Hey Everybody, It's Time for "Monk Chat."

There are apparently 300 or more Buddhist temples in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We visited two today, including the Wat Chedi Luang. The “chedi” collapsed during an earthquake in 1545; only partial ruins remain (pictured). A feature of this wat (temple) is the availability of monks to chat with visitors about the temple, Buddhism or anything else. We met with a 32 year old monk, Terdpitak. I took pictures while Heather grilled him on the finer points of Buddhist thought. Later we cruised a giant nighttime bazaar which stretched over several streets; it was like Third Street Promenade on steroids. What strikes us both about Chiang Mai is how peaceful it is and how the Thais in this region seem like the most gentle people on earth.