February 8, 2010
Feb. 8, Chiangmai - Lamphun: On our bikes at last
First day out and we are a little out of shape after the winter months at home and then lazing around Bangkok and Chiangmai. In anticipation of this and of the long day and climb tomorrow, we planned a short ride to get back into the swing of things. That was a good idea since, although the stretch was flat, it still didn't feel effortless. The usual problems - the saddle didn't feel comfortable, my hands hurt.
And the scenery wasn't much of a distraction. It wasn't an eventful ride, just a flat stretch with a fair amount of traffic, the first ten kilometers being the suburban sprawl of Chiangmai, but even after that no real countryside, just one little town running into the next. If it had been our first visit to Thailand we might have been more fascinated by the typical, mundane Thai scenes along the roadside. I hope it doesn't sound jaded but after a while the commonplace scenes become just that, commonplace, and no longer exotic.
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We had plenty of time here to find a hotel, get cleaned up, eat and rest before we headed for the temples which are Lamphun's pride. Opposite our hotel is Wat Chama Tewi, also known as Wat Kukut, which houses an unusual stupa with rows of Buddha figures in the Dvaravati style. Now I'm not saying I know anything about the Dvaravati style, but the quality of the architecture and sculpted figures is obvious.
One of Thailand's eight most sacred temples is also located in Lamphun, Wat Phra That Haripunchai. Here you can admire the stupa Chedi Punchai, a big, bell-shaped, 51 m high golden Chedi. The Chedi is covered in gold leaf , and the finely-wrought foliage around its burmese-style spire is made of pure gold, an impressive sight in the evening sun.
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The pretty temples in Lamphun compensated for the dull ride here. We're hoping for a good day in the saddle tomorrow.
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