Final Days in Bangkok/Train to Chiang Mai

As I reached the eighth day of my stay in Bangkok, I finally went to see the reclining Buddha located in Wat Pho (pronounced PO).

There are tons of these structures littering Wat Pho

Buddha's head was almost too big to take a picture of.

See Buddha recline.

Freshly manicured toes.

The bottom of Buddha's feet have mother of pearl engravings on the bottom

Pay the Buddha for good luck.

As this was the final sight I really had my heart on seeing, I felt like I had reached the end of my time in Bangkok. I had visited all the sights, I had wondered quite aimlessly, I had bartered, I had tasted the delicious food and I "enjoyed" an authentic Thai massage (yikes, by the way),  yet I had reserved the hostel for another five nights. The woman I had visited Wat Pho with, and who I had gotten to know over the course of a few days (Ina pronounced E-Na) was planning on taking the train to Chiang Mai that night. In the spirit of adventure and my desire to "go with the flow" I decided to join her. With that I booked my train, booked my hostel, packed my bag, and checked out. *Side note: Bangkok traffic is hideous. From our hostel to the train station, a usual fifteen minute excursion, it took one hour. Thank goodness we had left an hour and a half before our train left.

This is the train. And no the image does not do it justice. 

To give you a picture of what my bunk looked like, just imagine all of my 5 foot 6 inches barely fitting into the upper bunk. Although I have to admit, it was a nice change from flying to be able to "stretch" out and sleep from one destination to the next.

Arrival in Chiang Mai

After approximately fourteen hours on the train we arrived at Chiang Mai. It was refreshing to escape the smog of Bangkok. Once again I found myself surrounded by greenery. The rest of our day was spent wandering the streets of Chiang Mai deciding what our next move would be. 

Chiang Mai is surrounded by what appears to be a moat. 

After walking around practically the entire perimeter of the city, we decided to visit the Wats (Temples). (To be continued...)