Saturday morning temples and markets

It would not be a day touring Thailand without at least a few temples. Today was different however, in that we started at 6:00 a.m. to offer alms to the monks. We drove part way up the mountain; the monks, mostly school boys walk down the mountain. The government has restricted the solicitation of the tourists by the monks to this area between 6 and 8 a.m. We saw mostly Thai people being blessed but of course, they could have been Thai tourists. Each monk carried a large bowl. On the side of the road, vendors sold food they had prepared for supplicants to buy and offer to the monks. The monks are required to accept whatever they are offered. Wendy was unhappy to see small bags of Lays potato chips as part of the offerings but I thought it okay for young boys to get a treat. After putting our offering in their bowls, we squatted down and poured water into a small bowl while the monks chanted a standard blessing for health, prosperity and long life. Then we poured the water into a plant. After eating, the monks go to school.

Like Christians, Buddhists should not lie, cheat, commit adultery or steal. Buddhist monks seeking enlightenment cannot have money or possessions, take transportation, or eat more than once per day.

We also visited shrines to special Buddhists who performed extraordinary service to the community. One donated 10 million Bhatt to rebuild a temple destroyed by an earthquake. Another rallied the people to resist the rule of the 2nd king of northern Thailand (Chiang Mai was its capital). While not a monk, the Thai people also revere the daughter of the last northern king who was sent to be a consort to King Rama V, thereby cementing the alliance and preventing the Burmese from capturing northern Thailand. Our guide seems to see being conquered by the Burmese in the 1800s and being invaded by Chinese businessmen now as equally horrible.

As we drove back into town, we passed a large group of adult volunteers in blue and yellow shirts and hats. These are King Rama X volunteers who clean up the city.

The other events today were a rickshaw ride, the morning market and the daily market. The morning market only runs until 9:00 a.m. it is a cross between a huge food court and a produce and spice market. It was jammed packed. People come in to buy their breakfast and whatever supplies they need for the day. There was a huge variety of beautiful fruits and vegetables as well as odder foods like eels, pickled eggs, turtles, and frogs. There was a huge variety of flowers which are grown in the hills outside Chiag Mai and shipped all over the country.

We spent the afternoon at the hotel, ate lunch, read, napped and watched the staff set up for a wedding tomorrow morning.Read more