June 11, 2017
This was our second day in Khon Kaen and we were going to explore a little bit of the city. Our first destination was the city shrine (picture shown below). We walked around and saw a pillar that was sacred to the people in Khon Kaen. I learned that every city has their own shrine with a pillar in the middle. Outside around the temple, people are allowed to pray and give flower offerings. In addition, people can read their fortune or get answers by shaking one stick out of a container. Therefore, before we left the shrine, we all were able to shake the sticks. It was really fun and exciting. However, it was a bit difficult for me to shake only one stick out. I eventually shook one out and obtain a piece of paper with my fortune on it. It was not bad but it was not exactly great either. However, the tour guide said that these fortunes are just beliefs and we do not have to take it personally.
We left the shrine and went to a souvenir shop next. It was a cute little store. After walking around the shop, I bought souvenirs for my friends and family back home. Everyone left with something in their possessions.
Our last destination was going to a nine-story temple called Wat Nong Wang. We all climbed to the top of the temple and saw a beautiful lake. This lake is called Nakhon lake. We spend some time at the temple and enjoyed the view.
Once we were all done, our last destination was the biggest shopping center in the city called Central Plaza. This plaza felt like home because it had a variety of Amercian stores. In addition, it has a movie theater. However, the only difference was that it has five levels all with multiple food courts. It sort of felt like being back in an American mall. 