Thailand - My Chiang Mai Life

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 ...

Something fishy - My 1st Thai business venture or should I say, "ADVENTURE"? We left Chiang Mai early Friday morning and headed for Chiang Rai (3 hours). First stop was the outdoor market in Chiang Mai. Lots of "everything" at great prices - seafood of all description, chicken, pork, and lots of fruit some of which I have NO idea what they are!! First pic is of tables full of cut up chicken. hope the health inspector doesn't come around! The red fuzzy fruit stacked up is a Rambutan! Lychee Fruit is in season and they are great just off the tree... The market is huge with lots of Sois (side streets) to explore... On the way to Chiang Rai we stopped and bought mushrooms from an old lady from the local "Hill Tribes". 75 Baht or $2.20 we bought 8 plates of her mushrooms. Lots of mushrooms used in Thai cooking. NOW for my new venture - a "fish farm " raising Nile Tilapia! Nothing to it - a piece of cake or should I say "fishcake??". We b...