Well, we haven’t quite adjusted to the jet lag and time zone differences yet.  We were both wide awake at 3:15am local time this morning!  We finished unpacking and organizing our hotel room until the sun came up.  By the way, we are staying at the Duangkamon Place, and it’s perfect for our needs!  The staff has been very friendly and helpful, and the room is very comfortable.  Yes, we do have hot water hehe.  I plan to post more info and pictures about the hotel soon.

Around 8:30am or so, we ventured out and explored some local city streets.  The town is active with people going about their Friday morning routine, but there’s also a subtle difference in the pace here.  People on their bicycles, scooters, and even the occasional car or truck do not seem rushed and stressed in the way that Western commuters would be on a Fri morning.  Also, we saw plenty of business owners sweeping the sidewalks and alleyways near their shops and even potting flowers and plants in large containers.  We have been very impressed with the level of cleanliness on the streets so far.

We walked to the Rim Ping (Ping River) and visited the expat-friendly premium grocery store of the same name – Rim Ping Supermarket.  While there, I purchased my first copy of the Chiang Mai Mail, the area’s English language newspaper.  While I have read the newspaper online for nearly a year, being able to purchase a copy at the newsstand officially makes us expats!  I also purchased a copy of Irrawaddy, a news magazine dedicated to Burma.  Feel free to check out the links to both, and I’ll also include them soon under the “Learn” tab of our blog.

We also saw our first Buddhist Temple – Wat Tha Satoi.  Parts of this temple date back to the 1400′s.  The ornate artwork and golden carvings were incredible, as you can see from these pictures.  A young Buddhist monk slowly approached us, not much older than a teenager, dressed in a traditional orange robe.  We froze for a moment, not knowing if 1) we were allowed to be on the temple’s property, 2) he caught us taking photos with our camera and was coming to confiscate it, 3) or if we were even allowed to greet him, make eye contact, etc.  He said a few words in Thai or English (or “Tinglish”?) that we didn’t understand.  Amber and I both smiled nervously, nodded, and waited to see what would happen next.  He gave us a big smile and slowly walked away.  We watched him walk for a while, since even at a distance, his bright orange robe stood out against the lush green gardens and golden altars.

As I mentioned earlier, the entire city seems to have a slower, more relaxed pace than we are used to, and nowhere is this more evident than at a temple.  During our brief encounter with the monk, the twinkle in his eyes and the smile on his face seemed to suggest that he possesses nothing, desires nothing, and is indifferent to what day of the week it is.

Tags: monk, sightseeing, temple