The first order of business is to give you a picture tour of my 2 1/2 week break between semesters.
I flew up to Chiang Mai to meet Jordan, the other PiA teacher in Thailand who is a friend from UPS, and begin our trip. While she finished up her semester teaching boisterous Thai first graders, I went rock climbing at Crazy Horse, northern Thailand's up-and-coming rock climbing hotspot. I went with a group called Chiang Mai Rock Climbing, a company started by a former PiA fellow!
The first place Jordan and I visited was Doi Inthanon, the tallest mountain in Thailand, just outside of Chiang Mai. On the way up we stopped our struggling motorbike and walked to a lovely waterfall, fully a-"waref" the dangers.
We eventually made it to the top, where we met an awesome beatle, and got caught in a torential down-pour soon after.
On the way back down the mountain we stopped to admire the clouds and mountains of Chiang Mai.
I also saw my first rainbow in Thailand!
We stopped again to see another beautiful waterfall.
Next, we took the bus to Chaing Rai, a smaller city north of Chiang Mai. We arrived late, but after a night of rest we took off on foot and then bicycles to explore. We visited several wats, including the original location of the Emerald Buddha that now resides at Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok.
We also stumbled upon this remarkable shrine. Wang...I mean... what do those look like to you?
We also visited the Hill Tribe Museum that runs hill tribe treks to raise money for reproductive health and education among the more rural hill tribes. I think they have a pretty good sense of humor.
On our trek the next day, we traveled by boat to a fascinating cave wat.
The next spot on our trek was a Karen village where the men train elephants. They seemed happy for the banana snacks and we were just as happy to give them. Elephant kisses are delightfully slobbery things!
We trekked through some beautiful green hills and mountains.
We stopped for lunch before passing through this village where a woman saw us and eagerly pulled out her woven wears and showed us how she spins her wool.
Phitsanulok was our next stop south of Chiang Rai. It was a rough day, as we took the night bus into town and and an evening bus out, but we visited some beautiful wats. The most stunning was Wat Phra Si, which contains the Chinnarat Buddha, one of Thailand's most revered and copied images. It has a unique flame-like halo around the head and torso that turns up at the bottom to become dragon serpents.
Our next city, Sukhothai, is west of Phitsanulok, and the ancient Thai capital of the 13th and 14th centuries. The World Heritage site has around 45 sq kilometers of stunning ruins that we were able to walk right up to and around. We rented bicycles and explored the entire historical park. Lots of pictures of Sukhothai follow...
Ancient Sukotahi wat puppies!
At the end of our day we came to a hill with a raised stone path that led to another giant Buddha, but this one overlooked the entire ancient city. There are 7 different forms of Buddha images that we saw and this one represents calming strife.
Our next stop was Ayuthaya, the Thai capital from the late 14th century to the 18th century, following the fall of Sukhothai. Prior to the rise of the Ayuthaya era, the city was a Khmer outpost, which accounts for the many Khmer style temple ruins. We rented bicycles again and started out the day at one of the most visited locations in the city, the ruined Wat Phra Mahathat, where a Buddha head that was abandoned Burmese soldier who sacked the city 1767, is now encased in tree roots.
We also visited some functioning wats that were mixed in with the wat ruins in Ayuthaya. On of them featured a lovely medium-sized reclining Buddha, but the most interesting detail of this wat was the electronic merit machine. The photo is overexposed, but you can see that it is now possible to givedonations to this trendy temple via credit card.
Our next city, Sukhothai, is west of Phitsanulok, and the ancient Thai capital of the 13th and 14th centuries. The World Heritage site has around 45 sq kilometers of stunning ruins that we were able to walk right up to and around. We rented bicycles and explored the entire historical park. Lots of pictures of Sukhothai follow...
Ancient Sukotahi wat puppies!
At the end of our day we came to a hill with a raised stone path that led to another giant Buddha, but this one overlooked the entire ancient city. There are 7 different forms of Buddha images that we saw and this one represents calming strife.
Our next stop was Ayuthaya, the Thai capital from the late 14th century to the 18th century, following the fall of Sukhothai. Prior to the rise of the Ayuthaya era, the city was a Khmer outpost, which accounts for the many Khmer style temple ruins. We rented bicycles again and started out the day at one of the most visited locations in the city, the ruined Wat Phra Mahathat, where a Buddha head that was abandoned Burmese soldier who sacked the city 1767, is now encased in tree roots.
We also visited some functioning wats that were mixed in with the wat ruins in Ayuthaya. On of them featured a lovely medium-sized reclining Buddha, but the most interesting detail of this wat was the electronic merit machine. The photo is overexposed, but you can see that it is now possible to givedonations to this trendy temple via credit card.
After a day of exploring temple ruins, we took a sunset boat tour of active wats and ruins outside the river-like moat that surrounds Ayuthaya.
The most impressive was Wat Phanan Choeng, which features a 19 meter-high sitting Buddha and a gallery of 84, 000 Buddha images that sit in crevices that line the walls of the main chamber.
The most impressive was Wat Phanan Choeng, which features a 19 meter-high sitting Buddha and a gallery of 84, 000 Buddha images that sit in crevices that line the walls of the main chamber.
Bangkok, the current capital city of Thailand, was our next destination. We visited the famous Wat Phra Kaew, which houses the revered Emerald Buddha, the monarchy's Grand Palace, and the quirky Wat Pho.
Getting around Bangkok was an adventure in itself. We took the Chao Phraya express boats up the river to the Wats and Palace in Ko Ratanakosin. We rode the highly efficient sky train above the city, and the kilometers of escalators when we entered the grand shopping centers to escape the heat and exhaust fumes of the city streets.
We visited the beautifully preserved house of Jim Thompson, the American who revived the Thai silk industry in the early 1900's and mysteriously disappeared in 1967 in western Malaysia. We also braved the lively and congested Chatuchak Weekend Market, the largest market in Thailand, but only lasted an hour.
With a sigh of relief, Jordan and I left fast-paced Bangkok for the beaches and islands of southern Thailand. We spent two days on the lovely and still relatively undeveloped beaches of Ko Tao in the Gulf of Thailand. After getting a taste of beach bumming, snorkeling, and kayaking, we spent a day inland to visit one of the last Thai shadow puppet studios, then crossed the southern peninsula for more relaxing and snorkeling on the beaches of Ko Phi Phi in the Andaman Sea.
Our last weekend, before Jordan flew back to Chiang Mai, was spent lounging at my house in beautiful Bangsak. After a two weeks of a wonderful but whirlwind trip of Thailand, it felt good to be home.
We visited the beautifully preserved house of Jim Thompson, the American who revived the Thai silk industry in the early 1900's and mysteriously disappeared in 1967 in western Malaysia. We also braved the lively and congested Chatuchak Weekend Market, the largest market in Thailand, but only lasted an hour.
With a sigh of relief, Jordan and I left fast-paced Bangkok for the beaches and islands of southern Thailand. We spent two days on the lovely and still relatively undeveloped beaches of Ko Tao in the Gulf of Thailand. After getting a taste of beach bumming, snorkeling, and kayaking, we spent a day inland to visit one of the last Thai shadow puppet studios, then crossed the southern peninsula for more relaxing and snorkeling on the beaches of Ko Phi Phi in the Andaman Sea.
Our last weekend, before Jordan flew back to Chiang Mai, was spent lounging at my house in beautiful Bangsak. After a two weeks of a wonderful but whirlwind trip of Thailand, it felt good to be home.
