We drove into Chiang Mai to go the Chiang Mai Christian Fellowship where Randy and his family attend. It was held in a very nice Campus Crusade facility. The congregation seemed to be members of the international community that live and minister in Thailand. It was a very nice service.
The team at church (from left to right) Aye, Roger, Dao, Keith, Jayla, Faye, Jon, Jonah, Hannah, David, Randy, Connie Mike, Tom B, Tom C. and Chuck
After church we went to a local shopping area where there was the Thai equivalent of a Super Target, Home Depot, and a food court. Some of our group had McDonalds and some of us had Thai food. This is a picture of the entrance to the Super Target.
After lunch, we drove to the top of the ridge overlooking Chiang Mai to a famous Buddhist temple. It was quite impressive and obviously a tourist destination for both Thais and foreigners. Randy described how Buddhism and Christianity differ and how he tries to explain the gospel to them. Here are a few pictures of the temple.
A small alcove where a priest would sit.
These boys were on the steps to the temple. After I took their picture,
they were anxious to see it on my camera. Plus, they were happy to get the 5 Baht (about $.15) that I gave them. The steps led up to the temple. One of out team counted 300+ steps. It was full of children like this, or young students fund raising for their schools. It reminded me a bit of going to Notre Dame in Paris where there are tourists, vendors, and devout believers who come as a pilgrimage.
After our trip to the temple, we went to a very nice hotel for a buffet supper.
It was very nice (like the Broadmoor in the Springs). The food was a mix of Thai, Indian, Italian (pasta and pizza), salads, sushi, and lots and lots of deserts. Nobody went away hungry from this meal.
Aye and Dao, our Thai hosts.
After dinner, we spent about 90 minutes at the Chiang Walking market--so named because they block off several
streets and it is wall-to-wall people walking the market. This is a band of blind men playing in the middle of the market. Notice how they line up so people can walk around them. There were stalls on both sides of the street and it was CROWDED!. Many of the goods were hand made by locals. There were purses, scarves, cards, wood carvings, food, hats, toys, table runners, jewelry, and foot and hand massages. A military band was playing and they were collecting money for the flood victims in Southern Thailand. I
bought some nice art made from leather from the man on the left. After the market, we drove 45 minutes back to our lodge arriving about 11 PM. It was a long, but great day.
