Advertisement
Published: September 27th 2014
Happy Saturday, Followers!
And a happy Saturday to those of us who have finally finished the dreaded Week 3 of the CELTA course. They've quite literally cranked up the heat on us at school - so a day of rest and relaxation away from that center was a welcome, welcome thing indeed.
Yesterday, I declared my plans to do something wildly different with this weekend to my class. Tired of bars and street markets, I was bound and determined to find something uniquely Chiang Mai-ish to do. My original hope was to visit the tigers at the Tiger Kingdom. That idea fell through when the cost to get there plus the cost to hang out in said tigers' cages plus the poor timing all worked together to crash that party. Maybe next time, tigers. There would definitely have been some serious experience to be gained in hanging out in a tiger cage all afternoon... but I think that my Saturday was spent in a wonderfully serendipitous, out-of-the-routine fashion despite all that.
My friend Joe and I got up and trekked out to hitch a ride to town this morning. Originally, we had been planning to hike
up Doi Suthep (Doi = mountain, Suthep is the name of a guy) to get to the largest temple in Chiang Mai, Wat Phrathat. But, the high chance of rain and the 12km (7.5 mile) uphill hike deterred us from that idea. Instead, we shared a songthaew (the red truck-taxi pictured in previous entries) with a handful of Chinese tourists and whirled around the switchback roads to the top that way. Quite the adventure, let me tell you. Our extreme car-sickness led to an "I need a minute" moment of peace on a bench with banana-chocolate waffles and chicken wings. Who knew that chicken and waffles could be a thing in Thailand, too?
With our footing found and our ambitions re-fired, we faced the 300-step serpent's staircase to the entrance to Wat Phrathat.
Now, I've seen my share of temples in these last couple years in Asia. I'm familiar with how elaborate and dazzling they can be, and I've seen a fair spectrum of each of these. This one? Tops the charts. Even on this cloudy day, the central "chedi" is entirely covered in a shimmering gold that bites at your eyes as you enter. It's nearly silent
within the temple walls, despite still being outdoors, so there's also an eerie heaviness to the air. Of course, it smells of incense and - a unique characteristic that stands out for me about That temples - rings of the occasional bell toll as people chime gigantic bells to purify the temple air, send their prayers to heaven and to protect themselves from evil. Along those lines, Joe and I made the decision to enter the main "bot" where the largest Buddha sits under the watchful eye of a seated monk. There, you're required to immediately fall to your knees and, out of respect, ought not to rise to your feet until you are dismissed or choose to exit. Once you're in the bot, you certainly aren't required to follow through with the blessing ritual, but it's an experience worth having if you can. The monk present in the bot beckoned us forward and encouraged us to lower our heads. Using sticks of incense, he sprinkled blessed water on our shoulders and heads while chanting, finalizing the deal by graciously translating the gist: "happy! happy for you! good luck! good luck for you! happy! good luck! ok!" And, with the
traditional Thai laugh and high spirits, we were thanked and excused from the hall.
We decided to take part in several other rituals on this particular visit as well. Joe chose to light candles, give his thanks and participate in a walking meditation that involves a lotus flower and a square path around the golden chedi. Meanwhile, I was busy signing my name on the great monk's robe guest book that is wrapped nightly around the chedi and kept there to commemorate your presence there.
Having had our fill of the Wat for one day, Joe and I bought a few trinkets, then ran to share another songthaew with a British backpacking couple. I continue to love this part of traveling -- meeting random people with the most exquisite stories. In short, these two had just come off a year of coaching teambuilding courses at a ropes course facility whilst living and helping to maintain a B&B in Australia. They're continuing on now to find more work and continue their nomadic ways of being. Brilliant line of work for a pair of early-20-somethings to be in if you ask me. Well done to them! Anyway, so we wound
our way back down the mountain to the entrance of the Chiang Mai zoo where we got our start this morning.
The Chiang Mai Zoo took up the rest of our daylit Saturday.
The zoo is pretty all right! (And very impressive for an Asian zoo, if I may present my opinion here). The animals are all clearly well-cared for, and there are no square, concrete cells to be found. All of the enclosures are open-air and well-maintained. Some are still a bit small for what us western-types would like to see... but it's gorgeous, hilly and full of all kinds of trees from all over the world. Highlights from my day at the zoo include:
Feeding the flamingos. This got me so giddy that I wound up giggling like a four-year-old. I was amped about spending the afternoon at a zoo and this was a great start to it.
Feeding the giraffes. Amazing. Their tongues are hilarious! And the baby was precious.
The tiger roaring. As soon as we entered the zoo, the tiger was full of activity and sounds to share with anyone who'd stop and hear him.
The ring-tailed lemurs!!!! I
like to move it, move it! I like to move it, move it! None of them sang for me, despite my gracious request. But they did pose nicely for pictures when I sang. I'm convinced the two are connected.
Our trek across the bridge in the woods. Everyone else opted to take buses around... we managed to find peace and tranquility around all the bends thanks to our decision to walk the path instead.
The screaming deer-things... WTH?
PYGMY HIPPOS!!!!!!
And of course, we opted to pay a little extra to visit ChuangChuang the Giant Panda. ChuangChuang wasn't very active today. His Queen, Lin-Hui, was off resting for the day because tomorrow is her big birthday celebration. So, there wasn't as much joy in the moment of visiting the Pandas as I'd originally anticipated. In fact, hanging out with ChuangChuang made me feel a little sad. But, I'm very glad that I had the opportunity to see him and he was everything I could've hoped for 😊
All good things must come to an end...
By 6:00, Joe and I were in our third and final songtheaw for the day; this one
Moments of Tranquility
...brought to you by walking.heading home to the resort. I went for a quick swim to shake off the day's exertion, and otherwise found myself back here in the hotel room yet again.
Tomorrow, it's off to another fun-filled day of homework, perhaps some leisure time by the pool and/or a brunch with Bethany! But, it's back to the grind... so I'm thankful for this day spent doing something completely different!!!
Next time I talk to you, I'll be CELTA certified (assuming everything goes well) and no longer in Chiang Mai. Until then, have a terrific week, y'all!
(As always, more photos can be seen below/by clicking on a photo, or on Facebook!)
Advertisement
Tot: 0.078s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 14; qc: 23; dbt: 0.0435s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
