January 14, 2014 Tuesday

Today was a walking day, as are many.

I start out walking around Wat Chedi Luang in the morning. If I rise early enough, I love being near Wat Checi Luang before 7 AM before breakfast. It is most peaceful then, and the old chedi is beautiful in the rising sun. This is a frequent view of mine of the large chedi from the east, although this was not taken in the rising sun light.

After breakfast, I headed to the southeast corner of the wall, what is known as Katum Corner. I like all four corners of the wall, and have no favorite. The old wall has great character, and the corners are the best preserved parts of the wall.

Katum Corner from just north of the actual corner (which is over to the left a little more).

Katum Corner from the south. The plaque reads Katum Corner in Thai and English.

Wat Srisuphan, The Silver Temple

Then I headed out of the old city and down Wua Lai Road into what is know as the silver shop area. The last time I was here, most of the silver shops were closed as it was the day after there had been a late night street market. Today, many were also closed for no known reason. I proceeded down to Wat Srisuphan, also known as the Silver Temple. This is a very old temple, first founded in 1501.

Even the entrance sign is made in the silver/aluminum/zinc alloy and is very beautiful.

In 1509, the ubosot (similar to a viharn or worship hall, but special ceremonies are performed in an ubosot, giving it a different name, and also the prohibition of women) was built to house a special Buddha image, formerly called Pra Chao Jed Tue, now called The Praputthapathiharn Buddha image, where it remains to this day.

A photo of the inside of the ubosot and The Praputthapathiharn Buddha image.

At the entrance of the ubosot showing the thewada (angelic beings that live in the heavenly realms) images around the entrance door.

Due to poor construction material, the ubosot has been rebuilt several times, with the most recent started in 2004 and scheduled to be completed sometime in 2015. The silver artwork is done by local Lanna artists using alloy and zinc; due to the high cost, silver is used on the holy images only.

Boutique della Pasta (again)

Still being a little shy about getting back to Thai food, I was hungry for that wonderful bruscetta at Boutique della Pasta again, so I returned. And I did order the bruscetta, but this time, instead of ordering the ravioli again, I opted for a traditional Italian dish, lasagna.

The bruscetta was as beautiful and  tasted every bit as good as the first time I had it. That olive oil is good, those tomatoes fresh, and the bread is just about perfect. And just a hint of garlic, not overpowering the other flavors.

Lasagna is not uncommon in the U.S., and there are many versions that are very good. This is among the best I have ever had. The pasta is freshly made, the cheese tasty and not overpowering, and the flavor of the marinara sauce rich, and at the same time subtle. No flavor overpowered anything else, they all complemented and worked together. A delicious lasagna!

Next: Walking along the moat once again.