Cambodia & Thailand Day 16
Cambodia & Thailand
DAY 16 - December 11, 2003 - Chiang Mai
We started a little later this morning as we chose not to go at 6 AM to give the Buddhist monks their morning meal. After breakfast, at 8 AM, we left the hotel to take a short city tour on our way to visit the Wat Jedi Luang temple and have a discussion with its Buddhist monks.
We passed the old part of the city with its ancient walls and moats. They have done a very nice job of cleaning and preserving this area of the city. On our way Anya told us about the Buddhist religion and the training involved for the monks. Boys can become novices at 8 and at 20 they are considered to be full monks.
The Mahamakut Buddhist University, in which the temple is located, has undergone renovations with help from a donation from the Grand Circle Foundation, a charitable organization that OAT supports.
We listened to one of the well traveled monks from the Jedi Luang Temple and he told us very specific teachings and the philosophy of his religion. He stressed the main three doctrines of Metta - doing good, not doing bad, and purifying ones mind. He also showed us three of the many types of meditations being: 1. Candle light meditation, 2. Breathing, 3. Walking.
After our discussion, we walked around the temple grounds and saw a family preparing for a funeral of the father of the mayor of Chiang Mai. They invited us in to pay our respects to the family and see the beautiful floral tributes.
Just a few blocks up the street we stopped at the cultural center, the site of a statue to the three neighboring kings (1500) who were good friends and united as blood brothers for political stability and solidarity.
Leaving there, we took a tour of the old city seeing the local market and beautiful city parks. We also passed by the night city market (bazaar) but all the stalls were closed and will not open again until after 5 PM.
We had an early lunch at the Kao Kab Gang Restaurant, right across the street from the internet locale that we have been using. This is a commercial area with clothing stores, offices, restaurants, and has a different flavor during the day than we have experienced at night.
Right after 12 noon, we were back on the bus and traveling to the top of the local national park overlooking the city to see the most magnificent of the city’s temples, Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep.
Going past the city zoo with its two new pandas from China, a goodwill gesture between the Chinese and the Thais, we rode up the mountain slope by negotiating hairpin turns until we arrived at the base of the temple.
We then had a choice, climb a flight of stairs or take the elevator. Gennie and I chose to climb the stairs, flanked by snarling naga serpents whose tails coil up to the temple, and she counted 308 steps. Once we reached the top we were met by Anya and those that chose the elevator ride.
The legend says that the relics of the Buddha were placed on a white elephant by the king of Chiang Mai and the elephant was allowed to roam until he stopped. This was the place that the king built the temple and the sacred relics are still found here today. We removed our shoes and walked through the temple with Anya pointing out the most celebrated statues.
We then went to the overlook and Chiang Mai seemed minute below. After retrieving our shoes we descended the hill and walked a short distance to the Imperial Jade and Orchid Center. We watched a video on the various kinds and colors of this precious stone and observed a demonstration of jade carving that is unique to this area. A few people purchased jewelry and we left at 3 PM.
It took us about 1.5 hours to get back to our hotel as the rush hour traffic had congested the streets. We had an hour to get ready for dinner, so we showered and got things ready.
At 5:30 we met at the lobby and we were divided into two groups. One was our Cambodia 8 and we got in a Toyota van and were taken to a home hosted meal. WOW, what an experience! Even though it took us about an hour to get there, due to the traffic and accidents, we were graciously welcomed by our hostess and her young child.
She also had her extended family there to help with the serving of the meal, pouring the wine, and taking care of us. She showed us her house and then we went back outside to her garden. We sat at a table for nine and the salad was our first course.
She showed us how to make it and each one of us had the pleasure of doing it ourselves, adding the spicy chili peppers and garlic to our taste. I added two chilies to mine and as I finished this first portion of the meal, my mouth was on fire. But it was excellent.
As a matter of fact, this may have been the best meal we have eaten here in Thailand. Our hostess had a limited English vocabulary but she, her mother, and her aunt were wonderful cooks. She explained to us how the three of them spent the afternoon cooking, how they prepared the food and got everything organized.
She enlightened us that she does this for OAT about 6 times per month, serving the same meal to each group of 8. At about 8:45 we left and it was a very easy ride home, 20 minutes, going through the market once again, seeing the fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers.
Accommodations: Park Hotel - Internet
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