Tour de Wat

Trip Start Nov 05, 2006
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Trip End Jan 14, 2008


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Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Today was the "Tour de Wat."  A Wat is a Buddhist temple and Chiang Mai is home to over three hundred Wats.  When faced with the daunting task of 300 Wats, it is best to refer to the book and choose only three.  While this only covers one percent of your options, you get to see the most historical and ornate Wats, and let's be honest after awhile a Wat is a Wat is a Wat (say what?). 

First stop was Wat Phra Singh.  This is the nicest and most ornate Wat in the city.  It resides in a peaceful compound where even baby chickens can and do run around with no threat from predators.  Our book promised that we'd be acosted to assist with English homework from the kids attending the nearby school, but we had no such luck.  We paid our respects in the main temple, and promptly went to a second temple so Laura could light a joss stick in apology for stepping on the threshhold of the main temple a Gateway to Wat Land
a Gateway to Wat Land
 .  Threshholds are raised to keep ground clinging spirits out and stepping on the raised part is not permitted! 

Second stop was the more ancient Wat Chedi Luang.  Much older than the others, this Wat boasted a more ruinous look with some partial restoration attempted in the past.  Ultimately, the belief that "things age and decay" has taken precedent and the Wat will not be restored anymore. 

The third stop will have to wait for another time as like the rest of Thailand, Chian Mai is HOT!  Not as much as Bangkok, but after a couple hours in the sun, indoor air conditioning is the way to go.  We booked our cooking classes for the following day and called the rest of the day off to have some Thai food and beer!
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