Temples, Monks, Googling and Slushies

11/01/10

Today was another sedate day. We spent the morning lazing around our homestay, talking to our hosts Peter and Pai.

Around midday we headed back into Chiang Mai to go on a city and temples tour. We saw several of Chaing Mai's most well known temples, including one that was a replica of the temple in which Buddha gained enlightenment. At that temple, there was also a tree planted from the seeds from the tree which Buddha sat under during aforementioned enlightenment. Kinda cool, especially when this "offspring" tree was over 600 years old.

We also learned some more about the ways of Thai Monks. Originally, being a Monk was a very strict affair - they were allowed no possesions, no fraternizing with technology of any form, and only allowed to eat one meal a day in the morning and drink in the afternoon.

When we were at one of the temples, we saw a Monk drinking a 7/11 Slushie, and another one who was googling away on his laptop. Gotta love how the times have changed...

On the tour, we also had a look around a proper food market in Chiang Mai. It was interesting to see all the different meats and vegetables that were around, including eggplants that actually looked like eggs! Emma was excited.

Oh, and here's a link to some of our photos so far:

http://picasaweb.google.com/MechaDoyvid21/ThailandShenanigans

Next up: Mae Hong Son! The Karana Downs of Thailand!


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