6 Jan/Day 3: Sky high

Beginning our day at another temple, Doi Suthep, it was a chance to gain another perspective of this northern city – from the sky high peak of Chiang Mai. The dizzying steepness was a test of my balance and fear of heights, as well as leg strength in climbing the 309 steps to the temple. Today the sky was painted a light blue with mist or haze veiling our view of the city. With little exposure to temples previously, this trip to Chiang Mai and our visits to various temples left me in awe and with a greater appreciation of the beauty of temples. The golden designs and embellishments glowed as the rising sun shone down, causing me to wonder how such infrastructures were constructed. Even after our visit to the White Temple, the temples on Doi Suthep were just as impressive, leaving me with better understanding of Chiang Mai’s rich culture and religious setting.

With a suggestion from Fye, we further immersed ourselves in Thai culture by having lunch via red taxi at a small local restaurant, one that she usually ate at, as well as at a café where we had one of the most popular Thai iced milk teas. As expected, we were not disappointed and left for further exploration nearby with fully satisfied appetite. Like typical Singaporeans, we thought first of shopping and thus headed to MAYA Mall and the surrounding small stores for some retail therapy. Splitting up due to different interests, many of us took the free time to venture around the area in small groups or pairs then meeting at a specified time. While I had wanted to spend time as one youth culture group, I understood our differing preferences and was grateful that despite our dissimilarities, we could still come together to work efficiently.

Ending off the night, three of us who had opted out of having a massage mainly to ticklish reasons, returned to MAYA mall, more specifically the rooftop, to catch the ebbing pink of the sunset. Just as we had started the day with a spectacular view of Chiang Mai from atop, we ended the day with a scene of the streetlights below and the faint lights on Doi Suthep in the distant. Our last meal of the day was another filling one at a Thai Mookata hotspot a red taxi ride away. It was in these instances as we walked and rode along the streets that we could point out the stark contrast of Singapore and Thailand unlike in the shopping malls which seemed very much the same with similar stores that illustrated the global reach of various fashion types and pristine, modern architectural landscape.

The rest of our night was spent rather peacefully as with full stomachs we walked all the way back to Le Meridien, along small roads and through the city square. Another part of Chiang Mai I will always remember are the night skies that are incredibly clear, giving us a full view of the many stars dotted above as well as Orion’s belt. The walk back had my head constantly upturned to keep the constellation in sight as it brought back memories of my time in Thailand a year ago. Until next time, as Singapore rarely has such clear skies and I remember to turn my eyes upward away from my work and devices, the stars would help me recall this memory in Chiang Mai.