through the Sunday Walking Street during the warm evening, stopping to barter and negotiate with sellers, snacking on delicious Thai street food, drinking ice cold cha yen (Thai iced tea), stopping to listen to the musicians playing music I had previously only seen and heard in movies...it was all magical to me!  My millions of senses were in stimulation overload...I immediately fell in love with the Thai culture, and knew I made the right decision of leaving home to experience the world, once again.

Rachadamnoen Road is quite long...especially while fighting hoards of tourists stopping to shop.  I kept finding myself wandering along the side Soi's and exploring the beautiful temples of Chiang Mai (there are over 200 Buddhist temples in Chiang Mai, alone!).  I found myself standing in what became my favorite temple in Chiang Mai: Wat Pan Tao.  Wat Pan Tao is one of the few remaining teak wood temples left in Thailand...authentic and ancient, it transported me back in time.  As I stood in awe of this beautiful, simply plain temple, I found this golden Buddha sitting among a field of tulips, surrounded by a koi-filled moat.  I found this temple and Buddha at the perfect time of day: sunset.  The colors of the setting sun reflecting off of the Buddha, I found myself in love with that moment and I am forever grateful I was lucky enough to experience it.  Every time thereafter I went back to visit Wat Pan Tao in the 15 months I lived in Chiang Mai, those tulips were gone.  The Buddha was just sitting in a lonely field of dirt.

Wat Pan Tao Buddha and tulips

The Sunday Walking Street Market, I soon found out, is a major tourist trap.  Not nearly as bad as the nightly Night Bazaar on Chang Klan Road, however.  My favorite market in Chiang Mai proved to be the Saturday Walking Street...which conveniently was right down the road from my apartment.  The Saturday Walking Street has the same stuff, with more authentic fare, as both the Sunday Walking Street and Night Bazaar, but it's cheaper as it's more for the Thai people.  I still enjoyed the Sunday Walking Street, but I always made sure to get there around 4 or 5pm, when it opened, to avoid the larger crowds that show up later at night.

I always look back with fond memories to my first Sunday Walking Street experience.  It was my first real introduction to a new, beautiful and colorful culture.  I learned a lot about myself living in Thailand...I became a better and more confident person - even including the hard times I had while living there.

I hope you enjoy this photograph as much as I do.  It's available for purchase through Art for Conservation and my Etsy shop.

Happy Trails!