Chiang Mai is such a rich city. I don't mean this economically, but culturally. The Lanna nation, although they speak the same language as the rest of Thailand, seems almost a world away. Despite the core similarities in food, it's the differences that stick out. Likewise, despite the core similarities in temple architecture, it's the differences that stick out. I visited Chiang Mai for 3 days back in July 2018, this time not just with my family, but with a group of my parents' college friends too. While the private car and driver in Chiang Mai were a nice change, this turned out to be quite a burden to my in-depth, fast-paced, no-nonsense way of travel, so unfortunately, all I got of the site was a visit to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep and a night at the market within the Old City Walls and Historic Centre of Chiang Mai, which did, at least give me a good idea of the site and its highlight, Doi Suthep Temple (sorry, the name is just so long, so I'm sticking with this from now on).

Doi Suthep is a mountain overlooking the city and was our first stop upon arriving in Chiang Mai. Doi Suthep Temple seems to be on the peak, which took us about 30 minutes drive from the base of the mountain due to a traffic jam, and it would really be quite a long walk if one doesn't have a vehicle to ride. At the entrance, you may pay extra for a ride up the elevator, or you can climb up the 300 or so steps, lined with naga snakes as railings, to the temple itself. Either way, you reach the outside of the complex, which by itself is full of smaller shrines and interesting details for you to notice, whether it's the long line of bells, the many elephant statues, all the golden architecture, or the hideous dragon statue labeled "Mom". Dont forget the great view of Chiang Mai, if it's not too cloudy as it was when I visited, off to the back right of the complex.

To enter the inner complex, everyone must remove their footwear and cover all the knees and shoulders as respect to the holy site. And respect it sure deserves! After climbing a few stairs, I looked in awe at the view. A huge golden chedi rises in the center of the square open area, with a strange golden umbrella standing much lower beside it, but both tower over my head. While the rain was unfortunate, my socks strangely remained relatively dry. This was a holy place. It's a sanctuary, and I wandered aimlessly around, trying to take in all the other details of art and architecture as the rest of the group took selfie after selfie. The building complexes were a lot like the temples I'd seen in Bangkok, but they were all warmly colored and ornamented with gold. The intricate patterns of the facades were decidedly Lanna, I noticed despite having never been acquainted with the culture beforehand. Buddhas of various sizes and materials, including glass, littered the place, inside and outside the halls. 

Finally finished with their photoshoot, my group went out, and I promptly followed. However, while waiting to leave, a tall white American (I assume based on language), ran out of the inner complex, screaming. He started to seemingly have seizures while attacking the officials trying to subdue him, eventually ripping his pants (unfortunately with no underwear underneath) and seeming to go unconsious after being doused with water and immobilized. To this day, I still don't know what happened to him to cause that and what happened to him afterwards. 

Anyway, on our last night, we had our dinner in the Sunday Walking Street, basically the night market, which truly did have everything imaginable for sale. First things first, I absolutely recommend trying the various Lanna dishes on offer at the market. But 2 important things to note: that the walking street starts at Tha Pae Gate, where I saw what seemed to be a pretty well-preserved part of the brick walls surrounding the old city; and that the group of food stalls and tables are located on the grounds of a temple, whose stupa reminded me a lot of that of Doi Suthep Temple. The temple interiors are, of course, closed during this time.

I really hope I can, one day, return to this great city to explore more of the temples and old town. But for now, I'm happy with what I've experienced, and that experience has lead me to conclude that this unique and rich center of the Lanna culture and its stunning monuments deserve to be a World Heritage Site.