In the afternoon, we traveled about 45 minutes up a small mountain to Doi Suthep: "The Temple on The Hill". Way back yonder, they strapped some Buddha relics onto an elephant (an albino elephant to be exact), and wherever the elephant stopped they would build a temple. Well instead of going into the open fields, this elephant strayed up the mountain then circled three times, so they decided to build the temple on the hill. Once you are at the top of the hill, you have about 300 steps to climb, though the climb did not seem bad at all (however, about every ten steps our guide asked us if we were okay - we must look like lazy Americans).
The temple was crowded with tourists visiting for the holiday, and there were all sorts of shops, vendors, and dances being performed in front of the temple. The temple has a fantastic view overlooking Chiang Mai.
In the evening, we visited the night market in Chiang Mai, which was in walking distance from our hotel. This market was huge... much better then the one we went to in Bangkok. I strapped on my negotiating cap and went to work!
Tired from the early start this morning, we opted to skip the New Years Eve Eve celebrations and get to bed at a reasonable hour.
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