This morning we packed up our suitcases because we are going to Chiangrai. Before we left Chiangmai we went to a Buddhist university at Wat Suan Dow where we received a lecture from a Buddhist monk who taught there. He told us about what new monks learn and a little about Buddhism. He showed us how to put on a monk’s warp. It was a very interesting and inspirational discussion.
Then we went to Lin’s house for an early lunch. She has a beautiful, large home — not quite what I was expecting. We met her in laws who live with her and her husband. Unfortunately her son was not home. Their house was decorated for Chinese New Year because her in laws are from China. We had a delicious lunch.
We were back on the road and on our way to Chiangrai. En route we stopped at Wat Rong Kuhn, commonly referred to as the “White Temple.” This temple was constructed in 1997 by local artist Chalermchai Kositpipa. We accessed the temple by crossing over a bridge that was built over a pit of reaching arms, meant to symbolize souls reaching up from hell. Inside there are murals with pop culture icons, like Pikachu, telling us that we are encouraging violence to our youngsters. At the same site was a museum of his art. He used a variety of mediums to create very interesting Buddhist/Hindu art.
Back on the bus we went to our Chiangrai hotel, which was right next to rice paddies, and had lovely manicured grounds.
That night we had dinner at the hotel. They had entertainment, a couple sing oldies. We were enjoying dinner and the next thing I knew Lin was singing with them. She was so fun, dancing around. There was an Australian group and we all were dancing and laughing. Lin is a real pip as Ann would say.