Please leave a comment when you visit my blog. Thank you!
Post 2017
- 7 years and 20 days since I started this blog -
- 7 years and 20 days since I started this blog -
Wat Chedi Leung is the biggest temple in Chiang Mai's Old City. It is also hosts a daily monk chat, where novice Buddhist monks practice their English with visitors, asking and answering questions.
That was my motivation for going. To speak to someone who had given up the comfort of family and friends to walk the Path.
The monk at the table I was led to spoke English pretty clearly, but had difficulty expressing himself, and real problems with comprehension. All the other English-speakers at the table were British. My NY accent was really a problem. He never understood a thing I said - but he didn't do much better with the Brits.
One couple at the table, who were, as they put it, 'seekers', seemed frustrated with not having their questions understood. (It's never a good idea to show frustration or annoyance in Thailand - the Thai think you're embarrassing yourself). One woman, originally from Croatia, who had taught herself English when she emigrated to London, was best able to put questions to him, although she was no better than anybody else understanding the answers. From her speaking with him, we learned that he had taught himself English by watching CNN on his phone.
As commendable as I found that, it was all the information I had gleaned in twenty minutes, and it seemed like a good point in the conversation to make an exit. Which I did with a smile and a bow. I wasn't frustrated, although I was a little disappointed - that's what expectations will do.
Which gave me time to explore the grounds of the wat at my leisure.
The wat is a major attraction for tourists, locals, visiting Buddhists. But tourists (Europeans) go in a separate gate and pay a (very low) admission fee. Once inside, lost of opportunities for donations - this is an active Buddhist monastery, and Buddhist monks (here and everywhere) depend on charity to keep going.
I had paid my admission and gone straight off looking for the monk chat, now it was time to join the throng and explore the three temples united in one.
The ancient stupa, build over almost a centuries time beginning in the 14th century, was once the tallest Buddhist temple in the world. It partially collapsed in an earthquake, and many of the treasures, including the Emerald Buddha, were moved to other locations for safety.
Centuries later, three temples built around the stupa were incorporated into one, and that is how it is now.
The craftsmanship and artistry on display inside and outside can't be properly conveyed by pictures. That didn't stop me from taking gobs of shots. I cannot articulate the feeling of encountering this work, the intricate handiwork of many thousands of anonymous artisans, craftsmen and laborers. Layer upon layer of beauty, each new perspective revealing more.
I spent the rest of the afternoon there, taking some time to get in some meditation of my own, amidst the clanging of prayer bells and gongs.
Later that night, I went to an upscale "Thai-Fusion" restaurant and had my mind completely blown. Again. I will be very amazed if I ever visit any place, ever, where I can eat better than here. The only place I have ever been where good, well-prepared food was so available is New Orleans, but there is a better variety of food in Chiang Mai, much less expensive, and even more accessible.
New Orleans is still my favorite place in the US. Hell, it's my favorite place in North America. I'm going to go there for Mardi Gras in a few weeks, so things should still be fresh in my mind for comparison, but now I'm here.
The ambience, eating on the patio at Ginger and Kafe, is dreamy and comfortable. The lighting is soft. The service, beyond reproach.
My dish, whose translation is 'fresh salmon tartare, with Thai herbs and spiced sauce', is an incredible dish, where the complexity of tastes and textures blends in the mouth to create a new and different flavor, as the textures are chewed out. Since this restaurant has a reputation for a good khao soi, that is my next dish. It is good, the best of the four different ones I've tried since I got here.
The Thai carrot cake I order for dessert (with coffee - I like the coffee here) is great but a disappointment - because I don't get the Thai in it. It is just extraordinarily good carrot cake. Good eating, absolutely - but my hope for the exotic was crushed - that's what expectations do.
It was a short walk to the Marlboro, where I caught up with friends I've made here, and spent the rest of the night grateful for one more day of amazing new experiences.
That was my motivation for going. To speak to someone who had given up the comfort of family and friends to walk the Path.
The monk at the table I was led to spoke English pretty clearly, but had difficulty expressing himself, and real problems with comprehension. All the other English-speakers at the table were British. My NY accent was really a problem. He never understood a thing I said - but he didn't do much better with the Brits.
One couple at the table, who were, as they put it, 'seekers', seemed frustrated with not having their questions understood. (It's never a good idea to show frustration or annoyance in Thailand - the Thai think you're embarrassing yourself). One woman, originally from Croatia, who had taught herself English when she emigrated to London, was best able to put questions to him, although she was no better than anybody else understanding the answers. From her speaking with him, we learned that he had taught himself English by watching CNN on his phone.
As commendable as I found that, it was all the information I had gleaned in twenty minutes, and it seemed like a good point in the conversation to make an exit. Which I did with a smile and a bow. I wasn't frustrated, although I was a little disappointed - that's what expectations will do.
Which gave me time to explore the grounds of the wat at my leisure.
The wat is a major attraction for tourists, locals, visiting Buddhists. But tourists (Europeans) go in a separate gate and pay a (very low) admission fee. Once inside, lost of opportunities for donations - this is an active Buddhist monastery, and Buddhist monks (here and everywhere) depend on charity to keep going.
I had paid my admission and gone straight off looking for the monk chat, now it was time to join the throng and explore the three temples united in one.
The ancient stupa, build over almost a centuries time beginning in the 14th century, was once the tallest Buddhist temple in the world. It partially collapsed in an earthquake, and many of the treasures, including the Emerald Buddha, were moved to other locations for safety.
Centuries later, three temples built around the stupa were incorporated into one, and that is how it is now.
The craftsmanship and artistry on display inside and outside can't be properly conveyed by pictures. That didn't stop me from taking gobs of shots. I cannot articulate the feeling of encountering this work, the intricate handiwork of many thousands of anonymous artisans, craftsmen and laborers. Layer upon layer of beauty, each new perspective revealing more.
I spent the rest of the afternoon there, taking some time to get in some meditation of my own, amidst the clanging of prayer bells and gongs.
Later that night, I went to an upscale "Thai-Fusion" restaurant and had my mind completely blown. Again. I will be very amazed if I ever visit any place, ever, where I can eat better than here. The only place I have ever been where good, well-prepared food was so available is New Orleans, but there is a better variety of food in Chiang Mai, much less expensive, and even more accessible.
New Orleans is still my favorite place in the US. Hell, it's my favorite place in North America. I'm going to go there for Mardi Gras in a few weeks, so things should still be fresh in my mind for comparison, but now I'm here.
The ambience, eating on the patio at Ginger and Kafe, is dreamy and comfortable. The lighting is soft. The service, beyond reproach.
My dish, whose translation is 'fresh salmon tartare, with Thai herbs and spiced sauce', is an incredible dish, where the complexity of tastes and textures blends in the mouth to create a new and different flavor, as the textures are chewed out. Since this restaurant has a reputation for a good khao soi, that is my next dish. It is good, the best of the four different ones I've tried since I got here.
The Thai carrot cake I order for dessert (with coffee - I like the coffee here) is great but a disappointment - because I don't get the Thai in it. It is just extraordinarily good carrot cake. Good eating, absolutely - but my hope for the exotic was crushed - that's what expectations do.
It was a short walk to the Marlboro, where I caught up with friends I've made here, and spent the rest of the night grateful for one more day of amazing new experiences.
aPlease leave a comment when you visit my blog. Thank you!
the pictures were amazing. Love you, good trip. stay safe. Joan
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