[A DAY FULL OF MONKS.]

This morning we woke up at 5AM to make it to the morning Alm. This is where the Thai people go out and bring the monks food on their morning walk. The monks walk about 3 kilometers just to get some exercise and go out and recieve their breakfast. They do not cook for themselves and only eat what the people offer to them. They eat breakfast very early because they have to get lunch in before noon. There are 227 rules that monks must follow including not eating after noon.

You buy food from local vendors selling it on the streets or you can bring your own food you have prepared in your home. This is something that (some of) the Thai people come and do on a daily basis and is even more important to do if there is a special event going on in the family. It could be a death, a birthday, or any other sort of celebration. As they are walking by you ask them "can I give you food?" in Thai of course. The monks approach you are you place the food you are offering to them into their basket. You can see the baskets they are carrying in the picture above! Boys that are under 20 years old are called "novices." There are a lot of novices during the rainy season. Most boys/men are monks at least for a short period of time in their life. I thought monkhood was for life but you can do it for as short as 1 week.

After you put the food in their baskets you kneel down so they can bow over you and chant. They chant in Pali language so even our trip leader didn't understand what they were saying. He was even a monk for 2 weeks but he said he doesn't really remember the chants! Hahah. After they are done chanting you bow to them and then they continue on their morning walk. They may get a lot of food or none at all so they wait til they get back to the temple and share with all of the other monks.

I was kind of speechless after they chanted to us. It was really spiritual even though I had no idea what they were saying. I am so glad we got to participate in the Alm's giving! It was something we wouldn't have known how to do if we hadn't traveled with a group. After the Alm's giving we went and heard a monk lecture from Phra Saneh at the Wat Suandok (the name of the temple).

  Phra Saneh gave an amazing lecture about Buddha's teachings, Monkhood, and answered any questions we had! He has been a monk for 34 years and still enjoys doing it! I used to think that monks were really serious people but they enjoy joking and laughing just as much as the rest of us. Right before we were leaving he tied a string around our wrist while chating which is for good luck. I still have it on!

After the Monk lecture we visited another temple called Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. It was a temple high up on the mountain overlooking the city of Chiang Mai. It took us 306 steps to get up there! I definitely didn't feel bad when I ate ice cream tonight haha. 

The afternoon was pretty uneventful but I did get American food for the first time in 2 weeks. And to be honest it really wasn't even that good! I got Subway but its a lot different from what we get at home. You can still chose the bread, toppings, etc. but it just didn't taste the same! Also they only had one kind of cheese? Cheese is very expensive to get here because it comes all the way from New Zeland. Most Thai's don't even like it and can't keep it at home because lack of refrigeration. Haha lesson learned, I am just sticking to Thai food from now on!

Tonight we had our last home hosted dinner at a lovely home in the outskirts of Chiang Mai. The family had the most adorable 6 and 8 year old who practiced their English with us. They even both played songs on their Kim, a local Lanna instrument, kind of like a xylophone.

The mother and father prepared the most delicious meal for us! They spoke really good English so it was so nice getting to talk to them and learn about their culture. They live in the Northern part of Thailand in a compound with 12 other family members. They speak Thai but use the Lanna dialect when communicating with family members. It didn't sound any different to me but I'm sure if you knew Thai you could hear the difference. The little girls went to a public school in town where they learn all of the same subjects we do in the States and English. The parents were so good about teaching these children the importance of English. We really enjoyed seeing their home, talking with them, and of course the food!

Tomorrow we fly back to Bangkok from Chiang Mai and I will be here for the next 3 1/2 weeks! My days probably won't be as eventful anymore but I will still keep updating :) Until next time!