Today was an eventful day for us and I'd love to share with you everything that we did! We started out visiting one of the Buddhist temples, called Doi suthep, on one of the mountains in Chiang Mai. To get to the temple we had to drive up the mountain on a twisty-turny road. Then we had to walk up about 300 steps in order to get to the entrance. This resulted in an amazing view, overlooking the city. We also spotted one of the largest flies I've ever seen, laying dead on the railing. While inside the temple, Seema and I decided to get blessings from a monk. While kneeling in front of the monk with our hands held together he chanted and splashed us with water. It was quite a memorable experience.
Next we went to the Umbrella Factory, where we were able to see the process of how the hand manufactured umbrellas were made. The umbrellas are primarily made out of bamboo and dyed using mulberry. These are not your every rainy day umbrellas but more of a high tech, 99% UV protection umbrellas. Once the umbrellas are put together they are painted with some of the nicest artwork I have ever seen. At the factory there was also many locals sitting around doing these amazing paintings for visitors. I decided to get elephants painted on my phone case. It only took the women about 10 minutes and she said it would last up to a year or two. I love it and can't wait to show it off!
Then we went to the Silk Company where we were able to see the entire process behind making and weaving silk. This includes silk worms, boiling the cocoons and hand weaving. We were welcomed with free beverages and then shown around the factory to see the process. At the beginning of the tour, we were able to compare many different kinds of silk as well as artificial silk. It was really cool to be able to feel the differences. I had no prior knowledge of how silk is made other than that silk worms are involved and that it takes a lot of work, making silk material expensive. To my surprise, the entire silkworm cocoon is placed in a pot of boiling water, with the worm still inside. This allows for the breakdown of the serricin substance of the cocoon, loosening the silk filaments, which can then be pulled and spun together into a silk strand. The strands are then hand loomed (weaved). Using the machine they are able to make about 4 meters of fabric per day. We ended the tour at the shop. There were shirts, scarves, ties, you name it, at high quality for a much lower price than we would find in the U.S.!
Our last visit was to a nearby tiger reservation. We were able to enter one of the cages and pet the small tigers. I asked one of the workers many questions, as I am often skeptical of these types of environments. I am pleased to say that the tigers did not seem to be sedated and the worker said that after 5 years they are released into a much larger reservation where they are able to roam around more freely. The small tigers that I encountered seemed very playful and happy. The one thing that I did not like was the small area that the tigers were kept in. However, each one had their own pool for when they are hot and to drink from, as well as tires and other toys to play with. Also, I did learn that tigers live about 5 years longer in captivity.
Thanks for checking in!
-Lindsey
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