Chiang Mai - Lanna Folklife Museum, Arts and Cultural Center, Historical Center (January 2018)

Chiang Mai Tour Day 2 was a trip to town to visit three museums related to Lanna culture which are all located nearby.

Lanna Folklife Museum
The first place to visit was Lanna Folklife Museum. This is the place where you can taste the folk life of people in the Lanna Kingdom that was once ruled by the Burmese for 200 years and later annexed to Siam Kingdom, the predecessor of the modern Thailand.

Arts and Cultural Center
Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Center displays more cultural items than arts, including the cultures of hill tribes. Thailand recognizes six major hill tribes: i.e. Karen, Hmong, Yao, Lahu, Lisaw and Akha. 

Historical Center
Chiang Mai used to attract people with its timer and later minerals. Timber opened trade routes to neighboring countries and trade attracted people in various fields.

This Historical Center was small in size, but displayed quite interesting stories of Chiang Mai. I will surely come back to spend more time reading the stories and understanding Chiang Mai history more in depth.

Outside the three museums were a small Budhist temple and other cultural landmarks,

Chiang Mai is the center in Asia for many mission agencies, due primarily to low cost of living, proximity to neighboring countries, little to no persecution to other religions than Buddhism. Lately, Chiang Mai has become attractive also to retirees who seek warm temperature and who wants to see their retirement money go further than in their home countries. - Jeffrey   

Chiang Mai - Sankamphaeng, Bossan Village, Thaisilk Village (January 2018)

Kristin and I had the joy and privilege of receiving the visitation of my mom, 88 years of age, and my younger sister, Minja. It was the first time that my mom has ever visited us overseas after we got married. The first day after they arrived in Chiang Mai was the trip to Roong Aroon Hot Springs in Sankamphaeng, Bossan Village and Thaisilk Village.

Roong Aroon Hot Springs in Sankamphaeng
Sankamphaeng is known for hot springs. There is Sankamphaeng Hot Springs, run by the government, different from Roong Aroon Hot Springs, a privately owned and run place. We have not been to Sankamphaeng Hot Springs nearby, which seems nicer and bigger, but blog postings are saying they are pretty much the same: individual hot tub, sulfur hot springs water, and picnic area. One preferred Roong Aroon to which we have already been. So we chose to go there anyway.

Other than taking the bath in the tub and eating snacks with eggs boiled in the hot springs water, there is nothing much to do. But Kristin prepared and brought breads and other snacks for us to enjoy.

The overall ambiance and facility cannot be compared to those in Korea. This Thai facility is far inferior, but it has its own unique experience to offer.

Bossan Village - Umbrella Making Center
Bossan Village is known for bamboo umbrellas. We have been here last year when Kristin's friends came to visit, but we thought it would be a good place to stop by and watch their production process.

The village did not have as many visitors as before. So it was quiet, but nonetheless, we took some photos.

Thaisilk Village
Not too far from the Bossan Village, we found Thaisilk Village where they demonstrate the process of pulling threads from cocoons of or caterpillars that grow by eating mulberry leaves for 20-30 days before they create their own cocoons and transformed into pupas. Cocoons are made of the saliva of the caterpillars and people pull the silk threads up to 800 meters out of one cocoon before the pupas transformed into moths. 800 meters!!! Wow...

It takes 3-5 days for the caterpillar to build a cocoon and it lives inside the cocoon for 7-10 days. It was impressive that they show actual silkworms that are crawling on mulberry leaves in different stages, along with silk moths laying eggs.

The silk road map displayed on the wall showed an enormous journey from Europe to China. Now China has declared One Belt One Road plan that reconnects and rebuilds the silk road to promote  China's global trade power. To me, Chinese President Xi is being used by God to bring the gospel back to Jerusalem via the modern silk road. We will see.

Silk products look pretty but they are expensive and not very practical for daily use.

Our first day of Chiang Mai Tour ended with a dinner at Okhajhu Restaurant. Three friends, chef, engineer and farmer, started this restaurant and their business thrives over their excellent business idea of serving only organic vegetables grown in their own backyards. Walking around the backyard is also a popular pastime for the restaurant clients.

Our Chiang Mai Tour Day 1 ended with an optimistic expectation for the next day. To me, it was an exciting and thrilling time spent with my mom in a long time. She has indeed aged so gracefully and has been preserved so well. I am so grateful to God for her. - Jeffrey