Later, we observed the entire process of creating silk fabric. Silkworms are raised in baskets of mulberry leaves until they spin cocoons.

The cocoons are then soaked in hot water to loosen the threads, which are collected on spools.

Dyeing, weaving, and hand-painting or embroidery finish the process, resulting in some of the most beautiful fabric we've ever seen.

After dinner, we went to the Chiang Mai night bazaar, where we searched for bargains among the thousands of shops and sidewalk stalls.

A few hardy souls were up at 4:00 a.m. to observe and participate in the traditional alms-giving near the entrance to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep temple. Stalls are set up with prepackaged balanced meals for sale to those wanting to give alms. The monks file out on bare feet, holding steel bowls to collect food.

Ray arranged a lecture and discussion on Buddhism with a worldly-wise monk—he could name all the professional sports teams from our hometowns.

After breakfast, we drove to the mountaintop Wat Phra That Doi Suthep temple overlooking Chiang Mai, the most beautiful of any we'd seen...

Barbara tried out the sound of a gigantic gong...