Touring Chiang Mai

  Chiang Mai, Thailand
Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Tuk-Tuks in front of the Montri Hotel

Today we awoke to a beautiful sunrise over the streets of Chiang Mai. Golden spires of Buddhist temples gleamed in the distance, and a group of of people silently performed their early-morning Thai Chi exercises in the courtyard across from our hotel. They were so graceful that is looked more like a dance.

Breakfast in the Sunshine at the Montri Hotel

We enjoyed breakfast outside in the warm sunshine on the patio in front of the hotel, as we watched the tuk-tuks (motorbike taxis) go by. Our breakfast choices were Musli with fresh fruit & yogurt, bacon & eggs with toast, or fruit & bagel. We are all enjoying the fresh fruit drinks on ice, and are trying every flavor they offer (watermellon, mango, pinneapple, strawberry, banana, etc.).  

Buddhist Temple

After breakfast, we sorted-out items we had brought in our Action-packers for the missionaries,and distributed them.

Snake Guardians at the Temple

Then we ventured to the Day Market near the river. It was only a few blocks from our hotel, so we walked, and meandered through a Buddhist temple along the way.

Bug Vendor in the Day Market

The market was very crowded, and we found MANY items for sale such as exotic foods, hand-crafted items, and BUGS to eat (but we all passed on this experience). PHOTO_ID_R=song-tow-xred-bus-taxix.jpg]We hailed a song-tow (red bus taxi) for a ride back to the hotel to get ready for a special party.

We met the Dee family at a nice restaurant on a lake. Write Dee and his wife, Evelyn, are very good friends with Terry and Jocelyn. Write Dee and his son, Joe, have been guides, drivers, and interpreters for Terry & Jocelyn on several previous Alaska Team trips. Both familes have basically adopted each other, and continue to keep in contact. Jocelyn refers to Write Dee as her Karen father, and was pleased to introduce him to her Alaskan father, Pastor Jack.