On a mountain, with Chinese and Merit

Today we went up to the top of the mountain, Doi Suthep, to visit a very beautiful temple, Phra That. The ride up was not that bad, thank goodness for Dramamine. It was great to feel the air suddenly shift from a warm breeze to a cold wind.

The temple itself was completely plated in gold. The outside had murals depicting the life of the Buddha. It was a very old temple and the gold was quite shiny but the view from the mountain of Chiang Mai was probably the best part of the entire trip. At one point Bob looked at me and said "Are you feeling alright? You look rather serious." I said "I'm fine. It's just this trip is very spiritual to me since I studied Buddhism for a while. I'm just frustrated because of all the tourists and noise. It's very hard to concentrate with all the noise." He looked at me rather sincere and said "I understand. It doesn't help that it's the Saturday of Chinese New Year. Maybe you should find a temple near by where you can go and just sit. It'd be more quiet." I think it's a rather good idea. In Buddhism you can be Christian and still pay respects to Buddha. I liked Buddhism when I practiced it but I was afraid of my family's thoughts of me if I continued. I think I'll pick it up again. I would have enjoyed the trip more if I was able to sit and meditate with barely anybody around. It's okay though I got some good shots and I got to make merit. I walked around the temple 3 times holding a lotus and a candle and then I offered them to the Buddha and felt the positive energy just swell inside of me. After we were done with the temple we went to the Orchid and Jade Factory on the mountain. Make sure to check out the pictures of the orchids! Minds open, hearts close, bellies full.

-The Foodie and Nature Enthusiast