Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ket, the nickname of the nearby temple, Wat Ketkaram. The temple was built in the
15th century and houses an eclectic museum of attic-like treasures.
South of the Old City
SATURDAY WALKING STREET
( Th Wualai; 4pm-midnight Sat)
The Saturday Walking Street has developed a
reputation of having more authentic handicrafts and being less commercial than the
Sunday Walking Street. This might be a bit of an exaggeration as most vendors
work both markets without exclusion. But the atmospheric old neighbourhood with
its silver shops and old ladies wrapped up in Thai silk does give it an authenticity.
It's also slightly less hectic, making an evening stroll a bit more pleasant.
Market
WAT SISUPHAN
( Soi 2, Th Wualai; donations appreciated)
This wát was founded in 1502, but little re-
mains of the original structures except for some teak pillars and roof beams in the
wí·hăhn
. The
ubosòht
next door is allegedly the only silver ordination hall in Thail-
and (although technically they were using a mix of aluminium, compounded silver
and pure silver), and the result of the recent renovation is magnificent. The temple
hosts a monk chat and meditation instruction (see boxed text,
Click here
). Wat
Sisuphan is one of the few wát in Chiang Mai where you can see the Poy Luang
(also known as Poy Sang Long) Festival, a Shan-style group ordination of young
boys as Buddhist novices, in late March.
Temple
West of the Old City
WAT SUAN DOK
( Th Suthep; donations appreciated)
Built on a former flower garden in 1373, this
temple is not as architecturally interesting as the temples in the old city but it does
have a very powerful photographic attribute: the temple's collection of whitewashed
chedi
sit in the foreground while the blue peaks of Doi Suthep and Doi Pui loom in
the background.
Wat Suan Dok is also spiritually united with the temple that sits upon Doi Suthep
thanks to an auspicious relic brought to Chiang Mai by Phra Sumana Thera, a visit-
Temple
