Wat Doi Suttep

I had a pretty magical experience at Chiang Mai's famous Wat on Doi Suttep. I was wandering around the hill, looking at the beautiful sights (tons of bells, gongs, enshrined trees, buddha statues, and a gorgeous golden chedi in the temple center)and contemplating the invisibility that I (and many others it seems) so often cultivate in crouds--the feeling of looking around, but not catching anyone's eyes...not really seeing nor being seen. I got to feeling a bit dejected about it, so I went and found a bench to myself and started writing in my journal. Before too long, a monk came up to me and we talked for a bit. Turns out he is from Laos (where I am going today). He was excited to practice his english and I was excited to hear his story. We swapped e-mails and he gave me some chips from his alms that morning that he didn't want and two books: one on vegetarianism and one on buddhist meditation (I had asked him where I might be able to study as a woman foreigner). I laughed that he gave me chips with fish and a book on going veggie...I will have to write him about this irony. I wound up giving the chips to my taxi driver, but the exchange left a smile in my heart.