Wat Chedi Luang… …a 14th century temple; it stood 84m tall until an earthquake in 1545 toppled 30m of its structure
Dates visited: January 3, 2015 – January 6, 2015
Chiang Mai (428 miles north of Bangkok) is the second largest city in Thailand but still manages to retain a small city’s charm and vibe. It’s not as terribly busy or densely populated as Bangkok so it’s a lot more fun to walk around at a leisurely pace, and absorb the city’s excitement or mingle with the locals as you visit the numerous wats (temples). There are several daily flights that fly between the two cities so it’s very easy to get to Chiang Mai. Our interest in seeing Chiang Mai was only because we were visiting Mae Tang for the Elephant Nature Park.
This was our last Thai city and to be honest, Prachi and Rohan seemed saturated with the dose of gilded Buddha statues and lavish temples. Still, there we were! And to use a thoroughly worn out cliché, we did in Rome, as the Romans would do. We started off with a specific list of Buddha temples to visit, but as we kept encountering several more temples along the way, we started ducking inside them just to check them out. It was terribly hot so the temples also offered the much needed break and shade.
While Wat Phan Tao and Wat Phra Singh ( both are 14th century-built temples) were attractive temples to visit, I was amazed by the vastness and grandness of Wat Chedi Luang. The stupa of this 14th century temple rose to 84m (280 ft), but was toppled in the 1545 earthquake. Still, what remains is an impressive 54m (177 ft) stupa jutting out towards the sky, resting on a 44m (144 ft.) wide four-sided base. It is just huge! The stone nagas (mythical snakes) guard the staircases that lead to the top, accompanied by stone elephants that hold their own lookout party midway up the platform. I just loved Wat Chedi Luang and strolling along the temple grounds.
We ended our three-week SE Asia vacation in Chiang Mai, but no visit to any SE Asian city is ever complete unless you have visited its night market! We visited Kalare Nightbazaar and the street market around it for that one last souvenir, and another one and another one! And of course, not to mention that one last relaxing massage, and another one and another one and … …
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- Elephants standing guard at Wat Chedi Luang… …a 14th century temple
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- Principal Buddha statue at 14th-century built Wat Phan Tao (which means “monastery of a 1000 kilns.”)
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- Prayer hall at Wat Phra Singh
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- Strolling through one of the many night markets… …they sell pretty much anything and everything!
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- A fiberglass statue of the principal monk… …I wasn’t convinced that he wasn’t real!
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- Buddha statues in front of Phra Singh (Lion Buddha) inside the Wat Phra Singh temple
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- Entrance to Wat Phan Tao, a 14th century temple
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- Gilded nagas adorn the steps of the prayer hall at Wat Chedi Luang
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- Devotees making a deep obeisance to Phra Singh (Lion Buddha) inside the Wat Phra Singh temple
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- The smiles are uncannily similar… …at Wat Phra Singh
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- Richly decorated and colored viharn (prayer hall) of Wat Chedi Luang
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- Offerings from the devotees… …garlands made out of Thai baht notes
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- Oh yes, Prachi has this ferocious naga all tamed at Wat Chedi Luang
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- Standing Buddha inside the viharn (prayer hall) at Wat Chedi Luang
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- Wat Chedi Luang… …a 14th century temple with nagas and elephants adorning the sides
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- Buddha inside the huge chedi at Wat Chedi Luang
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- Inside a temple’s viharn (prayer hall)… …taking a break from other viharns!
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- Statue of monk “Tan Pra Maha Kajjana”. He was so handsome that people were attracted towards his good looks; to avoid this trouble, the monk changed himself to a fat, ugly monk!
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- Gilded nagas adorn the steps of the prayer hall at Wat Phra Singh
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- Massage… …anywhere, anytime! Satisfaction… …everywhere, everytime!!
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- Reclining Buddha on the grounds of Wat Chedi Luang
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- This naga means business… …his look is worse than his bite so beware!
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- Statue of a monk greets you outside the temple
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- A calm and serene bodhisattva… …how can you not be mesmerized?!
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- Is it a grenade, is it a starburst… …no, it’s a durian! Durian is considered king of fruits in SE Asia, but most hotels ban it because of its overpowering odor.