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A little heads always brings a smile to your face.

If you are in Chiang Mai and checking out the local wats, before you scream, “Enough!” you really need to pay a visit to Wat U-Mong. The temple is spread out in a jungle-like setting and offers a tranquil spot to get away from the hustle and bustle of Thailand’s second largest city. There’s even a large lake on the grounds where you can waste an afternoon feeding fish and enjoying a shady spot under the trees.

The wat has the requisite chedi, but otherwise looks completely different than other Thai temples. A good portion of it is built underground. The tunnels are well lit from natural skylights, paved with bricks, and hold several altar areas. Just outside the entrance to the tunnels is a graveyard for old and broken piece of Buddhist imagery. When people tire of or damage their Buddha statue, they drop it off at this strange little graveyard.

This is one of those ‘one too many’ photographs. The short post I did on the wat only allowed for a few and while I’m sure this Buddha head made that cut I took numerous shots of it from different angles. So here’s one more. I’d like to visit the wat again around the rainy time of the year. I’ve seen shots filled with greenery, some winding its way up this Buddha’s head and would love to capture that image too.

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