![\"temples1\"](\"http:\/\/durianapocalypse.net\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/temples11.jpg\" "\\"temples1\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe interior is pretty neat; most notably for a fun series portraying the important animals posed in front of the stupa.<\/p>\n A nearby park was sporting these cool\u2026um, banners, would you call them?<\/p>\n And Wat Ched Yod, down near the bus station, had another of these humongous Buddhas that always cause the heart to skip a beat or three.<\/p>\n Exterior not too shabby, either!<\/p>\n Saturday evening, visited the Saturday Walking Street. Same concept as the Sunday Walking Street, but in a different part of town. Saturday\u2019s incarnation seems to have a greater variety of vendors, and a much more extensive food alley.<\/p>\n Some nice-\/interesting-looking plants for sale along the Street.<\/p>\n This one particular vendor, though, was rockin’ some pretty odd labels for its delicacies.<\/p>\n This last one, \u201cChili burn\u201d: it may be somewhat difficult to see from the photo, but it looks like apple strudel or something of the sort. At any rate, something not<\/em> like what one would think might be labeled \u201cChili burn\u201d.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the dreaded pork<\/em> makes an appearance!<\/p>\n Pretty good three-piece trad. outfit getting busy down near the western extreme.<\/p>\n Elsewhere \u2018round town: don\u2019t pretend you don\u2019t want some!<\/p>\n \u2026but I don\u2019t get why they didn\u2019t spell it out backwards, a la ambulances?<\/p>\n Anyhow, it\u2019s kind of difficult to know from this angle; but this guy\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026is the spitting image of Vijay Singh! I had to do a double-triple-quadruple-take when crossing in front of him at the light.<\/p>\n Also some very nice cloud formations in Chiang Rai. For some reason, though, I\u2019m not as obsessed with photographing clouds as I\u2019d been a few years ago.<\/p>\n Now then, Durian may be the King Of Fruits, and Mangosteen the Queen; but the mighty Lychee seems to hold a very special place in Thais\u2019 hearts as well. I told before of having shared some with the street-vendor-lady in Kanchanaburi, thereby earning her most gratitudinous thanks.<\/p>\n Up here in the north of Thailand,\u00a0 very noticeably so in Chiang Rai, it\u2019s like to impossible to walk down the street carrying oneself a bag of lychees without many a different local commenting upon the fact. Every time somebody does make a passing comment (it\u2019s usually just something along the lines of, \u201cHey! Lychee!\u201d), I stop and offer to share. The offer\u2019s only accepted maybe about a third of the time; but is always well received.<\/p>\n So now we know: you want Thais to laugh<\/em> at you right to your face, walk around barefoot; you want them to love<\/em> you, walk around toting Lychees. (Although, as I say, they\u2019re more consistently delectable here in Chiang Mai than in Chiang Rai.)<\/p>\n [dc]B[\/dc]ack in Chiang Mai, I beat a hasty path to the park to get my takraw fix. The action was particularly good my first night back.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n