Chiang Mai 3 - January 2009

Seen at the Second-hand Market, we feel that we know someone who would love

this!!!! Dragon dancers leaving the Pung Tao Gong Chinese ancestral temple during Chinese New Year. Lots of cymbals and drums etc, Reminded me of the Joss House in Innisfail when their dancers celebrated New Year, but on a much larger flamboyant scale. We blogged pics of the actual temple earlier (I think!)

I don't think this needds any explanation. Doesn't even lose anything in translation and definately covers all bases, so to speak. This was on a fence on the moat, between restaurants and bars.

These pillars are covered in plastic wrap up to where the yellow flags are. The idea is to protect the paint as people tend to rub their hands over them.

This is the entrance to a property across the road from us. We gather it used to be the French Consulate, but is now a research centre containing old books, manuscripts etc . Apparently only people studying for Master degrees and PHD's and the like can access it,..........but we have contacts, so watch this space !!! We believe the house is fabulous. The sign on the gate says "Ecole Francaise de "L'Extreme - Orient", but it sure ain't a school anymore.

Ladies sending up money to be blessed by contact with the wihaan at Wat Srisuphan. Women can not enter a Consecration Hall in a Wat, so send up the money by pulley and contact with the holy building gets them merit. That's 100 baht notes you can see attached to the rope. (approx AUD $4).

"Our Friend" gets in everywhere here. For a Buddhist country, Ganesha and Hindu influence is all around. This fella was at Wat Nantaram

And from the Holy to the opposite, though no doubt many people "worship" here!! This is our local "Entertainment Centre" just round the corner, and though we have been serenaded with lots of "Come in yoo hanson man", we've yet to take the lovely ladies up on their suggestions! And I bet some of you were sceptical that this place actually existed when we first mentioned it!!

And back to Ganesha again. How the Beaver got in between beats me. Lack of computer skills I say! This would be our favourite Ganesha at Wat Srisupan. Some of the marigolds and incense are ours. Let's face it, we need all the help we can from any source!

And this is another view of those ladies with their money.Note the lovely new silver wihaan behind, to which the pulley and the money is attached.

Golden stupa at Wat Chompu which was regilded to commenorate the King's 60th birthday. You really need sunglasses on a sunny day! The whole of Wat Chompu which is close to where we stay is obviously cared for by people with influence and bank balances to match judging by the opulence of the buildings.

I had overlooked this little Buddha in Wat Srisuphan. He has the most beautiful background of green glass mosaic which I couldn't really do justice.

And of course, in Thailand, quite rightly, what the King says goes. We can't quite work out why the signs are on the fences of schools. Aimed at teachers or pupils?? It's anyone's guess.

We went down to Worarot as there was a big street celebration for Chinese New Year. The food stalls were fabulous. The stuffed squid was tempting, but having just stuffed myself with deep fried spicy (pet mackh mackh) prawns and chilli friend rice, I passed on this occasion. B had equally been hapily munching on chilli Thai fishcakes and other delights. Shame the light bulb got in the way though!

A general view down the street showing the variety of food available. The main markets at Worarot on either side were sgtill in full swing and the traffoc rumbles through regardless of how many people are about. Thai seem to not have an overly high reagrd for traffic rules!!

Well, you can't say I'm nothing if not eclectic. Just can't arrange the pics properly. This is the main alter at Wat Chompu. The small jade Buddha is superb, and the main one is so serene. Outside the city rolls aong but inside here it's all peace and tranquility.

Some of the Buddhas adorning Wat Chompu. All gold and all behind secure screns!

And the ret of that lot, They couldn't fit all into the one shot. I love the seated Buddha shielded by the multiheaded naga.

The exterior of the wihaan at Wat Chompu

This is the old gateway into Wat Chompu only used for ceremonial occasions as it's too narrow for 4 x 4s

Close view of the entrance to the wihaan at Wat Chompu showing the Lanna influence in the architecture. B is soaking up the atmosphere.

A close view of the original gateway

The temple dogs, or Chinthes as their counterparts in Burma are called are so fantastic. I will just have to have a couple for Bedford Hill!!! This one is at Wat Nantaram.

No, it's not the same one. Just his opposite number on the other side of the entry to the Wat. Look identical don't they? but made in the days before mass production or so we were told.

And this little one was also at Wat Nantaram, which is in the south of the city, in the area where a lot of the silversmith are located. It was interesting to see gem cutters at work, basically on the street, as well as silversmiths making beautiful jewellery and bowls. Temple dogs are to protect the Wats and Buddhas from bad spirits and demons, but there are always sooo many real life canoines around that you'd think they'd be out of a job. You can't move with one or more dogs setting up a chorus of warning. So far, that's all they've done

On a completely different note, here we were preparing for Chinese New Year with new red lanterns, as well as firecrakers and rockets.

Red is for everything good, like luck and money! What black stands for I have no idea but we just liked it. Goes well, we thought with the Thai and Lao silks around the place.

For whatever reason, across the road at Wat Chaimongkol, they decided to reroof a hall. We woke to see the old blue one gone.

No fear of heights here. These blokes were as intersted in what we were doing taking photographs as we were of what they were doing on the roof! OH & S hasn't come to Thailand yet!

Then they started to reroof it in RED! I think one guy had a safety harness. The one with the rivet gun.

And so we have a new roof to look at. Why red? Who knows and no one can tell us. The next day they came back and had to remove the end bit as they'd obviously forgotten to put on the ridgecapping.

And here we are at Talaat (market) Tippanet, which we stumbled across by accident. NOT on the way home from the Thirsty Beaver!! Each Tuesday they have a huge amulet market and we had searched in vain for it since we got here. Everything you could wish for in that regard is there and Thai are soooo, well, supersticious would be unkind, but they sincerely believe in placating the spirits (nats) that live in the trees adn rivers etc, and wear amulets to protect them. Some with inscriptions from the Buddhist texts, some with pictures of famous religious figures, other with the King, and many with Ganesha and Buddha images. And not only 1, they often wear many. Some are HUGE. You see 'ordinary' people like tuk tuk drivers with these massive jumbles of amulets round the neck and on their rear vision mirrors etc etc. I have a little Ganesha on my keyring and B has a beautiful chain with 3 different attachments. As I said before, we need all the help we can get!!! Of course, as with any markets, there is a lot of cheap junk, but there is also some very lovely items out there. B has been wearing his with much admiration and comments from the locals. Hasn't completely gone Thai yet.........

Couldn't resist taking a pic of this one. It could even encourage a visit to the 'fang factory'

Here we have some of the many fountains that play in the moat all round the Old City. Flood lit at night they are very pretty. The banks of the moat are all tree lined and lit up as well, so it's quite a lovely place. Of course we haven't been over there at night to take pics, but shall rectify that eventually.

Same same from a bit further back showing the old city walls which have been preserved at the corners and at the old city gates. Shame about the modern multistory buildings though.

More markets!!! Here we are at the Second Hand Market where you can get almost anything you want, or don't want for that matter. Of course, everything is "antik" and 'real stone', and lots of it is but..... We got, or rather we got followd home by a very different Ganesha with 5 heads. 4 like a Brahma and one on top, In bronze and weighs a ton, a bit of an exaggeration there. Got a good pair of 501 levis for 150baht, about $6. Will just have to keep the weight off to get into them!! This market has the added bonus of yummy street food..... a good ice cream shop..... and a chocolaterie with great Belgian chocolates. Easy to see why we like to go here. Stall holders pay 5baht, about 20cents, for the right to put up their stall or put their stuff on the road. Perhaps we should look at that, when we get to return home!!?

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and back to my favourite Worarot. Here we have the duster and peacock feather seller who goes around with a little gong to advertise her wares, like the egg lady with the little hooter, and the icecream man with a tinkling bell. Note the shops with all their silks etc open to the streets. A shoppers delight or nightmare!

More food food food at Worarot, and soooo cheap - and fresh as. Cheryl, you would love this!!!

AND..... just when you thought you'd be spared MORE markets, here is a sample of Worarot, seen from the first floor looking down at the food section. Even farangs get into the act!! You can almost smell the spices. Certainly the dried fish you can!

It is sooo much fun shopping here. Look at all those veges and fruits. Woolies and Coles will never be the same again!

Now, how many different items can you identify? You will be asked questions later!! I do hope that I've captured even a little bit of the excitement, atmosphere and general fun, this place is. It's good to know that whatever you seek, you're 99.9999% certain of finding it at Warorot.

Luang Prapang - Laos January 2009

We both love Laos so much. Can't tell you why here but we will.

Buddha and "Madonna washing her hair" in the silk weaving village in Luang Prabang, Laos - or to be more correct PDRL 'the Peoples Democratic Republic of Laos'.







Vat (with a W not a V) Sane, Luang Prabang just across from where we stayed. We attended a BIG funeral here 2 years ago for the Abbott and while we were here this time, were invited to an anniversary 'party' but unfortunately it was the day after we left.




One of the smaller vats in the Vat Xienthong complex. The exterior walls are quite exquisite in their complexity of scenes.

Vat Hor Phrabang, the personal vat of the former royal family in the Palace (now the National Museum) complex, Luang Prabang

Would you believe this is the carpet directly in front of the High Altar in Vat Sane? The story behind it remains a mystery! Perhaps the Abbott just liked it.

The army guys are removing a safe from the Bank of Laos (which had a police station attached, outside of which a tuktuk driver used to daily pedal his wares! Psst, want ganja? want opium? etc but that's another story). Again, why? We have no idea. Up up and away onto the back of a ute, and no one pays the slightest attention, except the tourist walking past.

This was our tuktuk which took us to the airport in Luang Prabang. Superior model of course! Compare to our pics of the Burmese taxi :-) All tuktuks in Luang Prabang as brightly painted and well looked after.

Symoungkoun Guesthouse, our residence in Luang Prabang with old colonial style buildings next door. Our room is immediately above the motor cycle with the shutters open.

The old Customs House in Luang Prabang which is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage based Restoration of Old Buildings Project. This lovely old building sits above the junction of the Mekong and Nam Khan, as customs houses do, and has lovely gardens and a petanq court. What a nice place to work we thought........and we did make inquiries...........watch this space.

Another of these "venelle" - old buildings, this one is teak - which is being restored, probably to be yet another guesthouse, and the one next door, for which the bricks are intended, will end up in the same "colonial style" required by the World Heritage mob. Love the neat way the bricks are stacked on the ground................almost a piece of street theatre.

YES!! A snake, on which I ALMOST stood. Just as the foot was descending, I noticed what I thought was a thin branch, but it wasn't. Out sunning itself on the footpath beside the Mekong. Eventually it slithered off into the grass. I don't think it was a cobra, they are common here, so we're told, but the small head seems to indicate one of a venomous variety. I'm still here to tell the story! We asked a couple of passing monks and they said it was a ' nice snake'. Well THEY would wouldn't they.

An old canoe on the banks of the Mekong

Orange sellers on the river bank. There were dozens of them with ute loads of small sweet mandarin like oranges.

This is the Fresh Meat Market in Luang Prabang. Believe it or not - NO FLIES!!! I did decide to pass on the bush rats, the turtles and the pheasant coucal which those of you from Australia may know as that lovely big bird with the deep "water down the plughole" call found in the tropics. Apart from that it all looked perfectly hygenic. The fish section further on has live eels, frogs, catfish and other creatures we couldn't identify.

This is the early morning ritual of the monks collecting food. They passed by our window every morning about 5.30 - 6am and the ladies were there to offer rice etc. Lots of fun and gossip till the monks hoved into view and then complete silence and respect till it was over. We went down a couple of times and watched respectfully from the other side of the street BUT further down the road towards the town centre the flashing of cameras was not nice I thought. Unnecesary and intrusive into what is an essential part of Lao life, but that's what the 'tourist's want to see - and show "back home". We did feel sorry for the monks as they obviously felt the cold early in the morning with no shoes on......It was freeeeeezing. Footwear was promptly put on once they were back inside the wats grounds.

B chatting to a novice monk. B is practising his Lao and the monk is practising his English.

The chinthes,( temple dog guardians) look on. Grrrrr.

School's in, or rather kindergarten. Every morning the kids line up to sign the National Anthum, and then do exercises before getting down to the business of playing and learning. The mornings were at this point in time, very cold, so this time, the class was outside in the sunshine.
The kids were all beautifully turned out, but the building sadly needs major upgrade and repair work.

The funeral urn used by the Royal Family - apart from the last ones who "disappeared" after being carted away by the Pathet Lao - in Vat Xienthong. The whole funeral carriage is beautiful but too much to fit in the photo. You'll have to go visit yourself.

I just loved this little Buddha in Vat Sop, and look at the 'guy' asleep at the back!!

A Buddha in the grounds of Vat Sope. I like the mosiacs on the pillars and the way his whatever they call the enlightenment thing going up out of his head, seems to pierce the cieling.

Each of these little, and some not so little, Buddhas are in different poses. They are in Vat Xienthong.

A Hilltribe - or Ethnic Minority - lady preparing to set up her market stall. Luang Prabang.

A dog sleepily guarding the rice for sale on the main street along the Mekong in Luang Prabang. You think there's only a small number of types of rice? Come to Laos!! You'll be amazed, as we are.

This lass was smelting gold - a couple of bracelets and rings a customer had brought in. There didn't appear to be any check as to ownership! After they were melted down she sold the small ingot to the shop owner. Note the cruxible and the foot bellows. OH & S eat your heart out! We watched straight off the street.

And then we stumbled on to this one. Well, we heard all the bleating, and investigated, as we tend to do........... Goat curry anyone?

Vegie seller in the market, Luang Prabang. How many different plants/fruit can you identify? Soo good and fresh and the flavours. To die for. Never tasted ginger or coriander like it, despite growing our own for years. They have Ngoc Nam with everything!!

B 'discussing' the quality of local textiles. They love to haggle (or bargain) but you have to be fair and reasonable. You know they always start VERY high in case silly farang agree - but WE know better NOW! Note the ever present essential retailing equipment aka the calculator. He will eventually be asked to show how much he is willing to offer, and it has to be silent so the neighbours don't know what price has been arranged. He's very good - and it did follow him home.........everyone was happy.

Early morning across the Nam Khan from where we had our regular coffee first thing (almost) in the morning. Bitterly cold and misty till the sun got well up. Very atmospheric. The vege patches are seasonal following the monsoon rains.

The junction of the Nam Khan with the Mekong looking north.

This bamboo footbridge across the Nam Kahn is a toll one up to 6pm, after that it is free. Mind you, why would anyone try and cross in the pitch dark with no lights etc beats me.

A closer view of that bamboo bridge. It actually looks quite OK in the previous photo but.... and the river is very swift flowing too.

This old merc was parked? more like abandonded, though it still has licence plates, on the road alongside the Nam Khan. Very pitted and rusted. Didn't look like it had been driven for years, B seems to remember it being there last time we visited in 2007. We saw a few of this vintage mercs around, well maintained and driven. In keeping with the "colonial" era we thought.

They get em young in Laos and teach em. This young fella was with Mum at her market stall selling French style baguettes - YUMMY!!! - stuffed with lots of chicken or tofu and all sorts of veges and sauces etc etc for less that $1 (USD that is). Needless to say we had a few over time, as we browsed the markets. Haven't eaten bread for 4 months so it was a nice treat. The little guy also had his own quite large, for his age, machette type can opener and was into everything. Indulged as all kids there are, though they don't appear spoilt as Chinese kids seem to be. perhaps because they have siblings, often a few of them.

Cocktail bar on the main street in central Luang Prabang. Loved the name! It certainly looked different - better even- in the evening with lighting etc in the darkness. Open for business whenever. These type of impromptu bars appear and dissapear all the time.

It is good to see that Laos sticks to its traditions and refuses to have street signs similar to the rest of the world. Only in Laos could the crossing be indicated with such elegance. Mind you, it doesn't mean the traffic, such as it is, pays any more attention, than do their Thai neighbours! Mount Phu Si in the background.

Obviously trying to attract farang ( foreigners ). Clever though. Perhaps it's a pisces thing?

I loved this sign along the road from our guesthouse. Excellent food too. Slighly old fashioned and not an Oasis song in hearing distance.

Stay tuned for more riveting adventures coming sooooon.............