Sunset on Suthep

Sunset over Doi Suthep from Suthep Road in Chiang Mai.
If you look closely you can see the golden plated chedi at Wat Phrathat.
Doi Suthep is the home of Chiang Mai's guardian spirits, Pu Sae, Yu Sae and their son Sudeva Rishi.

Ascent of Doi Pui

Today was a public holiday for Coronation Day, providing an opportunity to explore the local area.  With another teacher, Emily, I walked up to Doi Pui, a highpoint and Hmong Village in the hills behind school.  What I thought was going to be a morning walked, turned into a 7 hour trek.  It was up all the way for 13 km, then a steep knee crunching descent.

Half way up we came across expansive lychee orchards, hidden in the jungle.

Elephant or Horse?

What would you name this creature?
Is it silver or aluminium or tin?
Many questions after a visit to the Silver Temple, Wat Sri Suphan.
It is one of Chiang Mai's oldest temples. As it is lined with incredible silver panels, it is also one of the more unusual temples in the city.

Songkran blessings

Part of the Songkran festival on Thursday was to bless students with water and wish them well for their studies in the New Year.

Sweet Street Food

At night the footpaths and streets become a hive of activity as food stalls set up and sell their specialties.  Many Thai people do not have kitchens in their home, or even if they have a kitchen many will not have a refrigerator.  Therefore they buy their evening meal, and breakfast and lunch from a street food stall.
The variety of food and the location of the stalls will vary throughout the day.
As you know I do have a sweet tooth, so a stopped at this stall near Chiang Mai University on my way home this afternoon.
Banana roti is a treat.  It is sweet, but would be sweeter if I didn't say no to the sprinkle of sugar, the drizzle of condensed milk and the option of chocolate sauce or butter.
Most of the roti stalls seem to be operated by Muslim families,  they maybe from Malaysia, where Roti is a traditional dish. 
Yummm.

Flame Trees for Friday

 The vibrant red flame trees have been brilliant this week.  They look great from the distance, especially from  the road on the way up or down the hill.  These are seen from the top floor at school, looking out to the hills across the roofline of Suan Bua, the resort next door.
The close up below is of of a tree in the school grounds, that brightens my morning as it is the first thing that draws my eye as I leave the apartment block.
This flame tree is also known as the Royal Poinciana Tree in Thailand.  Its scientific name is Delonix Regia.  It is not the same tree Cold Chisel sing about, the Illawarra Flame tree, Brachychiton acerifolius, but according to wikipedia this tree is used as a street tree in Brisbane.

Songkran Sandcastles

Pop, Grade 11, on the right and Karla, Grade 4 on the left were dressed in Thai traditional costume for the APIS Thai Cultural Day.

 

Today at APIS we celebrated Thai New Year, or Songkran.  The celebration was two weeks late, as Songkran was 13-15 April, typical APIS, but we had fun and I was able to miss a double period of Year 9 Science - always a good thing.

The play ground was decorated with colored banners and umbrellas, the portable sound system was pumping out some Thai tunes, fun for all.  The photo also shows one of the flame trees in the school grounds which are putting on a spectacular show at the moment.

A part of welcoming the New Year at Song Kran is  to build sandcastles.  This is usually in the grounds of a temple and it is seen as a way of returning sand to the temple that has been taken away by visitors throughout the year.

Im, Grade 6, sorts through the flowers to be used for decorating the sandcastles.  The vibrant orange of the marigolds was beautiful.

 Pon, Jay and Yu, all Grade 12, (my advisory group) begin work on what was to become the best sandcastle of the day.