Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

---

Another great day in and around Chiang Mai. I rented a motorcycle and decided to drive out to a temple called Wat Rampeong to learn meditation from some English speaking monks. The motorcycle rental costs $3.50 for 24 hours....cheaper than the whole pizza and beer I had for dinner tonight (that was $4.00). Wat Rampeong is about 25 miles out from the city of Chiang Mai but pretty much a straight shot and easy traveling roads. On the way there I kept thinking about meditation and what I'd be asking the teacher and thought, I should stop for a bit of lunch before I arrive. So I stopped at a roadside restaurant which was not much more than a shanty with some tables. The people were wonderfully polite yet could not speak English any better than I could speak Thai. So I pointed and basically asked to have the same as my fellow dinners. I was brought a bowl of noodles with large chucks of boiled pig blood (I know this because we were told the night before that our little pig was a hit with the hill tribe for it's blood among other things). Very little goes to waste here in Thailand. Unfortunately, all but a few noodles I could slurp down wasted away at the table after I left. I did try but couldn't really only choke down 2 chucks of purple/grey curd.
Back on the road I arrived at the temple and waited but the only one who came to welcome me where a pack of small dogs. I didn't want to start opening the doors to the building so after about 20 minutes of waiting, I left. The day was definitly not a bust. After 3 days in Chiang Mai, you get your bearings and start to feel the tempo of the city. Being driven around in a tuk tuk, the traffic appears crazy, but when you're behind the wheel of a motorcycle, it's actually a lot of fun and everyone just seems to find their place on the road. The city is big enough to get lost but small enough to find your way out again. I drove around and around in every direction and found many stops I never would have if I were walking or taking a taxi. I highly recommend renting a motorcyle or scooter if anyone reading this plans to visit Chiang Mai (can't say the same about Bangkok...alittle too large for bike rental).
After dinner I went to the night market and did some shopping. Everyone is haggling for a good bargin and they are everywhere to be had. Many hill tribe people bring their beautiful artwork and hand crafts to the market. You can also buy most everything from watches made in china to T-shirts to Samuri swords. Tomorrow I'm heading over the board to Laos for the day with a small tour. I'll definitely take some pictures. Hey, tomorrow marks the 12 day count down till Christmas....Happy Holidays everyone.

---