One corner of the old city has become the traveller district, with your typical range of backpacker guesthouses and a couple of hotels, plus restaurants, laundry places (wash, dry, fold for $2/kg), your pirate- and goth-themed internet cafes (yes!), etc. But while the city is very visitor-friendly and has lots of attractions, that’s just one small part of the city as far as anyone living there is concerned, and you can sit in a third-floor coffee-shop or restaurant on the town’s main square and watch the everyday Chiang Mai foot, car and moped traffic go by in front of a 10-meter poster of the king while Thai pop blares from the city gates…. But while they’re always cool and inarguably photogenic, I’m a backwards, uncultured philistine and ended up spending less and less time checking them out as my journey across Asia went on. However, Wat Chedi Luang was the first one I visited for a serious length of time, and, to be honest, probably my favorite, since it’s all old and ruiny.
photos by me
catch me!
catch me!, originally uploaded by Mister Wind-Up Bird. Icicle melting in the morning sun.
midnight snowspirit
midnight snowspirit, originally uploaded by Mister Wind-Up Bird. It started snowing last night in Vancouver, and hasn’t let up. Late last night, I went out and made a snowman to greet the winter with his ceremonial staff and candle lantern.
but what about the coffee?
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: right; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; text-align: right }we sold out of water, originally uploaded by Mister Wind-Up Bird.
…The next day, Starbucks started giving out free short coffees made with bottled water, and most places are now serving espresso-based drinks, but let me tell you, it was a bit of a crisis.Every once in a while nature throws something like this at you to remind you that whatever you may think, once you get past the city limits, you’re surrounded by a few million square kilometers of rather inhospitible wilderness.
The Templeton
Gillian at The Templeton, originally uploaded by Mister Wind-Up Bird. The Templeton is a little diner on Granville St, wedged uncomfortably into a block of sex shops. It’s been running since 1934 and has lots of vintage diner touches, but the free wireless and video projector showing cartoons are probably more recent additions. It also…