That's one strong monk! I'd probably just collapse after taking a few steps with 10 concrete blocks, but this one's taking them up, repeatedly, like a champ. The temple in the sky has a gorgeous location, surrounded by nature, with marvelous views - it seems a little scary to get to in the first place, but you're rewarded with the lovely temple at the end. Thank you for sharing!
Also, I love elephants and it's so awesome that there are sanctuaries for them in Thailand. It's absolutely atrocious that elephants in Africa or Asia are being poached for their tusks (or even their skin! That seems to be a new trend and it's despicable) so any and all safe places for them are among the best things humans can do for nature. Do poachers often make their way into non-protected areas of Thailand? (Or maybe all of Thailand is vigilant against the lust for ivory that drives elephant poaching - that would be awesome.) I was shocked when a Chinese coworker of mine mentioned they thought that elephants weren't killed for their ivory, instead they just cut off the tusks and let the elephants live - yeah no, that's too naive and the most disconcerting part is that this may be a more widespread, deadly, misconception. But I'm sure the Thai people know much better than that.
Lampang looks like a lovely place with love for art and nature, these are things that might be getting lost in America. Perhaps all of us here should make a possibly life changing trip there, to recover it and maybe we'll stress less and love more - that does sound nice!
Yes, the poaching is horrendous and pointless. On top of that, pollution from humanity over time has caused reproductive problems in elephants throughout Asia. Not sure if it's the same in Africa. The elephant hospital vets at the TECC are trying to reverse the effects and is slowly succeeding. I got to become friends with many mahouts and vets there over the years and some of the stories are inspiring. If you get to make it to Lampang one day, I'm confident the locals will welcome you with open arms. Hope you have a terrific weekend.
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Wishing you the best- @adsactly & @stewsak