It is no coincidence that I selected Saturday as my day to take to the hills because I had read that one could visit the grounds of the winter residence of the King and Queen of Thailand, which is a mere 4 kilometers from Wat Doi Suthep. A driver and I haggled over the price and then I waited for a bit until he rounded up some other Thais that wanted to also visit the palace and soon I was in the front seat, the Thais were in the back benches, and further into the hills we drove. The driver and I spent both ways of the trip either politely arguing about the agreed-upon price (30 THB each way) or him trying to sell me something that was 40 THB – or both. However, I am a very stubborn customer and I held my own although I must admit that I have begun to dread these negotiating sessions. These drivers are very good at what they do – and the driving is a secondary consideration. Anyway, we pulled up to a gate with a humungous portrait of the King (do you think he ever gets tired of seeing his picture everywhere?), the driver told us that we had an hour, I paid the 50 THB entry fee and was delicately asked if I had anything to cover my shoulders. The King and Queen weren’t in residence to be offended by my bare shoulders; however, I smiled and obliging pulled out my shrug. I was then handed another handy map and so I took myself for the guided tour – in which it took me ¾ of the way to realize that I had already clapped eyes on the main attraction: The Bhubing Palace. Happily, I had snapped a nice picture of the place.

You see, it was only in 1933 that Chang Mai province joined nation-state of Siam (the name Siam was changed to Thailand in 1939 but that is another story). And it was only a few years previous to the joining that heralded the first visit of a central Thai monarch. King Rama VII and Queen Rambaibani arrived in 1927 at the head of an 84-elephant caravan – although the northern railway to Chang Mai had been completed some years before so we may safely assume that they did not ride elephants all the way from Bangkok to Chang Mai. During the early to mid 20th century, Chang Mai was an important producer of handcrafts including pottery, umbrellas, silverwork, and weaving although by the mid-1960s, tourism had replaced handcrafts as Chang Mai’s big industry.

In what had to have been a contributory factor in Chang Mai’s popularity was that their majesties, who in the past had solely granted royal audiences or welcomed visitors in the State residences in Bangkok, decided to build a seasonal residence and royal guesthouses in the Northern part of the country. The main palace and guesthouses were started and completed in 1961 – other buildings and gardens were added as time went by. The grounds and palace were designed in deference to Northern Thai architectural styles. The palace itself sits on stilts, with the upper floor containing the royal residence while the lower floor houses the entourage. Naturally. The palace is lovely in its simplicity but I suspect it a rather humble abode in comparison to European monarch residences and even Hearst castle, although the first guests to stay at the Palace were King Frederick and Queen Ingrid of Denmark in 1962. The pamphlet didn’t elaborate on whether their majesties had themselves a rollicking good time during that visit – or whether they ever returned.

Anyway, on my little tour, I walked past a lovely “Log Cabin” later built for HR Princess Chulabhorn, that has a nice little garden and (I suspect) a sweeping view of Chang Mai through a large set of windows. Next I passed the two-storied royal guesthouse and the palace itself – I was very interested in some frolicking statues in the garden as well as a set of ceramic guards beautifully framed by some red flowers in the distance. Next I turned to the left and followed a set of stone stairs through a lush forest/fern garden. The hush was lovely, as was the spongy mountain air. I followed signs to the reservoir – which turned out to be a rectangular reservoir that was saved from boringness by “The Fountain of Celestial Water of People” – which was built in 2004:

“[The] fountain was built in appreciation of Her Royal Majesty Sirikit’s gracious devotion: Her strength, Her kind heart, as well as Her wealth, for the happiness and well-being for Her people. Her Majesty’s overflowing benevolence towards Her Subjects is just like celestial water that feeds the land for prosperity.”

An utterly admirable sentiment although the translator could’ve been less enthusiastic with the comma. Amusingly, there were subtle, green mushroom-shaped Bose-brand speakers bordering the reservoir that played a hybrid of jazz/Thai music that I strongly suspect the fountain was choreographed to. Turning my back to the reservoir, I walked past a waffle stand but I nobly resisted the urge to buy one (which I regretted for hours afterwards) and continued past a truly lovely guesthouse that the Queen had had built in 1991, when she was studying the use of eucalyptus wood in the construction of buildings. The brochure did not elaborate on the results of the study but the Queen had created a deceptively simple, elegant house that was built into the hill above the reservoir and immediately caught my fancy. I wondered how they’d feel if I moved in. Anyway, past a few more guesthouses and modest villas, past a rose garden planted in dedication to the Queen’s late Lady in Waiting, and around a private royal shrine and I was back in the parking lot in plenty of time to shop before our driver collected us for the return trip to Doi Suthep.

I fancied some lunch before heading to my next intended destination: a waterfall. However, the driver offered me a ride to Chang Mai for 40 THB (v. suspicious price after paying 300 THB on the way up) and this was too good a negotiation to pass up so he and I agreed upon 30 THB to the gates of the waterfall. He thought I was a bit crazy because I intended to walk to the thing… and in the end, shunted me on to another driver that was heading to Chang Mai with the entire back of his sawngthaew already filled.