Aussie/Thai Boy 101: Exploring Chiang Mai for the First Time...

For my first weekend in Thailand, I had VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION. It was pretty cool… just a time for us to learn a bunch of helpful stuff about Thailand before we actually begin volunteering at the hospital on Monday.

We learned a lot about Thai culture, like how to greet “wai” people – by putting your hands together and raising them to your forehead as you bow.

We also learned a bunch of helpful vocabulary/phrases, such as:

“SAWADEE KRAP” – “Hello” (Male form)
“SAWADEE KAH” – “Hello” (Female form)

Finally, we got a city tour of Chiang Mai, which was spectacular! We saw tons of temples and markets.

Overall, the orientation was great. I learned a ton of valuable information/tools that will definitely help me as I try to navigate myself around Chiang Mai for the next couple weeks. Plus it also gave me an opportunity to explore all the wonderful things Thailand has to offer… Here are just a couple of pics of all the cool & interesting things during my first weekend in Chiang Mai.

Atop of Chiang Mai @ a temple "wat" on the mountainside

Exploring temples...

Temple with TONS of golden Buddha images (not real gold)

HUGE temple ruins...

Traditional Thai dancing @ the cultural center

Buddha image in the temple gardens

Street market... or as we call them in NM, "flea markets"

HUGE 50 ft Buddha statue

3-story street market

Another temple

Elephant statue

These are the taxi cabs we have to take everyday to/from the hospital (there is no bus system in Chiang Mai). They are called "Song-taows," which literally means "two rows" because they have 2 rows of seats in the back (see picture below). It's pretty cheap to ride one (about $0.60 USD each way to/from the hospital), but you always have to barter with the driver, which can be a hassle...

The back of the taxi cab "song taow" - 2 rows of seats

A view of all Chiang Mai... well only some of Chiang Mai (it just rained, so the fog/clouds blocked most of the city)

50 ft Buddha statue

Temple where Buddha's bones are "believed" to be buried

Exploring an underground temple

It just rained... so you can see a little rainbow over the city

Gate leading to the city

Another statue... looks Hindu to me...?

Yep, I'm definitely in Chiang Mai...

MONKS - They're everywhere! Most are novices (boys training to become monks), but it's still pretty cool because you can go up and talk to them... They're always eager to practice their English