Roi Et: Wat Phra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol

This Sunday, P'Nuan and I went on one of our last Isaan adventures together. We both originally had friends that we invited to come with, but they canceled/ couldn't go at the last minute, so it turned out to be just P'Nuan and I, and it was a near perfect day :)

I woke up with a sore throat and feeling very stressed about all of the end of the year lessons, packing, and travel plans that I had to do, and to be honest, I didn't really want to go. However, staying true to my motto this year (to say "yes" more than "no") I agreed that we should still go. It was the most gorgeous drive and day. It was actually really calming for me to be in the car on the 2 hour drive there. Instead of being stressed and sad by the end of the year, I got to look out the window and leisurely appreciate beautiful Thailand and a country that I have grown to love so much. We had some of P'Nuan's traditional CD mixes in the car, and she was in a good mood, too. We stopped in Amnat Charoen province on the drive to Roi Et province, to see a giant Buddha. There weren't many people there, and the minute you pulled into the drive up to the Buddha, beautiful rubber trees lined the street with the Buddha majestically waiting for you at the end of the road. I have lived in Thailand 4 days short of one year today, and I am still enchanted everytime I see a spectacular Buddha or a fabulous wat. I don't think that I could ever get tired of living here.

After our quick stop in Amnat Charoen, P'Nuan and I hopped back into the car and headed to our main destination: Wat Phra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol in Roi Et (meaning "101" in Thai) province. I didn't really have expectations for this wat, but it was absolutely spectacular, like no other wat in Thailand that I've seen yet. P'Nuan pointed to a majestic looking pagoda way on the top of a leafy mountain when we began to approach it. Then she said "we're going there!" It almost looked like a castle. We had to pull to the side of the road and ask a few pedestrians and policemen for directions leading us to the right road up, but we finally found it. (I will really really miss how friendly and easily Thais ask other Thais for directions or help). Not only that, but I finally feel like I am at a point where my listening skills have improved so much in Thai, that I can actually understand the directions Thais give! A very cool, special feeling.

Once we arrived at Wat Phra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol, it was an absolutely mesmerizing experience. The wat was gold and white and looked like a palace. The fact that it was so high up on the mountain added to the effect. This wat was also like no other wat in that you could climb a series of different staircases to reach an amazing lookout from the top of the pagoda. It was a warm, breezy, beautiful Sunday, and I will always remember the way the weather felt, and just being in awe. On one side of the balcony you could see the beautiful French-style gardens below. On the other side of the balcony all you could see for as far as the eye could see were lush green jungle-like trees. It reminded me of Angkor Wat a bit :) As usual P'Nuan and I took thousands of pictures. (Sorry that there are so many selfies!)

After we explored the wat, we both went shopping at a local market right besides it. (This wat clearly had lots of visitors from both Roi Et, as well as different provinces). We both ended up buying the same really cool Thai-pattern palazzo style pants (I swear they're really beautiful). P'Nuan liked mine so much that she ended up buying the same exact pair. I wanted to wear them to school together on Monday- like twins! She didn't want to haha. I also bought a beautiful red jacket, and another pair of alibaba elephant pants. These ones are purple though, so don't judge. Come on, I can wear them over the next 3 months when I'm traveling! And in the USA never! 

After shopping we went to a Thai restaurant out in the country. Per usual, we had a feast.

It was a fabulous second to last Sunday for me, and I really appreciated the one on one time with P'Nuan, and her desire to take me on special adventures and to make this experience fun and meaningful for me.

Time is flying...

Me in front of a beautiful Buddha in Amnat Charoen province.

P'Nuan

Do you see me?

I don't remember the name of this wat in English!

So special

Majestic :)

Another selfie

P'Nuan!

Wat Phra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol in Roi Et

The pine-looking trees are a first sighting for me in Thailand!

Glimmering gold

So many Buddhas

Me!

I like this shot

We climbed way up to the top!

Like a palace...

Fountain

I like that this golden lady is holding a vase :)

Beautiful inside, too!

Gold! Gold! Gold!

We saw many monks and nuns exploring this wat, too.

There is a woman in pink wai-ing on the pillar :)

The chandelier above us

A monk enters from the balcony, and a monk-in-training

rings a bell outside 3 times for good luck!

The view from the top

The view from the front...gardens! I almost

think that you can appreciate symmetrical gardening

work more from high up above.

Me!

P'Nuan!

Really neat to look up and see this

Taking a picture of P'Nuan taking a picture :)

Me again

Yet again, me!

I literally felt like I was up in the clouds. It 

was a "heavenly" experience!

Gardens

The view of the jungle-y forrest in the back

The clearest day :)

Wow!!!

The spiral staircase to the final, and highest 

part of the pagoda.

P'Nuan being cute.

Gold! Gold! Gold!

Some kind of Isaan berry for sale at the market outisde!

I really wanted to buy some, but I thought that there was

a good chance that I might get sick :(

Coconuts and coconut water

P'Nuan at lunch!

Me with our food!

But wait, there is more...

Grilled & salted fish, tom yam fish soup, som tam...

Vegetables, Isaan noodles, gai yahng (grilled chicken), and

STICKY RICE!

There we go.

View from P'Nuan's car

I wanted to remember the sweet family who served us.

They kept having their little boy try and speak English with me. He was 

about 3 years old, and walked over to our table and just stared at me haha

On our drive home we saw a rainbow! It's faint, do you see it?

Do you see that it "starts" at the wat on the mountain?!

On the ride, we saw the wat in the distance

high up on the mountain. It was beautiful!

The wat, looming over gorgeous green rice fields.

About 20 minutes into our drive home, we passed 

another larger than life Buddha. (I love driving past these

magical things in Thailand!) P'Nuan waied it silently.