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<\/a><\/p>\nAfter a twenty-minute drive to the other side of Chiang Mai, we arrive at an intersection with a brightly lit shrine and several food carts.\u00a0 There are Buddhist monks standing in groups in several places and people are placing food items in gold-colored bowls held by the monks.\u00a0 They walk here every morning between 5:00am and 7:00am to receive donations and then walk back to the temple to distribute to those in need.\u00a0The proper procedure is to place the offering of food items in the bowls, then kneel and receive a chanted blessing from the monks in return.\u00a0 The rain makes it more interesting, combined with our repaired knees that don\u2019t feel that great when kneeling on pavement.\u00a0 We \u201csoldiered through\u201d, made our donation, and watched them walk back to the temple.\u00a0 It was raining so hard we didn\u2019t get many pictures.<\/p>\n
We continued to drive up the mountain for 20 more minutes.\u00a0 When we arrived at the small village that serves as the base area for Doi Suthep (the temple), Fa gets our tickets and we board a tram (funicular) to take us to the top.\u00a0 What a relief!\u00a0 I had read something about 300 steps to climb, but Fa decided it was too slick for us to take the stairs.\u00a0 That saved us from wimping out.<\/p>\n At the top, the temple area is beautiful and quiet.\u00a0 We\u2019re early, and few if any other visitors have arrived yet.\u00a0 The rain is continuing.\u00a0 No one may wear shoes in the temple area, so we\u2019re walking around barefoot in the rain.\u00a0Again, there\u2019s so much beauty.\u00a0The temple was originally built in 1572.\u00a0There are lots of monks around doing their monkly duties.\u00a0 In one of the smaller temples, we went in, trying to keep our heads below the level of the monk (as advised).\u00a0 As we kneeled (ouch) he sprinkled water on our heads to purify us, and then chanted a prayer.\u00a0 Normally, the view from the top of the mountain is gorgeous, but rain\/fog is not cooperating.<\/p>\n We rode the tram back to the bottom, and began a short drive to another temple near the city.\u00a0 It\u2019s called the Tunnel Temple.\u00a0 It\u2019s built into a hill with lots of small rooms branching off the main tunnel for some serious meditation.\u00a0 Above it all is a shrine built in the Sri Lankan style (as opposed to the Lanna or Bangkok style)<\/p>\n Next stop is a restaurant for breakfast.\u00a0 We had a chance to try Thai food cooked in the Northern style (different peppers and curries).\u00a0 It\u2019s slightly different and good.\u00a0 After breakfast, we\u2019re taken back to the hotel where we caught up on our sleep.<\/p>\n We finally cleaned up and headed out to make a laundry swap.\u00a0 We picked up our batch from yesterday, and left some more (can\u2019t beat the price, less than $4 for the 2nd<\/sup>batch).\u00a0 We returned to the room, dropped off the laundry and headed out the local night market.\u00a0 We walked about 10 minutes and began to pass shopkeepers setting up on the sidewalk.\u00a0We made a few small purchases, but kept walking until we finally reached the big market area.\u00a0 This market opens every evening at 6:00, closes at 11:00, and is open every day of the week.\u00a0 Everything \u201cThai\u201d that anyone could want can be found here.<\/p>\n We shopped for a couple of hours before eating dinner in a Thai restaurant in the market.\u00a0 The food was good and cost about $5.20, including drinks.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a fun evening of hanging out around the locals, the expats, and the tourists.\u00a0We made our way back to the room to prepare for our long drive tomorrow, even farther north, to Chiang Rai, near the borders with Myanmar and Laos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Our 6:00am departure today comes so early.\u00a0 Our guide, Fa, arrives just as we get to the lobby, so we\u2019re on our way quickly.\u00a0 We failed to pay attention to the weather (it\u2019s been great our entire trip), and it\u2019s … Continue reading <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>This may not be my best look?<\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0Not the best day for the panoramic view.<\/a><\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a>\u00a0 How about some fish to feed on the dead skin on your feet and legs? \u00a0It’s a “Fish Spa”.<\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a>\u00a0 On the way back to the hotel, on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n