Hiking Up Doi Suthep, Part 2

Saturday, January 14, 2017
Hiking up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Part 2

The second part of the hike is up a long, steep climbing hiking trail through the jungle to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep much of which is steeper than climbing stairs. The day was warm and humid, and I was sweating heavily.

The trail goes along a set of power lines that serve the temple at the top. It may be that the hiking trail emerged from a maintenance road for the power lines, but much of the trail is too steep and rugged for any but the most extreme off road vehicles, so I am not too sure. On the left part of the picture is a concrete power pole.

And along this part of the trail is a power or communication cable at about head-height. This is a very steep section of the trail.

And here is one of many trees across the trial that one must climb or step over. I do not see it possible for a vehicle to get over this obstacle.

The last section of the climb is another very steep section, in the dense part of the jungle.


Suddenly, after climbing a series of almost stair steps in the hill, one emerges near the main road. The jungle brush and foliage muffles all sound, and thus the jungle is quiet. Coming out of the jungle along the road, the noise is quite noticeable.

And then we are at the start of the 309 or 307 steps up to the actual temple. I have counted the steps several times, and I think the discrepancy in the various published counts is (1) do you start counting at 1 or 0, and (2) at the top, does the one step down to the last landing count? If you start counting at 0 and do not count the last step down, there are 307 steps. But if you start counting at 1 and count that last step down, you get 309. Does it matter, no, but it is a long, beautiful stairway flanked by this rich ceramic tile making up the scales of the naga (serpent).

Just before we enter into the main temple area is this doorway. I have never seen these doors open, and I am always compelled to take a picture - the dancing 4-armed thewada (angels) on the doors are just so  fun.

Another worship/prayer area flanked by these very large elephant tusks and a snake/serpent icon. Another fanciful item I always feel compelled to photograph.

Inside the main temple area is the chedi that holds the sacred relic.

Thai people come here to walk three or seven circumferences around the chedi praying. Today being children's day in Thailand is quite busy, and there are many people here making their prayer walk around the chedi.

 A shot of tone of the corners with some of the people walking and praying.

another view of the gold chedi, always appearing strong and powerful. [And a few heads of people walking and praying.]

One of the Buddha icons at which people pray. This one is a rich, very dark green. It is said to have been quarried near Chiang Rai, farther to the north.

This Buddha icon is a rose-colored stone. I do not know the story, but I do not remember seeing this one in past visits to this temple.

A shot of me squinting into the bright sun at the base of the gold chedi.

Another shot of me at the base of the Naga Stairway.

Next: A diversion to the Hmong Hill Tribe Village and the hike down Doi Suthep

Hiking Up Doi Suthep, Part 1

Saturday, January 14, 2017
Hiking up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Part 1

Today Tom Dickson, a friend from Sydney, Australia, and I are are hiking up Doi Suthep to the temple near the top of the mountain.

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep

This temple is often called "Doi Suthep," although that is the name of the mountain on which it is located. Doi means mountain, and Suthep is the name of the mountain. And I think "Phra That" in the name means that the temple houses some important relic of the Buddha. Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is a Royal Temple of the Second Class.

There is much mythology and legend about the temple's founding, said to have been in 1383. Over time the temple has been expanded and made more extravagant.

White Elephant Legend

Quoting Wikipedia:

According to legend, a monk named Sumanathera from the Sukhothai Kingdom had a dream. In this vision he was told to go to Pang Cha and look for a relic. Sumanathera ventured to Pang Cha and found a bone. Many claim it was Gautama Buddha's shoulder bone. The relic displayed magical powers: it glowed, it was able to vanish, it could move and replicate itself. Sumanathera took the relic to King Dhammaraja, who ruled Sukhothai. The eager Dhammaraja made offerings and hosted a ceremony when Sumanathera arrived. However, the relic displayed no abnormal characteristics, and the king, doubtful of the relic's authenticity, told Sumanathera to keep it.

King Nu Naone of Lan Na heard of the relic and bade the monk to bring it to him. In 1368, with Dharmmaraja's permission, Sumanathera took the relic to what is now Lamphun, in northern Thailand. Once there, the relic broke into two pieces. The smaller piece was enshrined at Wat Suan Dok. The other piece was placed by the king on the back of a white elephant which was released into the jungle. The elephant is said to have climbed up Doi Suthep, at that time called Doi Aoy Chang (Sugar Elephant Mountain), stopped, trumpeted three times, then dropped dead. This was interpreted as an omen. King Nu Naone immediately ordered the construction of a temple at the site.

Hiking up Doi Suthep

We are hiking up the mountain today. A little less than half way, we will pass through Wat Palad. This temple in the jungle was built because the white elephant is said to have stopped at this creek crossing for a time before continuing on (or perhaps the elephant stopped to drink water from the creek). Another story is that people and elephants crossing the creek at this point often slipped and fell. Chiang Mai elders said that the word "Pa-lad" originally comes form Chiang Mai word "Pa-Lert." which means "to slip and fall." Later the word pa-lert became pa-lad.

Wat Palad is one of my favorite temples because it is seldom visited by tourists yet is fairly easily accessible (if one is willing to walk up through the jungle for 40-45 minutes), making it a very peaceful place for a meditation. First, we have to get up to Wat Palad on the hiking trail.

Tom drive his motorbike with me as a passenger to the trail head, about 750 meters up the hill from Wat Fai Hin. I have not explored Wat Fai Hin very much; it is more of a local temple and when I have been in the area, my goal is to hike up through the jungle/forest to Wat Palad and/or Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.

This photo is of the first part of the hiking trail, here it is about like climbing stairs. The photo does not convey the steepness.

After that steep section, we are hiking through the forest/jungle. The grasses are denser than in past years, likely die to a fairly rainy December and first part of January.

Here this looks more like a forest than a jungle. As we hike up higher, the trees change. Lower it is more of a jungle and higher more of a forest.

sometimes the overgrowth makes the path seem almost as if we are going into a cave.

I remember this tree from past hikes here. This photo also shows how this appears a little more like a jungle than a forest.

Wat Palad - Almost Half Way

Then we are at Wat Palad. We are going to push on and not explore much on the hike up. We have both been to Wat Palad many times. I'll get more photos on the way down or the next time I make this hike.

Here is Tom hanging out before we cross over the creek and head up the last 200 meters of steep climbing to get to the road. Then we cross the road and continue up through the jungle to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. Wat Palad is about 3/8 of the way up the hill - a little less than half way.

Here starts the climb up from Wat Palad to the road, up what starts out appearing to be stairs in the hill.

Unfortunately, the camera does not capture the steepness of this part of the climb (or I do not know how to make that photograph tell the story).

This last section of the trail to the road is very steep, and I have to grab onto the bamboo at the sides of the trail to get myself up. (And I did not have my camera out.)

Once we get to the road, we walk along the road for about 100 meters, cross the road, and look for a yellow arrow on the edge of the road and a stand of bamboo with a very faded orange cloth. After a few years, the faded orange cloth is the same color as the brownish bamboo, but it is there. This marks the entrance into the second part of the trail.


Next: Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Part 2

Walking Around the Northeast Corner of the Old City

Friday, January 13, 2017
Around the Northeast Corner of the Old City

All signs indicate that we are having a break from the dark cloudy and rainy days. Today is bright and sunny, but very humid. After breakfast, I then went off to yoga at Wild Rose. At Wild Rose, I saw Tom Dickson, a friend from Sydney, Australia whom I met last year at Wild Rose, and with whom I made a number of hikes around and outside the old city. Tom only has a couple more days in Chiang Mai on this trip, so with the forecast of several sunny days, we made plans to hike up to Doi Suthep tomorrow, Saturday, hoping that the path will dry a little in today's sun.

Lunch at Blue Diamond

After a bit of a rest, I headed out for lunch to the northeast corner of the old city where there are many guest houses and many small restaurants. A not so small restaurant in this area is Blue Diamond (Moon Muang Road Soi 9), highly regarded and popular for their vegetarian and vegan food, home-baked goods, many gluten-free, and hill tribe coffee. Some people have said it is the best coffee in Chiang Mai, but there are many places that server very good coffee in northern Thailand, so that is a difficult comparison. All of the food at Blue Diamond is good quality. In some reviews, people have said that the Thai lady who owns and runs Blue Diamond is like a rude New Yorker, but she is always nice to me, maybe because I have returned many times, and always compliment her on the good food. I do not expect her to be my friend -- she focuses on managing and overseeing the business, and in all the meals I have had at Blue Diamond, they have never gotten my order wrong. And I return because the food at Blue Diamond is consistently good.

Northwest Corner of the Wall

After lunch, I wandered a bit around the northeast corner of the wall/moat.

Walking down Soi 9 toward Moon Muang Road, I passed this new restaurant. I may have to check this out - their statement is pretty bold. So I wonder how this compares to Rock Me Burger down on Loi Kroh Road. Worth an investigation, but with time here limited, there are too many good choices, and another burger place may not be the best choice.

When I last walked all around the wall/moat, it was raining as I walked past Tha Phae Gate and up to Siphum Corner, the northeast corner of the wall. So here is Siphum Corner approaching from west walking east. The moat water color varies depending on the amount of algae growing. I have seen it quite blue, and today it is quite green.

 This view is the opposite of the previous picture, looking west down the moat from Siphum Corner. Th hill in the background is Doi Suthep, up which Tom and I will be hiking tomorrow.

And then approaching and just across from Tha Phae Gate is this familiar emblem. I have little reason to go to Starbucks, because of the many places with very good Thai coffee here, but many Thai people go to Starbucks. Just as we are interested in and fascinated by foreign food and drinks, so are the Thai people...and Starbucks is foreign when in Thailand.

And here is guess who right outside Tha Phae Gate.

The sign is in modern Thai, old Thai, and English. What little I know of the old Thai is that it was used into the 20th century and supplanted by modern Thai as efforts were made to make the language consistent over the whole country (an impossible task).

The Tha Phae Gate history. This is on a stone plaque just to the right of the gate entrance, and few people seem to read it. I read this story on the internet before my first or second visit, and then discovered the plaque: there it is for anyone to read right at the gate. This history also mentions the outer wall - there was a second, outer, earthen wall closer to the river for many centuries. There are only a couple of places where evidence of the old outer wall can be seen. I'll try to get a few photographs of that older earthen wall soon and post them here.

A broader view of Tha Phae Gate. Just outside the gate, where I am standing is a square covering a section of the moat about 60-70 meters long. This square just outside Tha Phae Gate is used for concerts, for the New Year's celebration main stage, and other events. In the early evening, if nothing else is taking place, this is where street performers congregate. I recently saw a fellow doing a while routine with flaming batons, twirling and throwing them...probably would not have been allowed in the U.S. (And I was without my camera that evening.)

Next: A Hike Up Doi Suthep

Walking back from a haircut in Chiang Mai

Thursday, January 12, 2017
A Haircut in Chiang Mai and the Walk Back

Every year that I have been in Chiang Mai, there is a lady named Eva from Estonia who is also here. I met Eva through Rose of Wild Rose Yoga, and Eva cuts hair...Yay!

I need a bit of a trim after having been away from home for more than three weeks. So I contacted Eva through Facebook (many people here use Facebook Messenger instead of e-mail for communication), and she was available today, Thursday.

I had lunch at Blue diamond, and then headed out to the house where Eva is staying.

 Eva is house-sitting in a home across the Mae Ping River, so I got a ride there (Chaingmai-Lamphun Road Soi 3). This is a busy highway, basically the main highway from Chiang Mai to Lamphun (this the name...Chaingmai-Lamphun Road). Soi 3 (a "soi" is bigger than an alley, but smaller than a road, more what we might call a lane) is surprisingly quiet as soon as I walked away from the main road. Eva had sent me two pictures of the house making it easy to find. It is a very nice house with a surprisingly large fenced yard.

The one dog was very curious, but very quickly became disinterested. The cats were a little more social at first, but also soon became bored and curled up under one of the trees by the patio.

Eva did the haircut here in the yard, under the umbrella. Sorry...I did not get any pictures of the before and after, but I look basically the same (I'm not very adventurous when it comes to haircuts). 

Eva was surprised when I told her that on my recent walk on the Camino de Santiago I had met a couple from Estonia. she had many questions about the Camino experience, and I shared some of the pictures. Then it was time to walk back. I was a little concerned about the walk along the main highway to get to the Iron Bridge, and Eva agreed and told me of a different, much safer route.

Walking Back to The Old City

At the end of Soi 3 is this walking bridge, completely removed from the main highway, and not even negotiable by motorbike, so a few walkers and bicycles only.

And if it were raining, the bridge is covered, very nice. As you can see from the pictures, the sky has some very light clouds -- it is a very nice day in Chiang Mai with no sign of rain.

 These stairs on either side make it almost impossible for a motorbike to cross the bridge.

 After getting across the bridge and through the small neighborhood, I was on another major road, Charoen Prathet Road, but this one has fairly broad sidewalks, much safer then the Chiangmai-Lamphun Road.

I crossed the busy road on this pedestrian bridge, and was soon just south and east of the Night Bazaar area, so it was east to find Loi Kroh road which would take me up to the old city, passing Rock-Me Burger along the way (too bad I'm not hungry; Rock Me Burger is quite good).

Hard Rock Cafe, Chiang Mai

Down by the Night Bazaar area is the new Hard Rock Cafe, Chiang Mai. I do not think it was here last year, but I seldom come this way, so it might have been.

And the sign outside is unique to Thailand with the guitar on the elephant. It is about 4:00 PM, and the staff is milling around near the entrance waiting for the busier time to arrive. The Nigh Bazaar starts at 5 PM, and my guess is that things pick up quite a bit after 5.

After the long walk, I got a shower, had a snack and headed to The Yoga Tree for the weekly gathering of the Green Papaya Sangha meditation group.

Another good day in Chiang Mai.

Next: Walking Around the Old City

Flower Market and Wat Kate Karam

Monday, January 9, 2017
Walking to the Flower Market and Wat Kate Karam

There was a small break in the rainy weather today, so I headed out on a longer walk. My intention was to walk from the old city down to Warorot Market (Kad Luang), walk by the flower market, and then across the new walking bridge over the Ping River to Wat Kate Karam. 

Walking to Warorot Market

 Along the road from the old city to Warorot Market I saw this wicker and basket shop. Quite an extensive inventory of various tightly woven wicker household items. On a visual examination, the quality seems quite nice.

I have passed this store before. These are brand-new foot-pedal-operated Singer sewing machines. The store has more this year than last, so these must be still made. I was once told that for some types of sewing, foot-pedal-operation is preferred for the better control it offers. Hard to believe, but they are selling them here. There are other brands of similar sewing machines in this shop; I photographed the Singer models because I know that brand.

The Flower Market

Warorot Market, known as Kad Luang (Kad = Market, Luang = really large), is a large market near the Ping River where many Thai locals do their shopping, so one can find the same or similar goods that are seen at other markets, but often cheaper and usually of better quality. There are also many, many goods here that cannot be found in the tourist markets like the Night Bazaar. One can buy almost anything at Warorot Market. There are fresh/dried fruit - vegetables - flowers, butchery and bakery items, herbs, condiments, clothing, shoes, cosmetics, jewelry, lacquerware, silks, hemps, handicrafts, ceramics, wood carvings, beauty supplies, household appliances, electronic gadgets, sunglasses, watches, souvenirs, and fireworks, just to name a few.  I skip Warorot Market because it is complex, extensive, and confusing.

Adjacent to Warorot Market is the Flower Market, known as Ton Lamyai Market, my first target for the day's walk. The Flower Market is along the Ping River on Praisanai Road, and is really just made up of a series of small shops that specialize in one or a few types of flowers. When I have been here in the morning, it is a flurry of activity unloading freshly cut flowers from pickup trucks. The sheer volume of flowers along the market itself is impressive.

 And here are an extensive collection of fresh pussy willows for adding to arrangements.

 The collections go on and on, and each little shop has a large collection of the flowers they sell.I am not a flower expert of even very knowledgeable, but these look like orchids. And I only got a small group in the photo...there are more here.

And more and more...


The flowers are striking and beautiful every time I come here. The Thai people seem to love fresh flowers.

The Walking Bridge

A walking bridge between the Flower Market and Wat Kate Karam had been in place parallel to the busy highway bridge for many years. In 2005, a flood seriously damaged the walking bridge and people continued using it though it was deemed unsafe. The government finally destroyed and removed the walking bridge citing safety concerns, and promised it would be rebuilt. For the past 5 or 6 years, I have heard that the walking bridge was to be replaced "next year" but no evidence of planning or construction was seen. Last year, that changed, and the new walking bridge arose. It opened for use in the spring of 2016, shortly after I had left.

And now, here is the new walking bridge across the Ping River. Stable, solid, and an easy walk over the river from the Flower Market to Wat Kate Karam.

Wat Kate Karam

 Wat Kate is one of my favorite temples. It is not particularly fancy, but it has a very appealing personality. And the inside of the viharn (worship hall) is very beautiful in its rich woodwork.

The spelling and sounds of the name does not translate well into English. At the temple, the name is spelled in English three ways: Wat Ket, Wat Kate, and Wat Gate. The sound of is not quite like the English hard "K" sound or the hard "G" sound, it is a sound in between those two.






A special event was in preparation, so the doors to the major and lesser viharn were closed today. I'll return and get pictures another time.





















A long walk today, almost 16,000 steps according to my FitBit. That is more than walking one circumference around the wall/moat (which I shall do again).

After a cleanup and a bit of a rest, it was time for dinner. Rose and John of Wild Rose Yoga suggested an Italian place very near where I am staying. I went there, and on their menu was gazpacho (!) Yay! Gazpacho is one of those things that varies quite a bit, and is usually quite good. The ingredients, tomatoes, cucumbers, and other vegetables, are all here and fresh, so I ordered the gazpacho. [I think gazpacho is more of a Spanish dish than an Italian dish, but why not.]

A bowl of chunky gazpacho with croutons and a watermelon fruit shake (no dairy). Very, very tasty.

And at John's recommendation, I tried their pizza and it was also very good. Mmmm... A very good day in Chiang Mai.

Next: A Haircut in Chiang Mai

Walk to Lunch in the Old City

Thursday, January 5, 2017
Off to Lunch in the Old City

Today was rainy and cloudy again. I did find a dry patch on which to sit for my morning meditation at Wat Chedi Luang, but it was still a little wet everywhere. Then it was breakfast and then yoga at Wild Rose Yoga with Ploy, a Thai teacher with the most beautiful poses. Ploy is elegant in her transitions between poses, settling into an almost textbook example of the pose. Though her poses are more extreme than I can manage, she is so very inspiring in her presentation and description that the poses seem accessible. Ploy's classes are a real treat; and all of the teachers at Wild Rose Yoga fall into the same category - beautiful, elegant, inspiring. There is a lot to learn here at Wild Rose Yoga, every day!

Walking to lunch in the Old City

Because of the rain, I am not venturing too far from 3-Sis. There is a little break in the rain, so I am heading up to Blue Diamond for lunch.

Along the way, I stopped at a nice temple, Wat Dok Kham. Often overlooked, this small temple is in the eastern side of the old city, just north of Tha Phae Gate. The doors to the main viharn (worship hall) have these nice depictions of thewada (angelic beings that live in the heavenly realms). Thewada have no gender, but depending on the artist sometimes appear very male or appear very female. These look very male.

Note that the doors are closed, and this being about noon or later, it is unclear when one can enter. I expect to see doors of viharn closed early in the morning or sometimes after sunset, but I did not expect to see these doors closed at midday. There may be some special event taking place or in preparation inside.

The second main building at Wat Dok Kham is this building with the Mom (pronounced moam) creatures on the stairway banisters. Moms come in pairs, one with mouth open and the other with mouth closed. I do not know the story of the mom, but I am certain there is a story. I have often seen these at the entrance to a temple library or something similar to a library, never at the entrance of a viharn.

Somphet Market

Somphet Market is a smaller but always busy fruit and vegetable market inside the old city, at Moon Muang Road Soi Six. [Moon Muang Road is the inner-moat road on the east side of the moat/wall, and Soi six is the sixth lane (bigger than an alley, smaller than a road) from the south.] Soi six is just about 150 meters north of Tha Phae Gate.

You can see fruits, vegetables, and much fresh food here in Somphet Market every day, and food is arriving all day. For those that live in the old city and do not want to venture out to Muang Mai Market (a VERY large market), Somphet Market is very good and easily accessible.

Next: The Flower Market and Wat Kate Karam