Today, relative to prior ones thus far, was such a busy day for all of us. We went to three Buddhist temples, visited one local Muslim community, flocked Waororat market and attended a cultural dinner performance in Chiang Mai Cultural centre.
Knowing that we are going to cycle around the walled – city for the whole day, everybody gathered this morning armed with comfortable shoes, helmets, water, and scarf all ready for battle. Lacking the ability to cycle was not a disadvantage because we had generous student guides offering the back of their motorbikes to people who could not pedal to save their lives.
At nine thirty, we are on the way to our first destination - Wat Phra Singh temple. Along the way, we passed by the famous city wall, Three Kings Museum and many other interesting places. After 15 minutes of cycling, Wat Phra Singh Temple was at sight.
Wat Phra Singh in its golden glory
There, we spoke to one of the oldest monks that serve the temple and community, Reverend Phrakrupwittan, who has been a monk since he was 17 years old (presently 67 years old). According to him, this temple is approximately 660 years old, in which it serves as a place for blessings, good fortune, and allows for people commemorate the memory of their loved ones. These devotees make an offering almost every week when they come.
Reverend Phrakrupwittan, like many monks, speak fluent English
At the second Buddhist temple, Wat Chideeluang, we had the pleasure to witness a special mechanism for offering. Offerings, often flowers, incense or fruit, are placed in the white container, and then with a string and pulley, brought up to the apex of the temple.
Offerings with a string and pulley
Cyren and Cici at Wat Chideeluang
And at the donation stand, Julie our student guide showed us an interesting way of folding flowers used as offerings during prayers or rituals.
Ice cream in a cone, plastic cup or bread roll
And we all got to eat delicious coconut ice cream sandwiches (which isn’t new for everyone, but it still tasted really good).
Antique gramophone
Next, we visited a local Muslim community, many of us got lost on the way. It took half an hour for the student guides to gather all of us, just in time for lunch at Masjid Al-Taqwa. In between bites, we had some time for little entertainment- “table tennis war” between, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Philippines and Zimbabwe. During the session, we met up with the Muslim representatives from the mosque and youth members of the community. They engage in various activities, such as charity event for elders, HIV campaigns and also run their own religious high school.
The last temple we visited had in itself a museum; the museum exhibited many antiques of which most once belonged to the monks of the temple. There are also many other vintage items, such as an old gramophone, a 70 year-old fan, many different currencies from different times, old photos of many famous monks and so on.
Various animal skulls in the community museum at Waororat
Our next destination, the Waororat market, we went with intentions to try some street food. Most of us loved the Thai “ice kacang” with green and red syrup, and it only cost us 10 baht (RM1). We also had another incident of missing person; but unlike the previous incident of a misguided intuition (turn left, not right!), this particular traveller purposely lost himself in the sea of food.
When we reached home (I supposed, after four days, a guesthouse does start to morph itself into one), everybody was exhausted yet excited by the idea of going to watch different Thai dances in the Old Chiang Mai Cultural Centre. We reached there at 7pm and everybody enjoyed some food while nicely and comfortably seating on the ground with cushions; a total juxtaposition to a full day of heavy cycling. Apart from getting leid* (pun intended), we were also allowed to join the dancers on stage before the cultural performances formally ended.
ISOCM's travellers dancing on stage
When we reach our hotel, it was nearly 10pm. Even the loud music of the bar nearby our hotel would not spoil our mood for such fine night and everybody was more excited than exhausted for the prospect of the rest of the trip.
Editor's note: Getting "leid" is an act of having someone put a jasmine lei around one's neck.
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