Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep Rajvoravihara

I was feeling fine when I woke up and we had a big breakfast in the hotel restaurant before meeting the group to head to the nearby temple on top of the mountain. The legend is that a previous monarch rode a white elephant through the jungle for 4 days and where it decided to have its "final rest" is where the temple say built. Who knows if that's the truth but it makes a good story!

The road up in the back of the trucks was incredibly windy and quick and a lot of people were not feeling so hot by the end of it, myself included. Guess I needed a bit more sleep than I had ;)

The temple itself was one of the most ornate I've seen on my travels so far! I wish I was feeling better to appreciate it better, but oh well. There were a number of steps to climb to get to the temple entry and after catching your breath, when you finally loom up you're greeted by ornate and jeweled statues of lions that personally look like dragons to me. Upon going through the gates theres a main temple on the centre of the plaza and a ring road around the temple with many smaller ones along the sides. We just kind of wandered observing all the gold and gilding along the way, stopping to enjoy the panoramic views of the city below. We went into the main temple as well of course and were impressed by the vibrancy and level of intricate detail in the building itself and the decor as well. Because you have to remove your shoes before entering the temple, I appreciated that they chose pavers that didn't retain heat as much as say concrete does. Well thought out for sure!

After the temple I returned to the hotel along with a few others and the remainder of the group went to the extreme activities center. I personally wasn't all that interested in drift carting or paint balling, I'll do those things at home! And I wanted to sleep. So I did, I had a short nap. Short because our room is an oven and I couldn't bear it any longer. So I wandered outside and found a little courtyard area to hang out in and relax. I called a friend and spoke for 2 and a half hours! Wasn't expecting that but it was really nice :) the conversation ended when a group was going out in search of food and I wanted to join them. So we went to a nearby juice bar and had some fresh fruit drinks and a tuna sandwich for me. The sandwich was average but hey I tried something new.

After the juice bar a whole group went off to a tattoo parlour to check out designs and get quotes for a later date on the trip. I hung back and had the hotel room all to myself! So I read, took a shower, enjoyed my own company. Eventually I wandered out to explore the city a bit and ended up eating some noodle soup from a street vendor. It was delicious and much preferable to all these "tourist " restaurants we seem to be eating at... I love the soups here! That's gonna be my breakfast next chance I get I think. After eating, I continued to read my book and just an overall great evening :)Leer más