CHIANG MAI (Day 7)

In the morning, I headed out to visit a few wats (temples). Immediately I met Carol, a woman from California, and we toured some together. She had a map that listed every single wat. There were TONS of them.

We started with a repeat: Wat Mahawan

The same praying monkey and elephant image

Next was Wat Bupharam. Along with beautiful imagery outside, there were many incredible things inside... gold Buddhas, emerald Buddhas, painted ceilings, and even the largest teak Buddha in the world.

Nagas

Handrails

The teak Buddha

Across the street was Wat Saen Fang. Unfortunately the gate was closed.

Some boys entered the street dressed up as a Chinese dragon and were playing a drum. They went into every store asking for temple donations.

A bit farther out we visited Wat U-Pakut.

Carol and I parted ways and I met Gerald for lunch. Afterwards, we walked out to the river. Nearby was a market and the brightly colored Pung Tao Gong ancestral temple.

In the late afternoon, we made our way to the train station. Our overnight train left on time. We chatted and ate to pass the time. I read an article in the newspaper about how there was a "holy cow" discovered in Phnom Penh. However, the deputy governor disputed it because apparently they'd already HAD a holy cow a mere year and a half ago and that they don't occur that often! Duh.

At 7:30 pm, they set up the beds.

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