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NIGHT MARKET
One of the best attributes of the Shangri-La Hotel is its location. We didn’t need to take a tuk-tuk or Santao, a red, open-air bus that’s the most widely used mode of public transportation around here. Instead, we walked around and each night we perused the night market. It was just three blocks away between Tha Pae and Loi Kroa roads. It’s open daily from 6pm to 11pm and doesn’t have the crowds you find at Bangkok’s Patpong night market. There are two parts to the market: indoor and outdoor. The indoor section has nicer shops with better quality goods while the outdoor section has the usual mini-stalls, selling everything from pirated DVDs and CDs to knockoff T-shirts and everything in between. The prices out there always start high; they are expecting you to bargain so name your price and if they say no, walk away. If the price you’re offering is actually reasonable, they will cave in when you walk out. But if they do agree, it’s customary to pay up. Aside from the Thai merchants, the majority of shoppers seemed to be either American or European.

VEGETABLE MARKET
More fascinating was the wholesale 24/7 vegetable and fruit market on Maungmai Road, where I checked out all kinds of cool and exotic fruits and vegetables. I didn’t see any Westerners here. One hawker was selling a variety of fish, fried bugs (I had to pass since I’d just eaten lunch), but what was more shocking was that the apples and grapes had been imported from the good ole U.S. of A! Who knew? They also get them from China, along with garlic and shallots.

TEXTILE AND HANDICRAFT SHOPPING
I’m not a big shopper so I admit that I didn’t appreciate all of the handicraft and textile shops (selling everything from silver and bronze to silk and wood) that were listed as must-dos in Chiang Mai. These places are really just tourist traps unless you love to shop or are interested in seeing how each industry manufactures its goods. I did learn how silver utensils and jewelry boxes are created, how bronze statues are formed and all about the detail that goes into woodcarvings. The stores I liked best were the SA Umbrella Handicraft Centre and Shinawatra Thai Silk. At the former, you could buy paper umbrellas or fans for just 100 baht ($3USD). The silk store was upscale with prices and quality of goods similar to Jim Thompson’s in Bangkok.

TEMPLES
One of the main reasons people come up to Northern Thailand is to see its temples, called "wats" in Thai. In Chiang Mai alone, there are over 300 Buddhist temples; there are 1,300 in the whole province. The most important are within the walls of the Old City and our first stop was Wat Phra Singh. The compound was built in 1345 and is one of the more respected shrines in the city. There’s a 14th-century library with four separate elevated roofs. Inside are sculptural devata (Buddhist spirits) figures. Next-door is a 200-year-old Gilded Hall (Lai Kham) with frescoes illustrating the stories of the Golden Prince (Sang Thong).



WAT CHEDI LUANG
A short drive away is Wat Chedi Luang. It’s one of the coolest temples and at one time, it was the most important as it housed the Emerald Buddha (now in Bangkok’s Grand Palace). It was built about 600 years ago and a good portion of it was destroyed either by a 17th century earthquake or by King Taksin's cannon to chase out the Burmese in the 18th century. Also on the property, be sure to check out the Reclining Buddha.

MONK CHAT
Next to Wat Chedi Luang is The Mahamakut Buddhist University. Taking advantage of all the tourists, a Monk Chat was set up so that the monks could practice their English. But this quickly became quite popular and now you can do this every day between 1pm and 6:30pm. When I was there, all four tables were taken by tourists (three Americans, one Italian). But when I eventually got to speak with a monk, I learned all about their daily lives. I learned that their goal is to teach people about Karma. They have to follow 227 rules and the one I found most astonishing was that women cannot touch monks and vice versa. Even the monk’s mother cannot touch her own son. If she wants to give him something, she has to put it on a table for him to take. Most of the people here are novices, from seven to 20 years old. This is because in Thai society most Buddhist males are expected to spend at least two weeks of their lives in the monkhood to show their devotion to the religion. About 90% of Thailand's 65 million people are Buddhist. NOTE: Even a few Americans have become monks.

FEEDING THE MONKS
One of the things Mike and I learned from the monk chat is that if people don’t feed the monks, they don’t eat. So we asked Chintana how we could feed them. She explained that we would have to get up really early and leave at 6am before the sun comes up. Not a problem. Our first stop was at a bustling market to pick up hot food. We bought enough food to feed 20 monks and then drove to a popular place near the university, where people feed the monks on their daily barefoot trek into town to get food. Because it was still dark out, everyone was dressed as a monk and I was handing out food, I felt like it was Halloween. But instead of saying “trick or treat” it was something like “Nimaho”. This phrase made them to stop their trek and open their food holders. They were in such deep thought that it was almost like they were drugged, though obviously they weren’t. After we put food in their bowl, they blessed us, while we were on our knees. This was definitely one of the trip highlights.

WAT PHRATHAT DOI SUTHEP
The most famous temple in the area is Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. It’s about a nine-mile (15 kilometer), 30-minute drive up the mountain to the northwest of the city. The temple dates back to 1383 and to get to the top, you either have to walk up the 309 steps (it takes five minutes) or take a funicular. The views from the top alone are worth the journey but there’s so much more, too. The highlight for me was being blessed by a monk. Then, for good luck, he tied a string around my wrist. It was like kite string wrapped 10 or more times. It was only supposed to last two to three weeks but it’s been longer than that and it is still hanging on strong. You can’t cut it because it’s bad luck, so now I’m walking around town with the bracelet that doesn’t really go with my outfit. But I’ve gotta tell you: it’s starting to grow on me.

DINING There are a ton of places to eat in Chiang Mai. Some notable places: JJ Coffee Shop and Bakery (Location: Thapae Gate, Chiang Mai, The Old City, Tel: 05323-4007). I thought Chintana had only brought us here because it shared my initials but really, it was because it’s like an American diner with international cuisine. If you’re homesick for American food, you can come here instead of going to one of the greasy fast food chains. Also, just 10 minutes from the hotel is the Gallery Restaurant (25-29 Charoenrat Rd, Tel: 05324-8601-1). It’s right on the Ping River and has an outdoor patio and serves incredible food. It’s so good, Hilary Clinton dined here in 1996. I had the best pomelo salad with lemongrass, peppers and eggplant. But it was spicy and my mouth was on fire. I learned a new method for cooling down: a swig of hot tea and raw sugar. It did the trick. For dessert, I had a favorite ... sticky rice with sweet fresh mango. Yum!

LE GRAND LANNA THAI
I had the privilege of dining at Chiang Mai's most opulent traditional Thai restaurant. A 10-minute drive to the outskirts of town is Le Grand Lanna Thai. It’s built like a traditional teak Thai house but spread out on various pavilions and open-deck areas. It’s surrounded by fauna and banyan trees so bring your bug repellent. But the food and setting are not to be missed.

MANDARIN ORIENTAL
Next door to Lanna Thai is the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi. I’d heard how spectacular the hotel was supposed to be so I arranged for a tour. Wow! I wasn’t expecting to be so blown away. It’s spread over 60 acres of natural landscapes (paddy fields and exotic plantations), in a cultural museum dedicated to the Lanna kingdom. It is seriously the nicest hotel I have ever laid eyes upon (it’s just three years old), and they offer a variety of accommodations from suites, villas and residences that are all very private and have architectural tributes to the ancient kingdom. You would think that rooms here would cost between $900 and $1400 a night but that’s not the case -- prices start at $320! I also took a quick tour of the other top hotel in Chiang Mai. The Four Seasons (about 30 minutes away) was nice but didn’t compare to the Mandarin Oriental. Then again I didn’t stay at either property so I don’t know for sure.

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