We had a lazy morning before we set off for a temple called Wat Phra Singh. It was built in the Lanna style, and the Chedi was first installled here in 1345. Inside the temple there were 7 monks (made of wax I assumed) who were incredibly life-like. It took me a minute or two to decided if they were people or not. Buddhists believe that these 7 monks can see the past, present, and future. We gave merit and received a blessing from a monk.
After we left the temple we went to get our nails done which we were all so excited about. The first thing I noticed about us as a group is that all of us had our nails and toe nails painted. We were treated marvelously and only paid around $22 for everything! It will never cease to amaze me how much cheaper things are there.
After lunch we headed to the biggest jewelry store in the world. We all went with dreams of buying some rubies to take home, but quckly began laughing at ourselves for dreaming that we could afford it!
I did manage to pick up some jade - matching tortoises for my mother and me and an elephant for my dear friend Sarah.
Afterwards we departed on our 15-hour overnight train ride back to Bangkok! It was such a neat experince, I really loved it. We had a great time eating pizza, talking, and laughing. I remember taking an incredible photo of the sunset. When it got dark out a man came down the aisles pulling the beds out. They began as two short bench seats facing each other and turned into a top and bottom bunk (I'll have photos better illustrating what I'm saying). When we were tired enough, we all fell asleep. I was lucky enough to be one of the few that slept wonderfully that night. Apparently as long as I'm lying down, I can sleep pretty much anywhere.