We visited some temples as the city is completely full of them, did yoga (Josefin), walked around for hours at the fantastic markets or little alleys in the old town, ate delicious food and just relaxed.
High up in the mountains is the big, beautiful temple of Doi Suthep where we went on a weekend which meant a lot of praying, offering and commerce going on. It was a bit crazy to see how it works, it's like a big business and not only a religious place. We were charged to enter, not a lot but still; entrance fee for a temple? People are constantly encouraged to give money, even though they don't have a lot themselves but it seems to be the way to be "a good Buddhist". To get a blessing from a monk, to offer flowers or incense to Buddha - whatever it is you "donate" for it. People are selling things in the temple area and monks are walking around with iphones taking pictures. In the stairs leading up to the top little girls (as pretty as they are in their traditional dresses) are trained to ask for money when someone takes a picture. It all just seemed a little bit off from the picture we had of buddhism before, but maybe it's more like tourism-buddhism? Hopefully.
As for the surrounding landscapes we left them to be explored at another moment. We'll return for more massage and hope to be able to do some trekking there soon!
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