Cultural Chiang Mai

The workshop for the years seven and eight at Lanna International School went very well. Our Musical Director, David, gave a talk on Renaissance music illustrated by various madrigals sung by our group. It was a very well thought-out talk and very informative.
We have also been to two concerts; one was by the Hwa Chong Institute String Ensemble from Singapore and the other by The Chiang Mai Youth Philharmonic Band & Symphony Orchestra - who were joined by the Sacred Music Singers from Payap University. Both concerts were most enjoyable and are only a tiny sample of the many cultural delights on offer in Chiang Mai.
On Sunday we attempted to go to the Hill Tribe Museum, but it was closed; so we decided to visit the Hill Tribe people themselves in their village on Doi Suthep Mountain. Unfortunately the mountain was shrouded in mist, so we didn't have fine views, but we wandered around their village and visited their own, smaller, museum. We watched several women embroidering articles for sale, and one drawing intricate patterns to be used as a template for embroidery; they really are very highly skilled. (See photo of embroidered goods for sale.)
We are now in the rainy season, and not a good time for tourism, but, with not so many tourists about, shopping is once more a pleasure! The cooler temperatures also enable us to walk more and David even managed to get a run in at six o'clock this morning. He ran around the moat (each side is one-and-a half km) plus the two km there and back. While he was running, he noticed two Tai Chi groups in action. This is such an interesting city!