Day 3

(We did so many things today!)

Doi Suthep was today’s itinerary highlight. However, I was slightly disappointed – I felt like there wasn’t enough time spent at the temple, and that the tranquility I had hoped to experience was not as easily available as I had wished before we embarked on the trip to Chiang Mai.

Given that Buddhism is the main religion of Chiang Mai, I was hoping to have a taste of how revered this way of life was. I had expectations of this temple being a fairly quiet place, with tourists silently appreciating the structures in the temple, and sharing in the peace of this place. However, it was more of a religious site turned into a tourist attraction, much like the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in Singapore. Perhaps, in hopes to promote the meditative Buddhist way of life, the purity of this temple had been lost in the very promotion of it, which is pretty ironic to me. Furthermore, to preserve the purity of the gold in the main pagoda of Doi Suthep, the structure had to be encased in a replica of it. Although I understand the dilemma behind the desire to share this holy structure in its truest form with the public, but also wishing to protect it against the weather elements and thieves, it felt funny that a piece of culture had to be hidden, to be shown. This place is quite a paradox.

My group went to a canyon dubbed Chiang Mai’s Grand Canyon after, and it was a really long ride on the taxi to the place, but I enjoyed it a 100%. We sang a lot on the taxi, and I suppose I may have romanticized the experience, but it was really comfortable, yet fun too, to be in a foreign place with familiar people around you and feeling the wind on your face. Besides, I’ve grown to love the red Chiang Mai taxi, and it’s really exciting to hang on the ladder attached to it – with every breath it feels like you’re taking in the atmosphere of the place. (Unless you happen to breathe in a whiff of car exhaust, then that’s too bad)

I really appreciated the beauty of the place. Even though it would have been easier to be mindful and to immerse in the canyon’s beauty had the place been quieter, watching tourists leap off crazily high cliffs gave me a mild adrenaline rush every time. I mustered up some courage and approached a tourist to take a photo of us after he lands in the water, while our group is sitting on the cliff. I passed him my email, but forgot to get his. Man, I hope he didn’t lose my email and will send the photo one day – it would really make me happy!

We passed lots of other landmarks on the way back to the city. We looked at the Royal Park from atop a beautiful hill where a tree adorned with Christmas-like decorations (baubles and all) was planted to commemorate the king’s birthday, I think. We passed by the safari, and took a photo with the decorations outside. We passed by the king’s residence in Chiang Mai, and took a group photo outside it too. It was all very touristy, but I really loved that we made a few stops now and then to just know where we were, and to breathe in the fresh air and take in what was around us.

That night, we made our way to CMU and chanced upon a group of CMU students performing a really hyped-up dance. The music’s beat was infectious, and everyone was extremely enthusiastic. At one point, I really felt like joining in, but my friends thought it would be more respectful to allow the CMU students to practise their performance without any disruption. I agreed with that, but now I wonder how things would have turned out if we all had joined in for a while. After all, life’s experiences are made up of many spontaneous decisions and leaps of faith. I imagine it would have been a great experience.

We then ate at one of the school canteens, which looked very much like a hawker centre in Singapore. Compared to the usual school canteens with coloured, rectangular tables and benches, (which we would eat at the next day in CMU) it was a mild surprise to see a different sort of ‘canteen culture’, and a pleasant one at that. It was quite late at night but there were still lots of students eating and chatting there, and it seemed to be quite a good place to enjoy life’s simple pleasures – food, fun and friends. (Needless to say, the food was great.)

Finally, we visited the massage parlour and the lady masseuse was such a sweet woman.
It was quite a lighthearted and funny experience. I told her how I couldn’t take the usual amount of pressure they give in Thai massages, so in the end, she was pressing on my body with about half the amount of strength she used at first. She found that really funny, and her giggles made me feel quite at ease. In retrospect, this memory puts a smile on my face, because I know how we did not have to speak the same language to feel comfortable with each other.

All in all, it was a really fulfilling day. 🙂