Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Thailand Temples and time to spare

I was in Thailand for 5 weeks yet only had 3 full weeks of class, and 1 week of half day classes, so I had time to spare for adventures. Most of my adventures took place with my new friend from Belgium, Deniz. Together we explored Chiang Mai's central temple, Wat Chedi Luang and all of its colorful offerings. We had excellent timing and were there to listen to the Moncks chanting, and I fell in love with an enormous tree wrapped in colorful ribbons held in place with walking sticks.
Our second main temple adventure was to the very famous temple, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, situated at the top of Doi Suthep Mountain only about 15 Kilometers north of Chiang Mai. Myself, Deniz, and a few friends took a Songtaew (red truck taxi) up the steep, twisting and turning, stomach churning, 2 lane road to the temple. The most impressive part about this journey was the amount of cyclists that made the steep feat up the mountain, and the risky, steep, fast paced ride back down.
After arriving half way up the mountain and to the bottom of the temple, I had to catch my breath from the drive before ascending the 209 stairs to the temple. As Deniz and I walked around to collect snacks, we saw some other friends from school and were soon convinced to jump back into a Songtaew to drive another 30 minutes up the mountain to get a glimpse of village life. The Doi Pui village was beautiful! Though Chiang Mai is not grotesquely polluted, it was amazing to be surrounded by so much green and wildlife! Deniz and I took the low path and found a great waterfall to pose in front of, then joined up with our friends to enjoy some gardens, views, and
     
to make fun of the other tourists that rent local traditional clothes and wear them while posing for photos.
We then headed back down the mountain a bit as we were hungry and ready to check out the Temple. We ate a typical Northern dish, Kao Soi,


and then headed up the many steps lined by the Dragon rails. The Temple itself, like most of Thai Wats (temples), was overwhelming with sights, smells of candle wax and insence, sounds, and Buddha relics.

Asami, Megumi, and Yoko
 I felt very fortunate to have viewed these amazing historical and religiously important sites with my new friends.

On a seperate occasion, Deniz had a brillaint idea to see more places, faster, and cheaper- Rent bikes!!! This was a huge success. In addition to finding Chiang Mai's China town, crossing the river and venturing into the permanent night bazaar, we also road our bikes about 15 Kilometers from where we lived to relax by lake Huay Tung Thao.
Deniz and I were happy to find we went the right way!
This lake was stunningly calm, bathtub warm, and home to who knows what creatures. When we saw locals jump in (with their clothes on), we followed suit (but in our bathing suites), and we were relieved to be out of the direct sunlight and to enjoy some shade and food under our own lakeside bungalo hut. 


 
Just when the day couldn't get any better, a large group of university students invited us to swim with them. They were excited to practice their English skills and thought it was hilarious that we had ridden our bikes. We decided to call it a day once we dissapointed our new friends in not knowing words to the few American songs that they knew and were singing.                          

My last big adventure, in Chiang Mai and with Deniz, was also spent on a journey in a Songtaew, this time on an hour journey outside the city to enjoy the natural hot springs of     and in the accompany of other friends Mel and Ruth. We noticed the egg theme upon arrival, but it was not until we saw the geiser and small hot pool with pegs to hold baskets of eggs that we understood what to do: Buy a basket of eggs, place it in the naturally boiling water, and then anywhere from 7-15 min later, enjoy a soft-hard boiled egg!! This turned into a very tasty adventure, followed by a medicinal soak in the pools. 


                                   

                                     


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