Chiang Mai Spirit Houses
Day two of watching the rain against my windows. Non-stop, solid rain. So this is what they mean by rainy season — I totally get it now. Living like I’m dying doesn’t mean it’s all sunshine and Chardonnay. Sometimes you’ve gotta throw in a little rain and Cabernet to mix it up. Fine by me. It’s kind of fun being up high while the streets below flood. Looking down at the little people, watching them float away. Hahaha. JK… Chiang Mai is not flooded. Yet.
In my old life, this sort of weather wouldn’t have dampened my spirit. Not one iota. If I needed anything from the grocery store, I’d just hop in my car and drive the mile to H‑E‑B. But living like I’m dying means living in the moment — because this moment is all we really have. And now in this moment.. I have no car, no food, and no umbrella.
Walking has been (and will remain) my mode of transportation until… who knows. Luckily, just stepping out of my building, I’m surrounded by a plethora of goods and services to sate my every need. Which is awesome. I’ve spent five weeks hoofing it across a good portion of Chiang Mai — exploring side streets, researching temples, photographing whatever catches my eye. My fascination with miniatures constantly draws me to these little shrines scattered across the city. Across all of Thailand, actually. They call them spirit houses, or san phra phum in Thai.
Some of these spirit houses have little people inside. Some with entire families. Others even have a mother‑in‑law suite where they stash the old folk. I’ve seen twin spirit houses, “mini‑me” spirit houses, and even one with a garage. Quite a few have ladders for the little people to climb out at night and play. Often, these spirit houses include animals. No dogs, though. I haven’t seen a single one. One massive spirit mansion had an entire zoo. Some have three‑headed creatures, some have monks, and one looked like it was hiding a harem.
Each one is unique in design, content, and materials. Most appear to be made of wood, but I’ve spotted a big concrete one and another that looked like ivory. There’s a gorgeous, massive, ornate spirit house at the entrance of the Maya Lifestyle Shopping Center, featuring a diva‑ish elephant lying on her side on a velvet couch. It’s basically the Kardashian model of spirit houses.
From what ChatGPT tells me, spirit houses are placed outside homes, businesses, and hotels to honor the guardian spirits of the land. This way, the spirits have their own hangout spot so they won’t wander inside and cause a ruckus. Food and drinks are offered daily — partly out of respect, partly out of fear that the spirits might come looking for it. Apparently, a lot of these spirits have a thing for strawberry Fanta. Go figure. Seen several bottles around Chiang Mai for sure. Chat says the red color represents a blood sacrifice, while the sugar satisfies their sweet tooth. Just for shits and giggles, I’m going to replace the soda with red sugar water… and see what happens.
No disrespect intended — I can’t be 100% sure, but unless it’s some kind of Santa Claus setup, I’d say these offerings mostly go untouched. Don’t hold me to that. It’s just a thought.
Along with food offerings, spirits are given incense, candles (smart, considering the lack of indoor plumbing), and colorful garlands to make them feel welcome and comfy. Basically, the idea is to make sure Casper stays friendly.
If I had a spirit house, my spirit would have a luxurious fur blanket, a ton of dogs, its own flower garden, a bidet with a heated seat, and a fully stocked wine cellar. My spirit house would be the hottest spot in Chiang Mai. All the other spirits would stay out late drinking my spirit’s wine, heading back at dawn stumbling up their ladders to sleep it off . My upgraded spirit house would be trashed — bidet backed up, empty strawberry Fanta bottles scattered in the garden, dogs playing tug‑of‑war with my fur blanket. Might have to rethink the wine cellar.
No matter. There are no houses for me in the foreseeable future. Until then, the only spirits I’ll be dealing with are the ones in my glass. Cheers! Now that’s the spirit.
