I find the process of leaving one country and entering another odd and I have no idea why. When you get off a plane, you go to the desk and they check you in. When you get on a plane, you go to the desk and they check you out.
I suppose before I got off the boat, there was always a plane ride or time laps or something between the “I’m leaving” and “I have arrived.”
I also live in the United States and rarely travel to Canada or Mexico, so I do not deal with country hopping. It simply is odd to me.
We got off the boat, got on a van that took us up the hill and back 20 minutes to the friendship bridge.
Then we waited in line to ‘check out’ of Laos.
We got on a bus (had to buy a ticket for the bus) to take us across the Friendship bridge, where we stood in another line to go through customs.
I’m not sure what they think happens on the bridge, other than the fact somewhere in the middle there was a magic transformation from right hand to left hand driving, and it was a bridge, so not a lot of opportunity to shop for contraband, but here we stood in another line for customs. Exact same process, different side of the river. Different people. It just seemed very inefficient. Build something in the middle of the bridge, have both sets of officials in one place and bing! done.
I found the whole thing odd. No idea why other than there was very little time between the events, but odd nonetheless.
Our van was waiting to take us to Chiang Rai, which was about 3 hour drive. I arranged the van in advance but my boat companions did not think that far ahead, so I offered to share the ride. Somehow, in the time between me offering and us arriving at the bus, I was sharing their ride, paying for half which I was happy about because I was saving money on the transportation, and I was getting dropped off last instead of first. I know I don’t understand the new math, but I was one of 4 passengers, not one of 2. I also was generous to share, and somehow… it doesn’t matter, I arrived at the hotel and was rid of the boat people for life.
I was dropped at the hotel and fell into the arms of my high school friend MJ, who I will stay with through my Thailand adventure.
This is her 14th trip to Thailand and she has been traveling interationally since November. I figured she would be a pretty good tour guide. And she agreed to do it. Silly girl.
We hit a temple on the way to find something to eat. Wat Jed Yod was my first Thai temple, and my first with someone who could tell me what to do, so I got a crash course on temple etiquette, and had my first Thai fortune reading.
Apparently the temple has gone ‘Vegas’ so has this slot machine version, but the traditional way to get a fortune is to put a bunch of numbered sticks in a cup; shake the cup; and the first stick to fall out is your fortune. Find the corresponding number in the slots below the machine and take a piece of paper to read your fortune.
This version, you stick 20 THB in the machine and it does the Vegas thing. The clacking noise simulates the sticks being shaken in the cup. Have no idea what the machine was chanting on about, but I do know the clacking sound. And… for 20 THB, (about 60 cents) I am blessed or fortunate or something.
Honestly seemed rather commercial, but when in Rome and such. I will admit to being skeptical that a machine could tell my future or any future, but it was fun to experience.
Again, in temples, if women are allowed to enter them at all (Some do not allow women inside), knees and shoulders must be covered. Tonight I wore long pants and tshirt, so did not need a temple skirt, but once we get to Chiang Mai, we are going shopping so I can wear shorts again.
Never step on a threshold to get through a door of a temple, step over them. Not hard to remember since most must be stepped over or you will trip. But don’t step on. That is the key.
Silence is always a good idea when in a temple.
Wat is a word I will use a lot in Thailand to describe locations. It means ‘temple.’ So anytime you see “Wat” something, it means I’m at a temple or describing one.
This temple Wat Jed Yod translates to Temple of Seven Peaks. This Wat Jed Yod is in Chiang Rai, but there are others around, including one in Chiang Mai. I assume, but do not know that temples might be named as churches are named. More than one St. Mary’s for example.
The serpent on the stairs is called a Naga and is an ancient mythological symbol.
Nagas are often placed on staircase rails that lead to sacred Buddhist establishments because they are considered to be protectors of Buddhism.
That is based on the story of when the Buddha had reached enlightenment and was meditating under a Bodhi tree when a heavy storm started. A snake-like creature with many heads appeared, (the king of the Naga named Mucalinda) and used its many heads to shelter the Buddha with its hoods from the rain. So, Naga protected the Buddha, so it protects Buddhism.
As for why they appear to be consumed or emerging from another being, the “being eaten” imagery can represent themes of transformation, rebirth, or even a struggle against powerful forces. Another idea is that by portraying the head emerging from the head, it is an artistic way to represent the many heads of the Naga. However, I have not been able to ascertain why exactly one is emerging from the mouth of another. It will give me questions to ask in the future.
The Naga is not exclusive to Thailand. Many of the pictures from Vietnam and Laos also portray Naga, but I did learn, in 2022, Thailand made the Naga one of its national symbols. So, they are really engrained in this culture.
But moving on. Now with the blessings of Vegas monk machine, we set out to find some dinner.
We ended at a street restaurant thing, where a musician was performing American 80’s hits. He was very good. The food was average at best, but the entertainment was worth it.
Every 5 or 6 songs, some traditional Thai music would be played and dancers would do a traditional Thai dance, and the next song Jack and Diane told us a little story.
That’s a song reference if you do not get it. Made sense in my head at the time.
After dinner we wandered back to the hotel via the Chiang Rai city clock. It was very shiny. Knocked that off my too see list. Tomorrow we will knock off a lot more.
