Turkey, Thailand, and other things 'T': Temples and big wood: a very satisfying day

The front entrance to a temple

On Wednesday, we went to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep to visit an important pilgrimage temple in the mountains outside of Chiang Mai. I think Darrick & Lek are worried that we have spent most of our time building the sauna rather than trekking about, so Darrick had a couple of his guys continue laying bricks, and they had a driver come to pick us up in the morning.

A cool timber frame at the temple

Unfortunately, I didn’t really know much about the temple prior to going, but I can certainly say I was I awe of the detail to the buildings. There was, unfortunately, a sense of touristy kitch, with all of the vendors just outside of the temple, including velvet paintings!

Intricate carvings

The afternoon was spectacularly interesting- we met Darrick for lunch (and had the best cup of coffee we’ve had since we’ve been in Thailand), and then Darrick wanted to take us to see really good wood sculpture and carvings. His driver took us to more of a touristy place first- with lots of knick-knacks, but we found a few interesting stores, including some amazing hammered metal art work. There was a piece that was being worked on while we were there, tools lying on it, so I couldn’t help myself but take a photo. The metal is mounted onto a wooden mould, and then hammered and shaped.

Then we found the ‘real’ big wood stores that Darrick was intending on showing us- where we found gigantic slabs of wood seasoning in the yard (sadly, Darrick said they are probably cut down illegally- it is against the law to cut trees in Thailand!), and then inside the stores, there is furniture & cool pieces made from the big slabs.

One large slab of wood, for this gorgeous table. Pity about the tree!

There were interesting sculptures made of driftwood, and all kinds of eye candy. We couldn’t help but oooh and ahhhhh over the beautiful pieces- and I think the prices were pretty reasonable although I can’t really recall what they were!

A really beautiful table, and the slabs in behind are benches.

Our next stop was at what they labeled a ‘stoneware’ (I think they said 'stonewear') place- and in the front yard, there were all kinds of really large clay pots- which were lovely and all, but when we walked to the back, we really started having fun- there was the shop, and at the front were several moulds for the pots- which we thought was cool enough, and then as we walked through, we were tickled to find two large brick kilns inside. They are beautiful, and must be able to hold quite a lot of stock. There were two craftspeople at the back shaping clay into the moulds by hand, and then trimming them with a really simple tool.

Inside the kiln

Some of the many moulds for the clay pots

We also found their mixer, which was really clever, and after it mixes the clay, it extrudes it into bricks of clay. Ainslie thought maybe Darrick could create a version of this for his earth blocks…soon after that, the woman from the store came and told us her boss didn’t want us to take photos of their mixer, nor did she want us to be back there. So, we went on our way.

A few other stops to see yet more wood carvings- oh, but what a treat that was! My photos from one place didn’t work at all (they told me I couldn’t take photos- but then again, they told us that at several shops, and we did manage to sneak a few in)- this place had exquisite, multi-layered carvings- unbelievably intricate and stunning. Mind boggling, really!

Oh yes, we stopped at one place that had ‘pre-fab’ homes- for $45,000 USD, you can have the smaller one built & erected on site, and for $200,000, the larger one- it’s embarrassing to think of what shoddy work you might get back home for those prices!

Inside the $200,000 pre-fab home

Front of the prefab home- nothing like we've got at home for pre-fab!

At the end of the day we went to the night market with the goal of finding footwear for me (it has become more of a mission for everyone else, moreso than me- I’m used to my lousy footwear now!). In any case, we only found flip flops, not workboots, so that didn’t really pan out, but it was a great excuse to see all of the little carts that come out at night for the market. I love going to places where the streets really come alive at night, where there is colour, and sound, and life. We bought a few little things, and Ian pointed out some really good quality backpacks that would sell for more than $200 CAD that were only $40 or so. I didn’t get one, but it’s a good place to go if you’re in the market for one!

A carving that was discarded on the floor of a shop- beautiful in my eyes!

It was a terrific day. We kept our driver out late…it was at least a 12 hour day for him, so we made sure to give him a mighty big tip. And, rock stars that we are, the kitchen staff brought us our dinner as soon as we arrived- we’re so spoiled, honestly!

This was truly a fun day- thanks, Darrick, for taking time out of your really busy schedule to play with us!