Cheers to Mom!

August 12 is a big day in Thailand- it's the birthday of Queen Sirikit as well as Mother's Day. We celebrated by going to... where else but The 'Mother Temple' of Chiang Mai: Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, which overlooks the city. It was founded by an elephant carrying a piece of a holy relic: after three days of climbing Doi Suthep the elephant circled three times and then fell over and died at this site. The temple is now accessible via a 20 minute car ride on a good road full of switchbacks and twists and turns. Over 200 steps up a naga-flanked staircase complete the journey to the final level which affords a spectacular view of the city.

While there, we chanced upon another 'mom': a mythical creature featured as a textile and tattoo motif, and often seen guarding temple sanctuaries. All we lacked to complete my Mother's Day was daughter Leslie.