You’re going to think we’re out of our minds after what I wrote about our first Thai massage, but we have another appointment for a massage today at eleven. Heike called to make the arrangements, and asked that they give is the “farang” treatment.
Farang is the Thai word for foreigners, and the farang treatment, in this case, means that they take it easy on us.
Doi Saket Temple
We leave early to visit Doi Saket Temple before our massage. We were there already, but that was on a hot afternoon, so we didn’t stay long. Today, at this earlier hour, the weather is rather pleasant and the light perfect for taking pictures.
The place is much less posh than Doi Suthep, but that is to be expected. It’s also much less visited. In fact, we seem to be the only visitors at this time.
One of the first things we discover is a cemetery. It’s quite neglected. And there’s a lot of waste and rubbish lying along side of it.
The Thai and their environment
That’s one of the biggest contrasts that we have found so far. The Thai are very clean on and of themselves. They don’t smell and their clothes are washed every day. And when they are paid to clean, they do an outstanding job.
However, when they aren’t paid to clean up after themselves, they seem completely indifferent to their surroundings. The countryside is strewn with huts and sheds that people use during the day time while working on the land. They maintain quite big vegetable plots, but leave their waste and rubbish everywhere. So these huts and sheds are literally surrounded by it.
Most of it is plastic. They leave it no matter where, or (possibly worse) burn it. They also burn a lot of biomass. But not for energy, just to get rid of it. I’m itching to teach them about the benefits of composting.
Live and wooden monks
Anyway, back to Doi Saket Temple. We come to a square with several temples. They are not all open, but we go into one that is and are lost for words. First of all, there’s a row of monks sitting where we enter. They look so real, but are actually carved out of wood. You have to look really careful to see that.
Second: the paintings on the wall. Incredible! We’ve never seen anything like it!
There are two live monks in the tempel. One of them seems to be preparing for a ceremony, going over papers. The other one is sweeping the carpet. Quite noisily, so we skip the meditation we had wanted to do here. Some other time maybe.
Our second Thai massage
It’s nearing eleven, so we head for the massage parlour. I get another masseuse, but Christophe has the same as the first time.
This time around, it is much less painful. But it is still hurtful and I can’t say I like it. After the first time, I has several bruises, and it took three days for the muscle pains to abate completely. It might be less this time, but I’ve had enough. I don’t feel like it’s doing me any good, so why bother?
Christophe clearly benefits from the maltreatment, so he wants to continue with two massages per week. He would like another masseuse though, but how is he going to communicate that? We don’t even know the names of the masseuses…
We have lunch at Papa’s Garden. There aren’t many guests there, but at least they’re open, and we enjoy another delicious meal. On the terrace this time, because inside, it’s very cold (airco) while outside in the shade, it’s perfect.
Mae Kuang Dam
Satisfied and no longer hungry, we take the scooter and explore the back land.
We drive to the Mae Kuang Dam, enjoying the landscape. It’s so beautiful and exotic! As long as we drive, we’re fine. But when we reach the Mae Kuang Dam and stop there in the sun to take pictures, it gets hot very quickly. That’s to remind us we are in the tropics.
