Exploring Temples in chiang mai

When you do finally manage to drag yourself away from the utterly stunning sanctuary that is four seasons Chiang mai - we have friends who visited and refused to leave! You soon realise there is so much to see outside.
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Its easy to see why its the hub of northern Thailand
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We arranged with the hotel concierge a private tour to see the temples in the area. As the temples covered a vast area we felt this was the best way to see as much as possible in a short amount of time. Plus, you know... cause air con!  

We were advised that the most panoramic view of the city was from Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, the gold-domed temple visible for miles around atop Doi Suthep Mountain. Among the lures here are a relic of the Buddha kept in a golden pagoda, and a 300-step staircase lined with serpentine sculptures.

Everything is so beautifully detailed , just look at the colours 

Wat Suan Duk was founded in 1370 for a monk coming from the Sukhothai Kingdom who found a relic of the Buddha. When the monk arrived in Chiang Mai, the relic was magically split into 2 pieces and to preserve one of the pieces, the main golden chedi of Wat Suan Dok  was built. The second piece was attached to the back of a white elephant which died close to the top of the mountain of Doi Suthep, where it was buried, and Wat Phra That Doi Suthep was built to house the relic.

The golden chedi in Wat Suan Dok is 48m high and built in Sri Lankan style. Around it there are many smaller white chedi which contain the ashes of the Royal Family
Close by there is the unusually big temple with open sides which was rebuilt in 1930 and hosts several Buddha statues, including a 5 meters high bronze one. This big prayer room is very impressive, and so brightly colored and memorizing 

We also saw Wat chedi Luang is home to the "Pillar of the city " a totem used in ancient Thai fertility rites 

One thing that really dazzled me, along side the obviously amazing temples were the Sala trees. They reminded me of Orchids, but on a much more robust scale. So beautifully exotic and other worldly 

After a lovely day exploring, we decided to visit the night market .

I almost died when I saw all of these beautiful orchids...

Belle
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