Day 5

What to do?

Today we had decided to go see Wat Phra That Do Suthep.  The temple is often referred to s Doi Suthep, although this is actually the name of the mountain where it is located.  It is a sacred site to many Thai people.  The temple is 15 km from the city of Chiang Mai.  We chose to take a Songtaew up there.  Our driver would then wait for us while we spent time at the temple and take us down the mountain again.  This is a very common practice and you will see tons of Songtaew waiting around but if you try and hire them you would be out of luck because they are waiting for their riders.

The original founding of the temple remains a legend and that legend does not vary much.  The temple is said to have been founded in 1383 when the first stupa was built.  Over time, the temple has expanded, and been made to look more extravagant with many more holy shrines added.  It is still a working monastery today.

Legend of the White Elephant

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.  Sumanthera ventured to Pang Cha and found a bone.  Many claim it was Gutama 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 the temple in Suadok.  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 the time called Doi Aoy Chang (Super 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.

Here we are headed up the 300 steps to the temple.  I love the steps to this temple.  I thought they were very beautiful and the hand rail is an intricately carved mythical Naga Serpent.  The first few steps have vendors where you can get food or trinkets.  Then you start on the main steps which are the Naga Serpent staircase.

Thảo and Jerame stopping for a bite before heading up the stairs.

These adorable girls selling their trinkets up and down the stairs while their parents work in the booths below.  They are from one of the local hill tribes.

 Shrine to the White Elephant

The main part of the temple, to go into this area you must remove your shoes.  There is a wide walkway all around the temple so if you go take your time and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

Looks like candy but it is actually offerings.  It is money put on the sticks.

 After finishing up looking around in the temple, we put our shoes back on and checked out the walkway around the temple.

 They loved the gongs, some you could touch some you couldn't.  These bells were very heavy and ringing them was not as easy as it looks!

  

 Check it out it says MOM - Mom temple area?  I don't know but we had to take a picture.  The monk in orange just came out of there. 

Such amazing views!  Beautiful

 

 I could not find anything that really told of the significance of this but it is just beautiful.

 So the toilets we have are considered western and this is more of typical toilet in Asia.

Actually this one is kinda of a mix between the two because it has a tank and is off the ground.  

Here is a picture of a more traditional squatter.  After you do your business you use the hose to clean off and to fill the tank which then uses gravity to "flush" it.

 These local tribe girls are just so cute.  I was good and didn't steal one.

 Time to head down!

The amazing head of the Naga Serpent Staircase and two cute little tribe girls.

 We didn't want to do any shopping before because we didn't want to carry it the whole time.  So we stopped at a few shops after.  Jed tried the waffle hot dog.  He said it tasted like, well a waffle and a hot dog.  I don't do hot dogs but did try a piece of the waffle and it was the yummy kind.

 He went and got me some corn.  Had to barter a bit because she wanted too much.

 Thảo and Jerame were on the hunt for a shirt for Jaden.

And now it's time to head back down the mountain.

Here are some sites from the drive down the mountain.

 Random bus stop? out in the middle of nowhere.

Once again the show of support for their King who recently passed away.

When you would stop at a stop light all the motor bikes would come to the front. 

 It was a lot of stairs so Jerame takes a snooze on the drive.

 Our next stop was to the Jedi Temple, yup that is right it is Wat Chedi Luang.

Wat Chedi Luang (วัดเจดีย์หลวง) is a Buddhist temple in the center of Chiang Mai.  Originally the temple grounds were made up of Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Ho Tham, and Wat Sukmin.  The construction of the temple started in the 14 century, when King Saen Muang Ma planned to bury the ashes of his father there.  After 10 years of building it was left unfinished, to be continued after his death by his widow.  

In early 1990's the chedi was reconstructed.  For the 600th anniversary of the chedi in 1995, a copy of the Emerald Buddha that was moved to Luang Prabang in 1551, was made from black jade and was placed in the reconstructed eastern niche.  The icon is named official Phra Phut Chaloem Sirrat, but more commonly known as Phira Yok.

If you are dressed immodestly (shorts or tank tops) you are issued a robe for the time you are there.  We were told of this and so we made sure to wear pants when visiting the temples.

This one was only for men.

This next area was one I was super excited about.  I had read about monk chats and was so excited to be a part of one.  This is an amazing chance to talk with Buddhist Monks and have a private session to learn more about them.  They get to work on their English and we get to understand and know more about them.  It was so neat and I am so glad that we did it.

We got to spend about an hour talking to our monks.  The one in the center was very shy and nervous as his English was not as good as the other two.  We learned that although there are female monks in the world there are not any in Thailand.  These three monks all decided that they wanted to be monks at the age of 12 and started their journey.  Most Thai men spend at least two years as a monk.  This is an honor to their families.  As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we could relate as our 18-21 year old's serve missions for our church and it is indeed an honor to us as parents.  They only eat two meals a day, breakfast and lunch.  They have no job but are able to travel through donations.  They can use electronics and can talk to their families on the phone or travel to see them.  We learned that you do not become a full fledged monk until the age of 21.  Up until then you are studying and learning the ways.  There are less rules they have to follow as a student monk.  Once they are ordained as a monk they receive their monk name and then are required to follow over 200 rules.  The two on the right have been ordained.  They were such a pleasure to talk to and at the end readily agreed to take a picture with us.  The one of the left pulled out his camera and also took a picture with us.  I am so grateful for this wonderful opportunity.

After talking to the monks it was time to see the rest of the temple grounds and the actual Jedi temple.

These are donation areas with your zodiac symbol which is based on your birthday.

Jed showing his mad skills ringing the bells.

We made our way out and decided to walk a bit and check out the area and find FOOD!

This beautiful building was next door to the Wat Chedi.

 Food Found, Food Eaten.

 Next we decided to take a tuk tuk and go check out Thai Boxing.  So tuk tuk's are so touristy that even in a very touristy spot like Chiang Mai they know people want to ride them for the experience and they are certainly not the cheapest way to go.  So we did it once to say we did it and then went back to our Songtaew's.  Jed road in the front on a fold down seat by the driver and Jerame, Thảo, and I rode in the back.  Nice and cozy.

 We made it to Thapae Stadium and went to check it out.  We found that they fight nightly between 9:30-11:00pm. The fighting is not staged and we thought about going until we went inside and noticed all the ash trays on every table.  We asked the guy there if a lot of people smoke and he said, yes yes.  So we decided we didn't want to sit through that.

Time to head to our apartment and get ready to go to the Cultural Celebration at the Old Chiang Mai Cultural Center.

 We payed a bit extra for a ride to and from our apartment to the Cultural Center.  It started at 7pm and went until about 9:30.  Dinner is included and the food was wonderful and all you could eat.  Usually there is an outside portion of the evening but things were a little different being so soon after the King passed away.  As we have said before the whole country was in mourning.

When we got there we were seated.  They have both tables and floor seating.  We went for the full on traditional experience.  Two girls came around and draped us with these beautiful flowers.  If you notice our photo bomber she was sitting next to us and is from the states also.  Decided to give up her job and travel.  She works occasional here and there teaching English to afford traveling.

I enjoyed the evening and learning a bit more about Thai culture.

 Day 5 = Success