January 25, 2008
Chiangmai - Wiang Kum Kam: Visit to an ancient city
Today, the 45th day since we left home, marks the middle of our trip. Both halves of the trip are sandwiched between our stays in Thailand: Cambodia started and ended in Thailand, the ride to China will start and end in Thailand. It all seems to have a kind of symmetry that lends a sense of purpose to our wanderings that is not otherwise always evident to me.
We are enjoying Chiangmai and have decided to stay another two days, although with our Chinese Visas we could set out today. But I have read that just six kilometers to the south of Chiangmai on the Ping River are the ruins of the ancient city of Wiang Kum Kam which we think would be nice to visit. Leaving the city in this direction the traffic is much lighter than it was to the west, the ride is easy. The ancient city is supposed to have been built in the late 13th century, is three kilometers square and encompasses 22 known sites, half of which have been excavated.
There are no tourists here today, perhaps on the week-ends, as there are refreshment and souvenir stands and pony carriages waiting to take visitors to the ruins. There are also bicycle signs in Thai pointing out a route to the most important sites which are scattered in the rural countryside. I haven't seen any Thais sightseeing by bike, but perhaps this is a project with an eye to the future. We have a lovely ride through quiet lanes and past orchards of fruit trees to the deserted temple ruins in characteristic red brick.
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On our way back from Wiang Kum Kam we land on the Super Highway and see no way of getting off it or changing direction until we are at the airport. But Chiangmai is not so big that you can get seriously lost and we soon reach the city wall and moat. Outside the moat the traffic is one way in one direction and inside it flows in the opposite direction. These two rings seem to defend the city as effectively as the wall and moat did in earlier times as the constant stream of traffic seems to be impenetrable, at least for the cyclist.
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