Being packed there still weren't many white people, maybe a dozen I spotted out thousands. I saw families, friends, and romantic interests enjoying the wholesome environment of the Saturday Street Market.
The star players of the Market were surely the food vendors. The food was reminiscent of Chiang Rai but much more authentic--I only saw one waffle stand. Sushi is a common thing I've found throughout SE Asia. Usually you pay per piece, which ranges from 5 to 10 baht. I saw half a dozen of them scattered throughout. Fried chicken, friend noodles (pad thai), fish balls, salted fish on the grill/spigot, fruit stalls, just to name a few. They even had the cow patties, made from black/purple rice that was common in Myanmar.
After being stopped 3 dozen times for yet another asian to take 5 selfies I had had enough and left the market.
During my second time at the Saturday Market (since I was here for two weeks) I almost walked into an entire group of people in front of me. I hadn't noticed but it was 8:00pm sharp and a loudspeaker had just started playing what must have been the national anthem or some homage to the former king. Everyone joined in in the chant as they bowed their heads. Every single man, woman, and child participated. People buying food stopped cold with he money in their hands and vendors stopped cooking their chicken at once...letting their it burn. I had taken a dozen or so steps before looking around and realizing it was everyone in the entire are that had stopped. I paid my respect and followed suit. What an interesting thing to have witnessed. Oh, Chiang Rai, how I love your authentic Thai Charm!
White Temple
I took a day trip out to see "Wat Rong Khun (Thai: วัดร่องขุ่น), perhaps better known to foreigners as the White Temple, [it] is a contemporary, unconventional, privately owned, art exhibit in the style of a Buddhist temple in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand." It was a short 30 minute ride south west of the center of the city. It was a weekend and boy was it busy. I was discouraged but still went in. However most of the awe can be gotten from the outside. The motorcycle trip was a bit cold since the sun had not quite come out yet and my long sleeve button-up wasn't enough to keep me from getting the chills. Anything colder than upper 70s is cold for me now! I wonder how long it will take for my blood to thicken once returning stateside?
The temple was nothing short of spectacular. Unlike any other temple I've seen in Asia over the last 9 months this particular temple was built primarily as an art installment. It's free for Thai nationals but cost 50 baht for foreigners. The creator asks for donations but does not accept donations larger than 10k baht as he does not want to be influenced by any one. Again asian tourists with selfie sticks all over. There were 50 asians for every westerner. It's times like this that I have had enough with Asia. Honestly I think it's the 1st world Asian countries that have beginning to annoy me. A large quantity of Chinese and Koreans tourists tend to come in droves and I've witnessed them destroying everything in their path...pollution and not respecting wildlife. I have been reconsidering visiting China. If I go I want to avoid the larger cities and stay in the rural villages. There is a horrible stereotype about Chinese drivers which SHOULD not be applied to everyone, but there is some serious truth that it. Chinese tourists seems to have no concept of space and their surroundings. They will in front of you, spit right in your path, shove you aside etc. It's actually quite remarkable!
