Since we got in too late the night before, we kept the bike another day. We had breakfast at the guest house, and while we were eating, a Kiwi couple (Brendan and Bridgit) came in straight off the sleeper train. We got to talking, and they decided to stay at our guest house, rent a bike, and join us to travel to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.

Doi Suthep is 16 km outside of Chiang Mai, and the Wat on top of the mountain is one of the holiest in northern Thailand. It is said that in the 14th century, the king followed a white elephant to the top of the hill, where it collapsed and died from exhaustion. This was taken as a sign to build the temple on that very spot. 300 steps lead up to the wat, and nagas, or serpent-like creatures, guard the staircase (see their photo in the "Doi Suthep" photo album).

We sauntered around the temple and tried to take it all in. One aside-- the sights in Thailand really don't seem to be very Westerner friendly. There are hardly any signs in English, and the brochures are spartan at best. As a result, we are pretty much on our own in terms of learning about the sights themselves. That said, we read up on Doi Suthep after our visit when we got some time on the Internet.

After the temple, we rode down to some waterfalls that line the mountain. This was our first exposure to traditional Thai food stall snacks. That means the stalls sold everything from fried chicken or sticky rice to fried cockroaches or pig intestines, grubs, or almost any other creature whole or part you can think of. Brendan dared me to eat something, and while I am always tempted by a dare, Bev quickly forced Brendan to take it back. I love my wife!

We briefly explored the waterfalls, and we headed back to return our bikes and have a few beers. We decided to grab some Thai food for dinner together, and our friends gave us a TON of good information about New Zealand. They even offered to put us up in a room if we make it to their town.

Tomorrow will be a trip planning day, as we need to figure out if we will be volunteering out east in Thailand, going to the Gibbon experience (zip lining in the forest canopy in Laos and staying in a tree house), or taking the slow boat to Luang Prabang, Laos. Stay tuned!