Chiang Mia: Wats and Wandering on 9/28/13.

We had accumulated a lot more “treasures” by this point of the trip which meant another trip and adventure to a post office. We weren’t sure what to expect after our experience with the Chinese postal system so we brought everything in bags so each item could be inspected if necessary. Turned out not to be the case so I bought a large box for 14thb, packed everything in and again mailed the 10lb box via SAL (sea, air, land) for 1900thb, about $65.

· I received an email from Zachary on October 11th saying the parcel we’d sent from China had arrived home so that was welcome news. He asked if he could open it and I replied, “Not a chance, bud but good try!” P.S. Got an email from Zachary just yesterday, October 18^th, saying this second parcel was ready to be picked up at the post office so great news it got home so quickly.

· It was pouring cats and dogs for 10 minutes or so, then let up for about 20 minutes and then the whole cycle would begin again. We actually didn’t mind the rain and had expected it b/c we’d come in the rainy season after all.

· As this was our day to do what we wanted with no tours planned, we decided to just wander around and see some of the wats that CM is justifiably so famous for.

· The first we walked to was Wat Chiang Man; it’s considered to be the oldest in the city’s walls and its Crystal Buddha is believed to have the power to bring seasonal rains. Guess he does at least judging by our experience! The wat had scads of elephants everywhere you looked – they will always remind me of you, Natalie, even though I know you’ve long overgrown your love of elephants.

· Our next stop was at Wat Phra Sang According to the travel info I had, the wat is the star amid the city’s famous temples and is a perfect example of Lanna architecture; it was established in 1345. I had to borrow one of the sarongs available for those men and women not wearing clothing covering the knees. All the temples in CM had sarongs or robes (think dressing gown style) for people to borrow; the colors and styles varied from temple to temple.

· Next on our tour of the temples was Wat Phan Tao, a small temple known for its molded teak panels and pillars.

· Decided to take a welcome break from the wats and the rain in Restaurant 92; paid just 162thb for Lipton’s hot tea, chicken, rice and veggies for me and pork, stir fried noodles, veggies and coke for Steven; a delicious meal in serene surroundings.

· Visited just one more temple, Wat Chedi Luang, before we declared it a day because after seeing so many wats in a fairly short period of time, it is easy, at least for us, to get “templed out”; we also wanted to rest up before hitting the Saturday Night Walking Street; it was fun going there as the items were very different from those sold elsewhere.

· A few, really just a few, photos now!

For those of you lucky enough to have traveled over the pond, this should bring back many memories of the English phone booth.

Loved the shape, colors and design.

Another market for us to peek through.

Saw these Road Safety signs everywhere on the curbs in Chiang Mai. Not sure how useful they are at ankle level though!

The photos below are all at Wat Chiang Mun.

What a great pose!

Don't you just love the snazzy poncho left over from our day on DS?!

At so many of the wats in CM, people would have birds in cages just like these; the idea was tourists would be asked to pay a small sum to "free the birds" but tour books say the birds, once freed, are immediately recaptured.

The next lot of photos are at, drumroll please, Wat Phra Sang or Phrasang!

Thought these 2 wired or electric plaster monks were a kick as they kept repeating something to the effect of "Please give alms to the poor." Never saw anything like this except at Wat Phrasang.

Oh yes, this Buddha was the main attraction at the wat, not the plaster monks.

The sarong I borrowed.

I asked the monk, via pointing to him and my camera, if I may take a picture of him. He gestured for me to kneel down in front of him and he then blessed me and tied a white bracelet on my left wrist. What an honor. I just took it off yesterday for the first time as it was getting filthy and I was concerned it would fray and I'd lose it.