Chiang Mai

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The entrance to our hotel in Chiang Mai, The Tamarind	The namesake tamarind tree in the center courtyard	Pierre in the pool. The restaurant is in the background. It was excellent!	We gave the guide most of the day off and wandered around ourselves.
Pierre makes an offering, purchasing holy water to pour on the chedi (bell-shaped temple.)	He cranks the pulley to send the water up to the top of the chedi.	And tips the water out at the top.	Thai people venerate wise monks, in addition to the Buddha. They buy small squares of gold leaf and decorate the statues.
The patterns on this temple are similar to those found on Thai silks.	The monks at Wat Phra Singh were preparing for the funeral of a popular monk.	Wat Phan Tao, an all teak temple, was decorated with mother of pearl.	Banners
Bells, lanterns, and more banners	Wat Chedi Luang -- About 60 meters high, this is an impressive sight and one of our favorite finds.	The chedi is lit up at night. It's partially restored. Note the original elephant to the right of the stairs.	A smaller temple on the grounds of the wat.
Wat Chedi Luang houses a Buddhist university. These student monks are on their way to lunch.	A rickshaw driver, waiting for his passenger.	Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep -- the gold-plated chedi contains a relic of the Buddha. Pierre had to borrow long pants.	The murals tell the story of the elephant who chose the location for this temple. Many images of the Buddha line the cloisters.
People buy bells to adorn the eaves. Ringing bells is an important part of Buddhist worship.	Pierre feeds the flame in front of the meditating Buddha statue, the symbol for those born on a Thursday.	All the buildings are ornately decorated.	The view from Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep's mountain top. Smog was heavy over all the cities we visited.
A girl in traditional hilltop tribe clothing. She negotiated a tip for this photo.	The next day, we went to an elephant training camp. Elephants like bananas.	The elephants head into the river for their morning bath.	Some elephants help with the rinsing.
All clean. Time to go to work.	Elephants aren't used as much these days. Farmers used to rely on them for heavy lifting/dragging.	Teams of elephants roll the logs.	Lift them.
And stack them.	Elephants with long tusks can carry logs too.	After the demonstration, we went for a ride.	When you're not the lead elephant, the view never changes.
Some hilltop tribe women were selling crafts at the camp.	This woman is sewing a bag or a hat (hard to tell at this point.)	Hope she doesn't run with those.	After the elephant ride, and lunch, we went down the river on a bamboo raft. Here's another group just coming in.
Nice hat!	Our "pilot" negotiating the curves of the river.

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