A Day of Meandering

A SURPRISING FIND

By now you've probably figure out that our travel plans are not set in stone. In fact, you might say we're pretty flexible when it comes to travelling. Today our only goal was to have coffee at "Into the Woods" and decide from there.  At the coffee shop we met a young American who had just returned from a weeklong meditation retreat in the hills outside Chiang Mai. It sounded wonderful but we had a flight out of the city in a couple of days so we put it on our "Next Time" list. Instead we chose to do what we do best - wander. If you're really good at it, it only takes a few minutes to get lost. We had moved away from the busy streets and down a quiet Soi (side lane). We were soon in our own quiet world.

THE DESERTED TEMPLE COMPLEX

We followed a long white wall to a gate that opened into a large Temple Complex. It was totally deserted except for a couple of workmen. Ok, so no one said it was closed and no one seemed to mind we were there so in we went. It had a large statue of an elephant outside one of the temples so we knew we were on the right track. The site had an ancient stupa as well as several temples bedecked with fantastic beasts and demons. 

MONKS AND DOGS

A little pack of dogs lounged about in the courtyard. Every now and then monks would appear and disappear at the doorways. We spent the afternoon walking around all the buildings then found a place to relax in the shade of the stupa.

BEASTS AND DEMONS GUARD THE BUILDINGS

We still didn't know where we were but I took a picture of a sign in Thai which we hope we can decipher later. Then it was time to return to the real world. We found a Songthaew to take us to our favourite restaurant: 92 Rachadamnoen conveniently located across the street from the central police station. I always tell the drivers to take us to the police. It seems to speed the trip.

A FEAST OF THAI FOOD

We ordered a big meal of Thai food including Corinne's favourite northern dish: Khao Soi Soup.  After finishing the iced coffee we remembered that Wat Phra Singh, the temple we saw last night, was at the end of the street. We decided to walk back that way to see the golden Buddha in daylight. The temple was surrounded by gardens that we had missed seeing the evening before. 

WORDS OF WISDOM

There was a grove of trees with words of wisdom attached to the trunks and also the monk's residences were nearby. In a secluded area, there was a special shelter that housed a giant reclining gold Buddha as well as altars for the faithful to light candles and burn incense.

THE GOLDEN RECLINING BUDDHA

While enjoying the peace and tranquility of the garden we could hear off in the distance the sound of monks chanting. We had arrived just in time for the evening service. We went into the temple and saw a large group of young monks being led by the abbot in a call and response ceremony.

THE CHANTING MONKS

It provided the perfect opportunity for us to sit with them and practice our meditation.  Half way through a stray dog wandered through the group but no one seemed too concerned. Afterwards, the sun had already started setting so we enjoyed the final golden hour out on the temple terrace. 

THE GOLDEN HOUR