Shot in Wat Phra Singh. I thought it was a real monk at first, because I have heard some monks do that as part of their spiritual path to meditate without any movement or influence from the environment. But I found out later that it was just a wax model of a real monk. I actually was worried for a while whether I should take a picture because I didn't want to be disrespectful, and it turned out he was not real LOL
We took a super early flight to Chiang-Mai from Hong Kong, and arrived at the hostel before 9am, which means we still had all day to explore the area! We got a map from the hostel and it had all the attractions mapped out! We normally don't like to take taxi, we usually either walk or take public transportation, but in Chiang-Mai, it doesn't seem like there's a lot of public transportation going on. Everybody owns a motorcycle to get around. So, we decided to walk. On the way to our first destination, we walked past a lot of street food and markets, and they all looked soooooo good. We got a couple of things without even knowing what they were because they are all in Thai, but they all taste FREAKING good! The mix of the different spices in my mouth is just indescribable. You have never had real Thai food until you go to Thailand!
Wat Hopping
There are so many Wats that you cannot possibly go to every single one of them in one day. But there are a few must go! Wat Phra Singh (Temple of the Lion Buddha), Wat Chedi Luang (Temple of the Big Stupa), and Wat Chiang Man, which are all located inside the walls of the ancient city (You can actually see the moats!). My favorite is the Wat Chedi Luang. It is an impressive dilapidated temple from the 14th - 15th century. Temples in Thailand are very different from temples in other countries, they are very grand, very ornate. This is their way of showing respect to the Buddha. Talking about respect, you are not allowed to wear shoes in the temple. You take off your shoes, leave them at the door, then you go in. Also, you are not allowed to wear revealing clothes in the temple. For men, you can get away with shorts that's at knee length, but for women, everything needs to be covered! No shorts, no tank tops, no low-V shirts, etc. But, it is really hot in Thailand (27 - 30 Celcius in December, can't imagine the summer here.....), so most temples have clothes for you to borrow to cover up before you walk in.
I have noticed this creature (pictures below) that always shows up at the entrance of the temple, a 5-headed snake. I don't really know the origin of this creature, but it is probably believed to protect the Buddha inside of the temple.
Wat unknown - temple found on the way to Wat Phra Singh
Wat Phra Singh
Wat Phan Thao - temple of a thousand kilns
The only temple so far that has a simpler design.
Wat Chedi Luang - the ruined temple
Wat Chiang Man - the oldest temple in Chiang-Mai
Wat Bupbharam - temple close to the night bazaar
Last stop of the day! FOOD!!!! We had some fried rice, green curry, and we found this AWESOME STREET DESSERT! Banana Roti with Nutella! I was very resistant to it at first because it didn't look particularly appealing, but OMG, it was so good!!! First, the banana in Thailand really tasted different. It is hard to describe, but it's just more flavorful, it tastes more like banana compared to what I have been eating in the States..... those sugary sweet taste banana-looking thingy. So, they made the roti fresh from dough, pan fried it with fresh cut banana wrapped inside. Then put some nutella on top, OMG, it's heaven!!!! This is definitely a must-eat! After dinner, we walked around the street vendors and got swimsuits for tomorrow's elephant ride!
Before we head back to the hostel, we saw this foot massage place, only 100 Baht for 30 mins. We have been walking all day, and our feet were so sore, so we decided to try it. Man, it felt so good afterwards! I feel like I have my feet back! We are definitely too far away from the hostel right now to walk back, so we decided to have a "tuk tuk" experience! And it was pretty fun! They drive like F1 racer, and we were back to the hostel in no time!
