This is Wat Changlom, in the heart of the old city. It's an amazing old temple complex (wat is Thai for temple), named after the elephants you see here (chang is Thai for elephant). Chiang Mai used to be the capital of an independent Thai kingdom called Lanna, which was taken over by the Thai kingdom to the South in (I think) the 17th century. The Lanna royal family moved to Bangkok, and their descendants are still treated as very high ranking nobility. The last holder of the title died last year. In addition to being quite a high society party woman, she was famous for her purple hair, which always stood out in a crowd. (She married a commoner, so her children don't inherit the title).