for the pedicure, the blessing and the dinner show

Day three of my intrepid tour saw us arriving in Chiang Mai at a little after 8am on the overnight train from Bangkok and head straight to our hotel.

Accommodation not too shabby!

We had a pretty cruisey day with no set commitments until 4 in the afternoon so my Canadian roomie and I hung by the pool as there were no shops open yet.

It was hard I tell you!!

At about 10 o'clock we set off in search of the perfect massage and pedicure place to enjoy some downtime and relax. 

The perfect place turned out to be right across the road

Can't say I've ever had a pedi from a male before! He was so meticulous and gentle and it cost me about $8!

At 4, we met our tour guide to head to Wat Phra Doi Suthep, a Buddhist temple about 15km from the city up a long and windy mountain road which had amazing views of the city below.

There are many stories as to why the temple is placed here but the one told to us by our guide was that an elephant believed to be carrying a bone from the Buddha's shoulder was released in the jungle by a King.

"The Young Ones" as we were dubbed by some on the trip! I was a little chuffed to be considered "young!" lol..

The elephant is said to have climbed the mountain, stopped, trumpeted 3 times, then dropped dead. This was interpreted as an omen by King Nu Naone who immediately ordered the construction of a temple on this site.

We wandered around for some time, taking in the sights and the beauty of the construction of the temple and the glittering gold.

There was a monk in one of the rooms doing blessings and handing out Sai Sin bracelets which are a shortened length of sacred thread which has been blessed by monks and thought to bring good luck and fortune.

Some of our tour group being blessed

We went up to the temple via funicular however some of us chose to take the 306 steps back down the mountain.

After this we were bused to Khum Khan Toke for a traditional northern style dinner and dance show.

So much food that they just kept topping up!

Was a little difficult to get a good picture.

I think it's pretty safe to say I am a bit of a fan of the largest city in Northern Thailand, the weather is a little nicer and it seems to be a little more relaxed than Bangkok.


Linking up with Essentially Jess for IBOT..

{If you are visiting from IBOT today - please go back to my previous 2 posts to read about the start of my journey here!}