Wat Daowadung

This Buddhist temple is only a few steps from our home and quite apart from the Old City temples. It is small by comparison to other temples and quite peaceful. We had to dress appropriately to visit the Wat, women must wear long clothes to cover down below their knees and at least over their shoulders while men need only wear shirts with short sleeves and shorts. Once we had removed our shoes, we were invited into the temple by several elderly ladies who brought us sticky rice treats and offered us chairs to sit.

We were joined by a young monk named Somsi (sp?) who sat with us and chatted about the life of a Buddhist monk in Chiang Mai. He explained about their daily routines and how someone might become a monk. We learned that some of the youngest monks have been orphaned and are taken in by the monasteries. There are female Buddhist monks, but they have many more rules to follow than the men. Some Thais don’t want to socialize with the monks because they use “elevated” words which not everybody knows.

Somsi’s English was excellent so I asked him how he had learned? He told us that the monks study English at school but YouTube is the best source!
- GeoffRead more