Sunday Morning - Off to visit Wats (Temples)
I decided to try out my GPS and explore the less visited Wats around Chiang Mai. After a 20 minute drive I arrived at Wat Umong. Located in a grove Wat U-Mong (Tunnel Temple) is a practicing meditation temple. The origins of the temple, which are traced to the 14th century, are obscure. The temple may have been founded by King Mangrai himself to accommodate some forest monks from Sri Lanka. I met a man and his nephew when I entered the Wat and enjoyed talking to him as we walked around the Wat. They were from Ban Luang in the province of Nan about 300 kilometers east of Chiang Mai in the mountains. He was even nice enough to invite me to stay at his home if I should visit Nan. - Wat Umong is unique as it's built in the foothills of Suthep mountain and is still heavily forested. But the most unique feature of the temple are the tunnels which give the wat its name (umong is the Thai word for "tunnel"). The temple and its tunnels were built in the late 14th century. Naga on ...