Field Trip #1: Lamphun

Today our Social & Cultural History of Thailand class took a field trip to a nearby town called Lamphun. Here we got to visit two ancient temples as well as one museum. The first temple we visited was called Wat Jammathevi. Our professor taught us the history behind the series of murals that wrapped around the inside walls of the temple. Then we visited the Hariphunchai National Museum, that had some amazing artifacts displaying progression of artistic style dating back to the 11th century. Later we visited Wat Phra That Hariphunchai, which was constructed around 1100 AD. Each temple we visit is unique and it is amazing to admire the hard work that went into constructing and maintaining the temples.

Wat Jammathevi

Professor Ratanaporn teaching us about the murals 

Inside the temple at Wat Jammathevi

Wat Jammathevi

Wat Jammathevi

Wat Jammathevi

Some pottery at the Hariphunchai National Museum (Harry check this out!!)

Napping on the way to the next temple

A chariot

Jack and a bush

Wat Phra That Hariphunchai

Me in uniform at Wat Phra That Hariphunchai

Sticky Waterfall

Today we visited the "sticky waterfall" where we were able to climb up and down the face of a waterfall. Before visiting the Buatong Waterfall, I couldn't imagine how this would be possible, but the limestone made for easy footing as we spent hours climbing up and down. We also got to visit the Ched-Sri fountain (meaning seven colors), where the water is said to be sacred and there are many shrines next to the fountain. A short drive away from the falls we got to climb over 200 stairs to a cave entrance, home to a large Buddha statue (and lots of bat feces). After a tiresome but very fun day at the waterfall, we returned to Payap to regroup and later a few of us went back to the Jazz Co-op for the Tuesday night open jam session. It was so great to relax and listen to some amazing jazz music. There is a mix of all different nationalities at the co-op, with many westerners playing their instruments alongside Thais as well as a great mix of people in the audience. It's amazing to see so many different cultures mixing together over the common love for good music.

Dense plants

Ched-Sri (seven colors) fountain 

Tommy getting sacred water from the fountain 

Shrine next to the fountain

Jack sitting on top of the falls

Andrew climbing the falls

Climbing the stairs to the cave entrance

Inside the cave

Buddha statue within the cave

An Adirondack Weekend

This weekend we went with our Thai friend, Prince, to his summer home about an hour's drive outside of Chiang Mai. His summer home is located in the mountains in a small town called Pang Hai. The home was recently built and had a beautiful porch looking out towards the surrounding mountains. We spent Saturday exploring the area, walking through farmland where flowers were being grown and exploring the dense forest behind his house. Prince even took me our on his motorbike to a nearby reservoir. His mom was at the house in the afternoon, and helped us begin the preparations for dinner. We took bamboo stalks and stuffed them with sticky rice and coconut milk that were later cooked on the fire before cutting off the bamboo and enjoying the rice on its own or with fresh mango. We also barbecued some pork on a grill, using a folded bamboo stalk as tongs. We spent the night around the campfire, enjoying its warmth since the temperature at night was much colder in the mountains than in Chiang Mai. We had been told that it would be a bit cold, but didn't believe Prince since "Thai cold" hasn't turned out to be what we think is cold yet, but I was pretty chilly sleeping indoors in a sleeping bag last night. It was so great to be back in nature. I felt like I was at an Adirondack camp staying up late chatting with good friends around a campfire.

This morning we made breakfast at the camp before heading back to Chiang Mai. We made a slight detour to Tad Mork Falls, which is part of Doi Suthep-Pui National Park. We got to cool off in the pool underneath and waterfall and hike around a little bit before heading back to campus.

inside the camp

front porch

outdoor kitchen

porch

vines

Buddhist temple (the signs on the trees are Buddhist prayers)

burning the fields

reservoir

Andrew hammocking

dinner by the fire

was feeling extra nice and served the boys breakfast in bed

Tad Mork Falls

cooling off underneath the falls

Prince enjoying the cool water

top of the falls

stee or steep?

Checking out Chiang Mai

This being my first week of classes I have finally gotten into a more regular schedule and have been able to check out more of Chiang Mai. On Tuesday a few of us went to the Chiang Mai Zoo & Aquarium, presenting our Payap IDs to get a discounted ticket. There were lots of different animals at the zoo, and we had some cool experiences getting pretty close to some birds and even elephants. The aquarium was my favorite part. The Chiang Mai aquarium says they have the largest tunnel in the world, and it was the first aquarium tunnel I've walked through so it was a pretty amazing to feel like you are in the water with all the fish.

Today after classes we went to the market to get a few things. I needed a new uniform top since I dyed mine pink when washing a new red top I bought in Nepal. Needless to say I've been modeling some pretty funky tie dye lately. After some shopping we found our favorite dessert (thus far) at the market which is sticky rice, fresh mangos, and coconut milk. It's delicious! Then we did some exploring around the market, and stumbled upon some antique stores. I didn't have my camera with me, so I settled for iPhone photos, but I definitely had to document it to make sure my dad believes I did some antiquing in Thailand! We also stumbled on a beautiful temple that we walked through on our way back to campus. After a quick bite to eat a few of us went to the Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures places to see a presentation on a couple that had spent 97 days trekking in the Himalayas of Nepal. It was pretty cool to hear them talk about their adventure as well as see some pictures of temples and places that I had recently visited.

the tunnel in the aquarium

giraffes! (thinking of my boy Sean Kelly!)

antique browsing!