Day 3 [6 Jan]

Today, we went to Doi Suthep, which is a Buddhist place of worship that dates back all the way to the 13th century. I truly had not expected to be first greeted with a daunting 306 steps that we had to climb to get to the actual temple. Nonetheless, it was still a worthwhile climb considering the view and the spectacular infrastructure and statues that we got to see after reaching the top.

It was easy to spot traces of elephants all throughout the temple, which reinforce the status of the elephant as a highly regarded and revered animal and as the most representative animal of the country. Sadly however, it could be because of this high regard conferred to the elephant that also boosts the demand for its tusks since some people wish to display their affluence, social standing or power through the elephant tusks. In general, the beauty of the temple was absolutely breathtaking and stunning. However, it was also flooded with (in my opinion, perhaps too many) tourists. The temple is truly a beautiful and sacred place and while most who were there were generally respectful, it did come across to some of us that the place appeared to be a little overly commercialized.

After visiting Doi Suthep, our group’s Thai buddy Pro brought us to a local noodle shop for lunch. I fully enjoyed the Khao Soi, which is a Thai coconut curry noodle. Relating to my previous trip to Bangkok, I realized that my friends and I had mostly visited cafes and restaurants that many other tourists also patronize. As such, I am glad to have a Thai buddy with us for this Chiang Mai trip as it has given us a greater chance to better experience and immerse ourselves in the local culture. If we were on our own, it would not have been easy for us to locate places that are frequented by locals and less known to foreigners.

After lunch, we decided to visit the Chiang Mai Grand Canyon for OTOT and the view there was extremely beautiful. Although only two people in the group attempted the cliff jumping, it was still on the whole a truly enjoyable afternoon as the group just took the chance to spend time together.

At night, our Thai buddy brought us to Chiang Mai University for us to survey the local students. It was truly amazing to find out just how many people Pro actually knew in the school. Turns out he is actually quite a popular figure in CMU as he is the president of his faculty and also the ambassador for safe riding (he has his picture on a banner that promotes safe riding of motorbikes which many of us tease him for in good fun). He has been so helpful and devoted throughout the whole trip and I feel absolutely grateful to have him in our group. (Reminder and note: we really need to get him a present!)