Tha Phae Gate Chiang Mai - super popular but not much to see
The city of Chiang Mai used to be completely surrounded by a moat and wall that made it an important strategic point in the north of Thailand. These days, most of the wall is gone, but some remains and are wildly popular with tourists.
Tha Phae Gate is one of the highlights and has loads of people there day and night. Unfortunately for me, it was more of a situation of "ok great... a wall."
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I'm not trying to say that this is not historically important because it is. It dates back to the 13th century and that is always something i find an interest in. The problem I have with it is that i have seen them "restoring" it and it doesn't appear as though there is any sort of archaeological accuracy to it.
I sat (today actually) accross the street from a portion that was being rebuilt and saw stacks of bricks that were being piled back up in what appeared to be just completely random formation. When people want historical accuracy, I am not going to pretend how that works, but I am sure it involves more than just tossing a random brick to a builder and having them put it just wherever. To be honest I doubt the authenticity of the bricks at all.
I guess it doesn't matter because who is gonna check? Even if they did what is the likelihood that anyone is going to cry foul. It is an impressive structure and given the time period I can completely understand how no one would be able to climb over it.
Today so little of it remains that it is really more of a tourist trap and since it is Thailand there is a market there selling the usual junk as well.
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I'm not saying you are a loser if you buy this stuff because I have purchased it as well. Please don't believe anyone that attempts to tell you that there is any sort of valuable gear for sale ehre because I can all but guarantee you that virtually everything (if not literally everything) is mass-produced knock-off stuff from primarily China.
To add to the irony of this market, a vast majority of the visitors are actually Chinese because of Chiang Mai's proximity to China and they are the ones buying the stuff. I don't understand why they don't just buy it back in China.
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you will not see this advertised anywhere but the wall, for the most part is gone. It has been allowed to deteriorate or perhaps been intentionally torn down to make way for more roads. It really has not been terribly well-preserved. The famous Tha Phae Gate is around 100 meters long and has a door (gate) and on both sides of it there is nothing.
If you find yourself in Chiang Mai and want to go look at it, i would recommend doing so in the daytime because at night you almost can't even get near it because of the market that I think it just a damn eyesore of essentially garbage for sale.
Hahahaha
Well said, you've really known virtually everything that has to do with places like this while most people are lost in the dark
Some one like me I would easily fall for their trick
Well nice stuff
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Nice, good review too, it kind of turns out that way sometimes doesn’t it - it’s good to go and see but then you realise after 15mins or so that you have seen it haha! That’s the beauty of getting out and about I guess :) other things, such as Angkor wat in Cambodia could be somewhere you’d spend days - I haven’t been yet but planning on it this summer after another China stint. Then I’ll be back in Thailand!
same... been next door to it for ages.... never been to visit.
doesn’t popular just mean attracting many people? I guess sheep attract other sheep, like shit attracts flies ;)
I prefer a LEGO castle over a badly restorated / renovated one, even though LEGO is popular stuff.
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I love LEGO... i wish they weren't nearly as expensive as printer ink! :)
don’t tell me you still use printer ink ;)
if you like LEGO and castles you will probably enjoy this post I wrote last April or May: https://steemit.com/travel/@vincentnijman/photo-stories-my-love-for-castles-explained-a-childhood-story
doesn’t popular just mean attracting many people? I guess sheep attract other sheep, like shit attracts flies ;)
I prefer a LEGO castle over a badly restorated / renovated one, even though LEGO is popular stuff.
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You could just go buy some bricks from the builders and open a store saying that they are from the Tha Phae Gate. It wouldn't really be a lie either. I know those markets as once you have seen one,you have seen them all.
I know it isn't nice but I laugh when i see people wearing the stuff they sell there. I dunno for sure but i think they believe they are dressing like a local but the locals are all wearing what these people would probably be wearing if they were back in their home countries. :P
Haha! This is very entertaining for me as you’ve got very sharp eyes! Nobody could fool you!
Well! That’s life! There are the good, bad and ugly things in Thailand! So many contradictions and so much confusion in their own sets of values!
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well, i don't want to come down on them for it not being authentic. They want it to be as beautiful as possible because it is busy as can be pretty much all the time. I currently live half a km from this and see it a lot.
@gooddream, In my opinion, Ancient walls are essential part of History no matter which geography, and these walls are awesome too and hope that you've really enjoyed this exploration. Stay blessed.