Rinda here for only my second post. It's hard to get hold of one of these computers with my highly tech-savvy family vying for them!
Today was my day to plan our activities (we take turns) and we took a tuk tuk a little ways out of Chiang Mai into the forest to a wonderful temple (wat) called U Mong. It was built in stages, but probably originally in the 13th and 14th centuries. There are several tunnels built into the hillside that end in alcoves for statuary and altars, and a huge bell shaped gold monument (I forget what they're called now) that one circles three times. The statuary all over the grounds is amazing... including two dragon shaped handrails on either side of the huge stone stairs that lead to the gold monument. Hard to describe, but we'll post photos when the technology allows again.
But the best part of the day was when we sat down in a common area to eat our peanut butter sandwiches and oranges as a mid-morning snack. There was a big group of people gathered for a family/friend outing and they had brought MOUNTAINS of food, cooked in huge pots and arranged on platters. They gradually invited us over to join them. We were all shy and there was a huge language barrier, but we managed. We laughed and did our best to communicate and enjoyed the food (though it was very spicy!). We contributed a sack of peanuts and another of little cookies. It was so good to spend time with Thai people outside of a customer/service relationship. They were so warm and welcoming and open. I will post the group picture as soon as we can too.
1 comment:
I love the "meeting the locals" story! That right there is a huge point of your whole adventure, isn't it: connecting with folks around the globe who are at once so different and yet so very much the same! How did you girls feel afterward? I can't wait to see the picture(s) of this meeting! All my love!
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