Touring Chiang Mai

Yesterday we had a busy day touring the city of Chiang Mai starting with the Doi Sutep Temple. This temple was located on the top of a mountain and provided wonderful panoramic views of the city. 

Our next stop was Laitons Inter trade, a place that lacquered various wooden pieces including plates, jewelry boxes, etc. We learned the process of laquering and were able to observe a woman putting the final touches of paint on the products. 

Egg shells are commonly used to decorate the pieces (white shells are duck eggs and brown shells are chicken eggs)

We then drove to Patchara Gallery which sold a variety of items that many people back home will be receiving as gifts!

We traveled a short distance to our next stop: Sinawatra Thai Silk. Here we learned about the life cycle of a silk worm and the stage at which the worm has to be removed from the cocoon so it does not form a hole and cause and break in the silk. 

Afterwards we went to the umbrella factory. Everyone's favorite part was getting an item of their choice painted on for a small fee. Most of our phone cases are now beautifully decorated with elephants. 

We were all exhausted but we still had it in us to make one last stop at a jewelry store. 

It was Dean Tanzer's last night on the trip so we went to dinner as a group and then shopped our way around the Sunday night market. 

We are sad to see Dean Tanzer leave and wish her a safe flight home but are excited to continue our journey with Dr. Krebs!