Page 17 - Thailand Laos Cambodia Myanmar 26 Day Sample

DAY 10 CHIANG MAI Meals included: Breakfast After breakfast, drive through the city, passing old city walls, gates and the city moat, markets, residential areas, foreign consulates, government buildings and Tapae, Chiang Mai’s main street. Continue your drive to Doi Suthep Temple. According to legend, the shrine of Wat Prathat Doi Suthep was erected in 1383 after a wandering white elephant carrying a sacred Buddha relic stopped here, trumpeted three times, and promptly died - an auspicious sign by Thai standards. Listen to the chants, hear the magnificent bells and gongs, experience worship in pageantry and symbolism. Doi Suthep Temple is the most sacred temple in Chiang Mai. Enjoy panoramic views of the city and the surrounding countryside. Then visit a Meo Hill tribe village, tucked away on a back road behind the Phu Ping Palace. The Meo live in houses that sit right on the ground, not on stilts as do most of the other tribes. The Meo, even more than the other tribes, practice a strict male-female division of labor. One custom that especially illustrates this is that of giving a newborn boy a gift of metal, whereas newborn girls receive no special gift. You will also see poppy plants with opium producing bulbs. Enjoy a leisurely afternoon. Overnight: Dhara Dhevi Hotel Chiang Mai – Colonial Suite