One sunny Sunday afternoon, Taylor and I decided to take a road trip on some mopeds. We headed out in the direction of the mountains on the west side of Chiang Mai. What drew us to this mountain? Well, from pretty much anywhere in the city, you can look up and see a golden structure on the side of the mountain …..so we set out to see it.
We acquired a map from a teammate and set our course. We filled up our mopeds with gas and began our trek to the mountain. At first, we began driving on the right side of the road only to remember that they drive on the left side – opposite of the states! (fortunately no one was injured in our forgetfulness). The trip up the mountain was beautiful! Trees lining both sides of the two lane road, scenic stopping points along the road to overlook the city of Chiang Mai, and minimal traffic made for a beautiful drive!
The mountain we were heading up was called Doi Suthep. The golden structure that can be seen is actually a wat (temple) containing a pagoda (chedi) for Buddha’s relics. But to get to the wat required us to climb 306 almost vertical steps designed to look like a snake (Naga – serpent). Don’t worry, anyone not up for the challenge can take a cable car up that is about 50 cents.
When we finally reached the top, we discovered that the temple is called Wat Phra Thrat Doi Suthep. Why in the world is the wat on the side of a mountain? Well legend has it that a white elephant that was carrying Buddha’s relics died here and that is where the pagoda was erected. In light of this, many travel here throughout the year to visit….it is quite the tourist attraction as foreigners are required to pay about $1 to enter. As you can see below there was a lot to discover…..
(from: http://www.chiangmai-chiangrai.com/wat-phra-thart-doi-suthep.html)
While we didn’t take the formal tour of the wat, we were able to learn a few things about it as we walked around:
- It was built in the 14th century.
- After Buddhism was embraced by Thailand, this place became an epicenter for the religion.
- Some believe that the remains of Lord Buddha are housed inside the relic, making it a sacred place.
- Many travel here to offer sacrifices and offerings to various Buddha statues in order to receive blessings from them –
- In this photo there is a buddha for each day of the week that you can put money in or incense or flowers around in order to be blessed.
- There are living quarters and a school for monks. They learn more about Lord Buddha but also have the same subjects as students in regular school too.
As the sun slowly descended down to the horizon, Taylor and I made our way back down the Naga staircase to our mopeds. What a fun and educational day it had been!
Lauren
><>
And the race continues in Cambodia…..
