Temples!

Chiang Mai Temples

One of the first things we did when we went to Chiang Mai was visit Wat Chedi Luang, which lies in the old town near the prominent Tha Phae gate. The dome shaped top at the peak was partially damaged in an earthquake years ago, but what remains stands diligently. To be honest I didn’t realize how majestic it was until I looked at the pictures we had taken there later that night. At Wat Chedi we spent some time talking to a monk. He reminded me of any other twenty-something college student. He hoped to be a travel agent someday, he likes Facebook, he would like to get married eventually, and had siblings and parents who were not monks. But for now, he is a monk (for only three more months, he told us excitedly).

Wat Umong lies at the base of the mountain Doi Suthep, which we also took a drive up, but that’s another story. Our visit to Wat Umong was short and sweet. It has some incredibly old Buddha statues and a small maze of tunnels that we walked through. And at the exit we tried some strange bean buns.