CHIANG MIA

We took a tuk-tuk which has a motorbike engine and carries two passengers to the Wat Phra Singh. The building both inside and out was awe inspiring although slightly more down to earth than the usual quiet meditative Wat as there was a monks' seminary next door and some of the novitiates were playing a very noisy game of football! As all male Thais are expected to become monks during their lifetime ,albeit for a short period ie 3 months ,the standard of monks does rather vary.
We also then visited another Wat but if ,like us ,you are rather Wat -ed out I will spare you a description.
We are enjoying Chiang Mai which is a city twice the size of Cambridge and although there are lots of tourists they do not seem to effect the character of the place.
In the evening we went to a Thai boxing match - Linda very much on sufferance. We saw 12 bouts each of 5 times 2 minute rounds. Any part of the body,except the head ,can be used as a weapon. The only no - go area is the groin. It was amazingly stylised as is so much in Thai culture. Each boxer before the fight starts does his own little dance. Needless to say it was very brutal and enjoyable . Linda only stirred when one of two boxers - a Scot - was beaten by a Thai - thus the only other Scot in the building to say ' we was robbed'!