Breakfast!
It was so much cooler than Bangkok and with way less traffic and tourists we knew we would probably really enjoy our Wat/Temple visits. We rented bikes at a small place down the road from our hotel and hopped on.
First we stopped at Wat Phra Singh, which houses the most revered Buddha image, the Lion Buddha!
Roof of the Phra...gorgeous!
Lion Buddha and his followers
Everywhere you wandered, there were hand-painted signs posted on the trees...
After pondering some deep messages and watching tourists queue up to have a "Monk Chat", we biked over to Wat Chedi Luang, a Wat built in 1441 that was damaged by earthquakes and cannon fire! The Emerald Buddha sat here before being moved to Bangkok and today there is a jade replica in its place.
The elephant missing its face and most of its ears is the only original statue
There were a few vendors with caged birds...good thing for this sign!
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| New(er) elephant statues |
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| Smaller temple in the courtyard, amazing glass work! |
Gorgeous woodwork on each window
Creepy life-like statues in glass cases!
Reclining Buddha
My favorite Buddha!
Some young acolytes playing futsol in the courtyard of the Monk school
The white Chedi is magnificent next to so much gold!
Inside the Phra - don't worry those monks aren't real
Monks in front of the Replica of the Emerald Buddha
Monks at prayer - classic travel photo!
A sweet spot to honor the gods
Gorgeously maintained pavilion
I love this Buddha because it shows the monkeys and elephants asking for protection...how sad but true!
For our last Wat of the day we zipped over to Wat Chiang Man, the oldest temple in Chiang Mai, built in 1296. It is modern meets stone age with a gold top and stone bottom. About 15 elephants surround the temple for safe keeping.
Inside the Wat
Tired of Wat'ing, we found an Indian food place close by and settled in for a feast! My butter chicken was SO hot I could barely eat it, but was starving from cycling all day so washed it down with a tall Leo beer.
Good night!
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