Temples & Trekking

From Bangkok we flew north to the town of Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is the largest city in the north (population 1.5 million) but has more of a small-town feel. Thais and tourists flock to Chiang Mai for shopping in the markets (Night Market, Weekend Market, Saturday Market, and Sunday Market) and for adventure activities. We spent a day touring the wats inside the city's ancient walls, which along with a moat once served as the city's border. 
This slightly out-of-focus picture was taken by a friendly monk.  We asked the monks if we could take their picture (well, not so much asked as gestured with the camera) and then they asked us if they could take our picture.  This would be the first of many times that we had our picture taken by and with Thai tourists. 
The wats are pretty spectacular and have somehow managed to combine glitz with tranquility.  It was quite nice to go and sit in a wat and just take in the spiritual atmosphere.  We observed a daily prayer session with monks-in-training (adolescent boys).  Hearing their prayers felt similar to sitting in a synagogue.

We took a day trip 16 kilometers outside Chiang Mai and hiked to a waterfall in Doi Suthep National Park.  We emerged from the park at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, a major pilgrimage site for Buddhists and also wonderful views of Chiang Mai. 
One travels around Chaing Mai in song thaews, modified pickup trucks with benches in the back.  Flag one down, negotiate the rate with the driver for your destination, and hop in the back.

One of the most popular activities in the north is a trek to a hill tribe.  Though the brochures promise that you will spend time with the tribes, we knew the experience would be more touristy and lacking in direct interaction with the tribes.  Through grilling our guide we did manage to learn some things about the tribes from religion (while 80% of Thais are Buddhist, the hill tribespeople are more likely to be Catholic, Protestant, or "spiritual") to opinions on homosexuality (the tribes are not as open-minded as the rest of Thailand).  On our the three day/two night trek we hiked to two waterfalls, rafted on a bamboo (not as exciting as it sounds), huddled around the campfire learning lots about Holland and Czech (thanks to our tekking companions), and:

Yes, that's us on an elephant.  R is sitting on a little cart, but A is sitting right on the elephant's neck.  We purchased bananas to feed to the elephant and its baby (pictures in the slide show, below).  A would say "bo" (banana) and the elephant would raise its trunk to accept the treat.

The hike to the hill tribe village was pretty, taking us through forests, rice fields, and farms.   

We arrived back in Chiang Mai in time to celebrate the king's birthday.  The king is a BIG DEAL.  Though it's a constitutional monarchy, the king is the country's moral leader and he is much beloved, particularly for his work with the country's poor and rural communities.  Celebrations for his birthday continued for more than a week.

Our last day in Chiang Mai took us to a Thai cooking school.  We learned to make several of our new favorites, including tom yum soup, yellow curry with chicken, pad thai, and spring rolls.

We finished our trip with a traditional Thai massage.  Thai massages are quite . . . involved.  The masseuse uses his or her entire body to work your muscles and bend your joints.  R wishes she had her camera to take pictures of A's facial expressions during the massage.  He was not a fan of having an elbow dug into his neck, for one. 

See more pictures in the slide show below.  To spend more time with each picture or to see a larger image, click in the slide show to be taken to Picasa Web.


Coming up . . . the beach.