Street Artists of Chiang Mai

Throughout our journey I am continually on the search for interesting artworks in all their forms. This has seen us visiting many of the world’s major galleries and a lot of smaller ones too. Then of course there is always the artists of the street, who simply set up a small stall in a public place and manage to survive by selling to passing trade or quickly completing works on the spot. The quality of such works at times is very mixed, with the accompanying displays of completed works not always matching what you see being produced in front of you. There are however occasions when you see pieces that catch your attention as you admire the artists skills. Such was the case in Chiang Mai where there were numerous opportunities to view artists working in a variety of media to produce works that were generally in a realistic style. While there were plenty on the streets at the various night bazaars, there were also quite a number who had small studio spaces in the commercial part of town. Clearly most of these were involved in fulfilling commissions by working from photographs to produce highly realistic renderings. The process they followed was in fact a precision crafting process, with the artist carefully scanning over the photo with a magnifying glass and then painstakingly reproducing it section by section in an enlarged format. The results were often ‘super-realistic’ and produced to a technically high standard. As such works were relatively cheap, these artists seemed to be constantly working, often holding photos that had clearly come from western origins. Amazingly the standard remained consistently high throughout the town, with competition clearly dictating that they needed to produce quality work in order to survive. Whilst it certainly couldn’t be labelled as high-end art, you had to admire the quality of their drawing skills and their patience in producing these pieces. Maybe it was the number of tourist customers that had attracted them or simply the quality of the lifestyle in Chiang Mai, but over time a significant artist community has evolved, producing some of the better street art that I have seen during our travels.

An Elephant Called Medo

One of the things that Jules and I definitely wanted to experience while in Chiang Mai was the magnificent Asian elephants of this region. While we were keen to see them up close, we were both adamant that we didn’t want to buy into anything exploitative. There were many tours that offered rides, performances and even elephants painting ... not for us! Instead we opted for the ‘Elephant Nature Park’ which is an elephant sanctuary that was set up in 1996 for injured and distressed elephants that have been physically and mentally abused or have experienced horrendous conditions working or performing. A 60km trip from Chiang Mai saw us joining a group of like-minded volunteers from around the world keen to make amends for the mistakes of mankind in some small way by befriending and caring for these beautiful creatures. As we were introduced to each of the elephants by name, stories were repeatedly related of such abuse that would bring a tear to your eye. It was gratifying that at least here they would spend the rest of their days living a peaceful and natural life in a caring environment. During our day we spent much of the time feeding the elephants huge volumes of fruit and vegetables and then in the heat of the afternoon, wandered down to the river to soak them with buckets of cooling water. Jules and I were both keen to assist one particular elephant called ‘Medo’ (Mae Do in Thai) who initially caught our attention because she had similar sounding name to ours. We learnt that Medo’s injuries and experiences had been horrific (http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/herd/medo.htm) resulting in a broken back and damaged leg, but thankfully as a result of her time at the sanctuary she had developed a lovely gentle temperament. She walked slowly, awkwardly and generally behind the other elephants, but we were reassured that she was definitely part of their family and that there was a particular male elephant who would immediately come running to her aid if she called out to him. By the days end we left with a greater understanding of elephant behaviour, but more importantly an appreciation for the fine work being done by this sanctuary. In coming here we didn’t need any performances, just seeing the elephants happy, healthy and content was enough for us.
Footnote: Jules and I were so touched by Medo’s plight that we have now officially adopted her (or at least sponsored her) and will continue to watch her progress over the coming year.

The Sensational Street Markets of Chiang Mai

One of the amazing things about Chiang Mai and probably Thailand in general is the amazing sense of business enterprise you constantly come across. There seems to be all manner of street food vendors everywhere you go and countless market stalls are dotted throughout the city and tourist spots. Generally, there appears to be no formal opening times and there is always some enterprising Thai trying to sell you something at any hour of the day. However, for a more organised event, the Sunday night street market is a must see. I’m not sure whether there is a Guinness book of records entry for the worlds largest open-air night market, but if there is, this one would certainly be in the running. It involves closing off several of the major streets in the old part of town, spreading out into the narrow laneways, invading the grounds of several local temples and generally occupying any spare space close to the action. For sale are endless examples of Thai art and craft produced from large local factories down to small backyard operations. When Jules and I went along, it was a balmy night and it seemed that the whole city along with a few thousand tourists were there. However the mood was, as you would expect in Thailand, very happy and relaxed. As we browsed and strolled along, numerous music groups were playing traditional tunes making the event feel more like a cultural festival than a market. The various food stalls continued to tempt our taste buds with exotic flavours drifting through the night air, until we finally succumbed. When we saw something we liked we engaged in some light-hearted bartering, as is expected in this part of the world. Although, Jules often felt guilty about the ridiculous prices we were paying and simply wanted to give the stall owner what they were asking only to find them giving her a discount anyway. It was hard to believe that a market of this size happens each week, but for those who missed it or who are just hooked on searching out a bargain, we found that there were plenty of other opportunities at the daily night bazaar. While being generally more commercial in its selection of products, it still remained a nice way to spend a warm evening in Chiang Mai followed by a nice meal and cooling drink sitting alongside the banks of the Ping River.

Jungle Monkeys

One of the labels that I certainly wouldn’t apply to Jules and myself would be ‘thrill seekers’, but while in Chiang Mai we were tempted by what they call the ‘jungle flight’ experience. Early on a fine and sunny morning we were picked up and driven for an hour outside of town, high into the local mountains. We were around 1000 metres above sea level when the car stopped in a tiny village. There we were met by our instructors, who provided us with a harness and helmet ready to ‘fly’ between the tallest of trees in the forest. This involved hanging by our harness from a series of ‘zip lines’ and flying through the air between a course of wooden platforms or stations. After trekking on foot further into the jungle, we could hear the hoots and screams of other people who were already on the course. They were either loving it or having the fright of their life, we weren’t quite sure! After a quick safety briefing we were handed one important final piece of equipment …a hooked wooden stick! The theory was that when you were flying along at high speed, around 20 metres above the ground, this would act as your brake upon reaching the on coming tree. In the chaos of high-speed flight, you would quickly hook the stick over the cable and pull down hard with the effect of slowing you down. We were soon about to test the theory and to my surprise Jules opted to go first, jumping bravely off the platform as if she had done it a thousand times before. As we advanced, the stations became more and more challenging, coinciding with our growing confidence and we were soon flying through the lush forest like a couple of monkeys. While this was all good fun for us, our guide also pointed out that this tourist activity provided much needed support to the local villagers, who were not only employed by the company, but also paid an annual rent for the trees selected for the various stations. The whole operation appeared to be very eco-friendly with the course sitting naturally within the environment, allowing the natural habitat to continue to flourish. As we finished the final steep ascent we felt a sense of satisfaction that we had not only managed to conquer our nerves, but in an adventurous way had the opportunity to look deep into the jungles of Chiang Mai. Later, sitting back in the tiny village and eating the delicious Thai lunch that was provided, we could brag of our exploits with the other tourists and count ourselves as true jungle thrill seekers.

Sawatdee Chiang Mai

The good thing about living in Osaka is that you are relatively close to plenty of countries in the Asian region. Being the spring vacation, we decided to venture abroad to Thailand and in particular the northern region of Chiang Mai, which we had heard so much about from friends. Upon arrival we were immediately struck with how different it was than Japan. Not only was the weather warmer (mid 30’s), but gone was the feel of the big city. Even though it was bustling with motorbikes, tuk-tuks (popular three wheeled taxis) and cars, it was more like a large country town with it’s population of around 300,000 people. As we travelled the streets it was clear that eating and drinking is a major pastime with many small bars dotted along major streets throughout the town centre, while sidewalk food stalls tempt you with delicious Thai flavours. Once we started to mingle with the locals we soon begin to feel the warmth and friendliness of the people themselves. Both Jules and I commented on the apparent simplicity of life here and how happy everyone appeared to be. Everywhere we went we were always welcomed with a smile and graciously thanked with a bow of the head with the hands placed in the traditional pray-like pose. During our time in Chiang Mai we stayed a little bit out of town in a lovely spot situated on the banks of the Ping River. Each morning we woke to the distinctive sounds of native birds and insects and as we looked out from our balcony and across the river, we could clearly see the misty mountains beyond. Toward the top of Doi Suthep Mountain there stands one of the most beautiful Buddhist temples in the region. So on a warm, clear day we hired a taxi and headed up there to marvel at the ornate decorations of this sacred place. Following a steep and windy 16km trip, we finally arrived and after dogging the many souvenir stalls we joined thousands of other tourists in climbing the final 309 steps to the famous gold pagodas and a sensational view of Chiang Mai. Despite the obvious commercialism of such places, you couldn’t help but admire its mystical and timeless qualities. Clearly it remains a feature that continues to attract many overseas visitors to Chiang Mai and provides just one of many facets of what life in this part of the world continues to offer.