เชียงใหม่ - Chiang Mai

This past weekend we went to Chiang Mai. It was around an eight hour train ride away and we left at 10pm on Friday night but it was worth the wait! We went on a tour, attended church and went to the best market we had seen yet. Here are some of the experiences we had.

This was our hostel. Full of hippies (which we loved) and only 6 dollars a night. We split up into two rooms of three people and it was pretty nice! We had our own bathroom and the beds were clean! But the best part was that it was not only fifteen minute walk to the best market we had been to yet, but only five minutes away from an LDS chapel!

Entrance to our hostel.

The Saturday night market! So, we all bought WAY too much. But we also finished all our Christmas shopping. Family, be excited. All in all the market had great food, great souvenirs and this little cutie:

He was SO cute!

This little boy was standing in the middle of the pathway in front of his parent’s stand. He was singing “Mai ah la hee, Mai ah la ha” “Numa numa yay” song. But he hardly got through one line before he would just bend his body in half and start to laugh. He would then turn to his parents and they would be cracking up. It was SO cute. His little basket had a sign that said something in Thai and the word “Scholarship.” He was adorable. We just HAD to get a picture with him.  

Thai foot massages, they were incredible! They cost 60 Baht for 30 minutes, as 

you can see in the sign, 30 Baht is one dollar. You do the math. Worth it.

Church!! We had not been to church in Thailand yet. There is a small branch in a town about 40 minutes away but the first week we couldn't get in contact with the missionaries for directions and the second weekend we missed the train. So, this sign was extremely comforting to all of us! 

Church was fantastic. We walked in, and got head phones from the sister missionaries who

 would talk into a microphone and translate from Thai to English. The first speaker was a teenager

 and bore his testimony. He talked about one day going on his mission and how lucky he would 

consider himself to be able to go to an LDS temple just once in his life. His words touched my heart. In 

Provo, Utah I live in walking distance of a temple and it still is a challenge to attend regularly. To my LDS readers, make the Temple a priority. And to my non-LDS readers, ask me about the

 Mormon temples; I would LOVE to tell you about it!!

Banners in one of the temples we went inside. 

Two of us came upon this ruin. After spending quite a lot of time admiring it we looked up what time period it was built when we got home. Wikipedia told us that the temple was called “Wat Chedi Luang.” The construction of the temple began in the 14^th century and was originally meant to be a tomb for King Saen Muang Ma. But the king died after ten years of construction. In 1468 a large Emerald Buddha was placed inside but 77 years later, after an earthquake, the structure partially collapsed and the Buddha was then moved. The temple is now surrounded with other small structures and other temples that are stunning as well. 

Our first time seeing a fat buddha

We finished the day with lunch at a restaurant that served pasta, pizza, fried chicken, Mexican food and just about any mango dessert you could imagine. We were full of excitement! We finished feeling more full than we have since we arrived in Thailand. It was a perfect ending to our vacation

Heidi and I shared a pizza. We were SO excited to eat it!

This was the taxi that we took to the train station. They were everywhere it was fun to ride in them!

Trying to fit all of our purchases in the taxi.

Our train to head back home was very nice and very cheap. It never gets old that things in Thailand just work out that way! We had a sleeper and thank goodness because we were exhausted! Here is a picture of us in one of the rooms!

Next post will be more about our Saturday tour!! Elephant show, one hour and halt elephant ride, secluded temple that has over 500 steps, an amzing lunch, caving and the long-necked lady tribe! :)