We reached Chiang Mai after a quick one day stop in Bangkok to go to the Vietnamese Embassy and apply for a visa. The Vietnamese visa is the last one out of seven (Syria, Iran, India, Vietnam, China, Australia, USA) we had to obtain before enterring the very country.
******
Located in the North of the country, Chiang Mai is the second largest city of Thailand. In a country where 95% of the population is Buddhist, Chiang Mai is renowned for its countless temples called wat. A wat is usually a complex with pagoda(s) and temple(s) where lives and studies a community of monks.
Wat Phra Tat Doi Suthep
Wat Pra Singh
Wat Bupparam
Wat Chedi Luang
Wat Chedi Luang
Wat Chedi Luang
Wat Kutao
Wat Chiang Mun, even Buddha drinks fanta!
The wats are maintained mainly thanks to donations from the faithfuls and the visitors. Once we enterred a room with some Buddhas statues and gift baskets for monks. A monk was sitting here and told us to sit with him. He offered us to pray with him and wound us with a string attached to the hands of a Buddha statue. He prayed, sang, threw some holy water on us and made some wishes for our future lives before giving us a blessed bracelet. He told us we still have a long journey in front of us but that everything will be ok. And when we will come back home, money and happiness will be waiting for us! ;)
Wat Bupparam
Wat Dubphai
In one other temple, we stayed at least half an hour in front of a meditating monk, wondering if it was a real human being or a wax statue.. we still do not have the answer! He really was not moving a finger. He was so perfectly normal, we could see his skin, hairs, durty feets and nails. His wrinkles seemed incredibly real but still he did not even blink!!
Wat Pra Singh
There are dozens of wats in Chiang Mai. We choose to visit only the recommended ones and saw twenty of them. We spent one day walking in the old town. The day after we rent a scooter to be able to visit the wats located outside the city centre. It is a very cheap and convenient way to visit them. The scooter rental costs three euros fifty (150 baths) per day and with a full tank (two euros fifty, 100 baths) we drove sixty kilometres!
******
Chiang Mai's Sunday Walking Street is a very relaxing way to do shopping. From 4pm till midnight you have the main streets of the city centre blocked to traffic. You can find everything in there: various Thai snacks, local jewelleries, craft souvenirs, clothes and even get a foot massage.
Eh ben, ça a l'air très cool la Thaïlande par rapport à l'Inde! Relax ;) Evidemment, mon épisode préféré c'est avec le moine qui vous prédit argent et bonheur à votre retour :)) BISOUS...........Claire-E.
ReplyDeletehow was the foot massage?
ReplyDeletebetter than in coutances?
christer
Way better!! ;)
ReplyDeleteIran has a Vietnamese embassy but has no special arrangement with the Vietnamese government for its citizens to access Vietnam without a visa. For this reason you must acquire a Visa to Vietnam in order to travel to this country. Good thing is there are two ways to gain access to Vietnam. The first one is by acquiring a Vietnam visa from the Vietnam embassy in Iran. The second one is by acquiring a letter of approval online from legit websites to be able to fly to Vietnam and get a visa. This second option is commonly referred to as “Visa on Arrival” and is only applicable to air travelers.
ReplyDeleteSimply choose the ‘visa on arrival’ service and save your time, money and experience convenience by following steps outlined above on this website. Have a happy time in Vietnam and on your way back
http://www.visa-vietnam.org
http://www.vietnamvisa.fr
You don't have to be present physically for visa interview you can just apply through online via www.greenvisa.io/ company and then have to upload all the documents needed.
ReplyDelete