Learning from previous day, we started the day slightly later and also due to the overnight rain that made me unwilling to get out of bed. We planned to visit Coconut Market (椰子市场) in the morning which opened from 8am to 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays only. This day, a Sunday, was our only chance to visit it.
8:45am, we hailed a Grab car to Coconut Market (฿135), some 5km to the northeast from Chiang Mai Old City, and reached there in 15 minutes. Located at the edge of a coconut plantation, the small Coconut Market housed a number of stalls selling mainly local food & beverage, local produces, souvenirs, clothings, etc. We went one round around the market to check out most of the stalls and also the coconut plantation with neat rows of coconut trees.
A small organic goat farm, named Hamza Farm, had around 20 goats and kids. For ฿50, we had a little episode feeding the kids with a small bottle of milk and the adult goats with grass.
Then, we went for local snacks. We bought grilled eggs and fried quail eggs in banana leaves, 12-piece khnom krok (coconut-rice pancakes), a box of 2 suki rolls and a skewer of pork sausage balls from 4 stalls for a total of ฿130. My friend had a coconut juice and I had a Dirty Coconut espresso (฿100), which had hot espresso added onto thick coconut milk.
We sat at a table near a performance area, ate our food while listening to some songs by a guitarist. We tipped him before leaving the market. It was around 10:30am and the sun had emerged from behind dispersing clouds and began toasting the land.
We hailed another Grab car to Wat Chai Mongkhon, located outside the old city and on one bank of Ping River. The viharn had exquisite carvings on all its outer walls and an elaborate gold-cladded chedi. Being near a river, the temple was a popular site for locals to release animals, fishes or birds to make merits. Mae Ping River Cruise Terminal was next to the temple.
While making our way to Pantip Lifestyle Hub, a large shopping mall, we stumbled on Wat Sri Don Chai, right opposite Pantip Hub. The quiet temple had a large standing Buddha statue against a red backdrop, with half-opened eyes that looked down at a spot in front of him. This statue was added in recent years and the white chedi in front of him used to be painted gold.
Then, we walked into Pantip Lifestyle Hub, used the washrooms and bought some goodies from Big C supermarket. We spent about 40 minutes in the mall before continuing on our way towards the old city.
We came to Wat Loi Kroh, our 3rd temple for the day, nestled in the midst of a street full of bars, restaurants and massage parlours. The temple, loosely translated as “a temple that makes bad karma go away”, had a viharn side by side with an ubosot and a beautiful white-and-golden chedi guarded by little red devatas.
Back in the old city, we walked along Rachadamnoen Road and came to Kad Klang Wiang, a small shopping arcade with boutiques, cafes and restaurants. In one corner was Blue Noodle Shop (老字号卤肉米粉馆), a restaurant selling beef & pork noodle soup. It was 1pm and there was a queue outside the restaurant.
I had a beef noodle soup with stewed beef, fresh beef slices and beef balls in flavourful broth. It was the best option to go for all its beefy ingredients in one meal. My friend had dry-style pork ribs noodle.
The Sunday Night Market was supposed to began at 5pm but at around 1:30pm, some vendors were already setting up their stalls on pedestrian walkways along Rachadamnoen Road, making the walkways difficult to access. We were walking on the road most of the time.
As the weather was too hot and humid to continue exploring more temples, we decided to find an air-conditioned cafe to get out of the heat. We came to a Cafe Amazon outlet, along Prapokkloa Road and opposite Three Kings Monument, ordered two caffeinated beverage and seated to a table in the cafe. Their coffee was not bad. I wanted to buy their coffee beans but only drip coffee bags were available, so I gave it a miss.
It started raining while we were in the cafe and we extended our stay until the rain dwindled to a light drizzle slightly before 3pm. We left the cafe and did a short visit to the Three Kings Monument and Wat Inthakhin Sadue Muang nearby.
The Three Kings Monument was made up of three statues. One was of King Mengrai, the founder of Chiang Mai, and the other two were King of Sukhothai and King of Payao who had helped in the building of the city in the 14th century.
Wat Inthakhin Sadue Muang, a tiny temple also known as the "Temple of the Naval of the City", was the original site where the Inthakhin City Pillar was erected in 1296. The pillar was later moved to Wat Chedi Luang in 1800. The viharn had exquisite decor and guarded by two glistering golden Nagas. A bare brick 14th-century chedi stood behind the viharn. The temple had a museum and another chedi (not obvious from the road).
Then, we headed back to The Wing Boutique Hotel for a short rest as the hot sun had taken over again after the rain. Part two of the day would be the night market, also known as Chiang Mai Walking Street or Chiang Mai Sunday Night Market, after 5pm — but I would rather wait for the sun to go down completely.
At 6pm, we headed out for the night market starting from Wat Phra Singh to Tha Phae Gate. Chiang Mai Walking Street set a very good example for night markets — no smoking / vaping, no consumption of liquor, no pets and no vehicles. Well, having said this, Wualai Walking Street on Saturday nights was the same too. There were sitting areas for consuming food too. I really liked the night markets in Chiang Mai more than in Malaysia.
Barely 200 meters into the walking street, we walked into a "food centre" with multiple food stalls and dining areas. After scouting the food stalls, we bought a mix of chicken and prawn gyozas, crispy fried pork and 2 fried chicken drumsticks for ฿270. We stood at a tall table to eat the food.
Walking towards Tha Phae Gate, we ate and drank more stuffs along the way. We had moo png (pork meat skewers), bua loi kai wan (rice balls in coconut milk) with poached egg and green mangoes (not sour). I also bought a small bottle of gac fruit juice for ฿50.
As we approached the gate, the crowd became dense. There was a stage next to Tha Phae Gate where some musical event was being held but it was so packed with people that we decided to give it a miss.
It started drizzling lightly as we made our way back to the hotel from Tha Phae Gate using other roads to skirt around night market. The sky held back its full discharge until we were in the hotel at around 8:30pm before it let loose all its water, but it was not as heavy as the night before.
Some time after midnight, the rain became heavier and did not cease through the night. It turned into a stormy night.
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