In Thailand, we seem to have more of it. The baht has this amazing super-power of changing my perception of money until four days into the trip and I'm haggling like mad over a two dollar taxi ride. Drinks that cost $3.50 in the states cost $.30 here, and paying more than $1.50 for a meal just seems like a waste.
Tonight, we met up with our British and American friends, Clair and Siobhan, to go to the mountaintop temple called Doi Suthep (pronounced Su-tep). It's a pretty cool story actually--one of the monks in another city told a monk to take the relics of Buddha and build a temple atop this mountain, and it became the eyes above what is now Chiang Mai. The temple complex is one of the prettiest I've ever seen. There are rows and rows I bells surrounding the central wat complex. In most temples, there's an outer area that surrounds the actual temple area. At Doi Suthep, the inner temple area is much more than just the wat--it contains many smaller wats and statues in addition to the giant golden chedi that sits in its center. To enter this inner area, you must leave your shoes behind and ascend the stairs (there are always stairs).
The picture with the eight Buddha statues with candles in front represent the different days of the week. Wednesday has two: one for the day and one for night. Each person has a specifically posed Buddha that is his/her personal statue. Which statue you use is determined by your day of birth. So go look up the year you were born and figure out what ye day was. When I can, I'll label the different Buddhas. I can't move the pics around right now because I'm on my phone...
After taking pictures in the temple, we rode our red truck taxi back down the mountain, regretfully leaving the cooler mountain air for the sweltering heat of asphalt and exhaust. Dinner was a delightful mix of street food from a nearby vendor.
Me: "do you want to eat it here?"
Stacey: " I'm sweating."
Me: "yeah, but...we could still eat it out here."
Stacey: "then my sweat could just drip straight into my food, give it a little salt, since the Thais apparently don't cook with it."
Me: "sooooo you want to go back tithe room then?"
We ended up eating in the very cute outdoor lobby area of our hotel (in front of a fan). The owner is French, and I'm not sure how to respond to his somewhat humorless yet good-natured jokes.
Owner: "Many westerners come here, they think the Thais use chopsticks. It's not true! They use spoons and forks for everything except soups! Sometimes for the noodles. Forks and spoons, and for the soups they use the sticks!"
Me: "Oh. Yeah, that's crazy."
And later:
Me: "thank you for the plates. Where should I out these?"
Owner: "you want to wash the dishes too?"
Me: "ahhh, haha."
Owner: "you wash the dishes?"
Me: "oh. Umm."
Yeah. Both times. Not really sure what to say. I did think the chopstick but was interesting though. I had always assumed that Asians used chopsticks for pretty much everything. Don't feel bad anymore for not using those chopsticks.
Back in our nicely air-conditioned room, we're ready for our cooking class tomorrow! Talk to you then.
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