Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai

Doi Suthep on a Smoggy Day from Chiang Mai

Spike here to talk to you about another adventure in Thailand! As we continued our wonderful stay in the northern city of Chiang Mai, Captain and I hired a local tour company to take us to Doi Suthep.We used Tee Chiangmai tours. Chris was our guide, and he is extremely knowledgeable and speaks great English.

Which was very helpful because our Thai is not the best!

It's a bit too far from the city center to walk, bike, or take a taxi so you will need to arrange transportation.

Although we did see some strong people riding up the mountain to the temple!

True, Captain. But our little legs would have given out long before we even reached the base of the mountain.

So what is Doi Suthep? The word "doi" means mount, so this is Mount Suthep, one of the twin peaks of a mountain in the Shan Hills of Thailand. It is 1,676 metres (5,499 ft) above sea level.

View of mountains from Doi Suthep

You are probably wondering what the big deal is about this particular mountain, which is not the tallest in the area. It's the temple on the top of the mountain, as well as the views of Chiang Mai when the air is clear, that you want to see.

Wat Phra That is a sacred place with an important link to Guatama Buddha. Back in the early 1300s, the king of the Lan Na kingdom (also referred to as the Lanna Kingdom) took a relic from the Buddha and put it in a special vessel strapped to the back of a white elephant. 

Now, before you think it was an albino elephant, the entire elephant was not white. It had seven distinct white patches on its skin. Don't let the commemorative statue fool you into believing this was a ghostly elephant.

State and plaque telling the legend of founding of Wat Phra That

That's right. The elephant was then released into the jungles and allowed to wander. On the fourth day, it stopped walking and lay down on the peak of Doi Suthep. This is where King Kue Na buried the relic and built the chedi of Wat Phra That over it.

Over the centuries, the temple expanded and the stupa above the relic grew taller. This gold stupa glows beautifully in the sunlight. 

To get to the temple, we had two choices: climb the 309 steps in the Naga staircase (The Naga serpent is continuous, making this the longest in Thailand.), or we could take a furnicular car to the top. (It's a cog wheel car that goes up the mountain.) Either way, when you get to the top, take the time to walk around to the right of the temple before going inside.

The top of the Naga Stairs

The top of the Naga stairs (main entrance)

The tracks for the furnicular

This is a monastery as well as a temple, so there are quite a few buildings. There is also a meditation area overlooking Chiang Mai. The wood is carved with symbols of the Chinese zodiac.

Living quarters for the abbots of the monastery

Morning meditation area for the monks

Before you start up to the temple, you will find a number of women selling small brass bells. They will hand the purchaser a marker to write the name of a loved one who has died. When in the temple, the bells are hung around where the wind will cause them to ring. 

Brass bells hanging in the temple

Bells are suspended from every roof edge that can be reached

According to the Buddhists at the temple, this ringing helps send the souls of the departed to heaven. The bells hung at the top of the stupa are for members of the royal family.

When Canada gave a gift to the King of Thailand of nephrite, and it was carved into a statue of Buddha. Although the statue appears be black, it's actually a really dark green! We actually met the artist who carved this statue! (More on that later.)

Inside the Wat

The Nephrite Buddha

 Now, don't confuse this statue inside the temple with the green glass Buddha that is outside.

There are many Buddha statues in the temple

Naturally, the centerpiece of the temple is the stupa above the relic. There is a fenced area around this, and there are special prayers people say as they walk clockwise around it three times.

As we explored this beautiful place, we saw some of the similar things found in every Wat: gongs, temple bells, and many different representations of Buddha.

One of several gongs at the temple

Temple bells outside the temple

 

One thing that was amazing to watch was the painting of a doorway in the temple! There were two artists paining a very intricate design on the door posts.

Painting a temple

The flowers and dragon and warriors are very detailed

 As we left Wat Phra That, we went across the streets to the market stalls to buy some fresh strawberries.
 

The street market

And then we went down the hill to the Orchid Jade Factory. To be honest, I was worried this would be like the jade "factory" we visited in China: all pushy salespeople and no factory!

But we were pleasantly surprised! We were invited to watch a short video, which was all about the differences between Nephrite and Jadite, the different colors and what caused them to different, and how jade is carved into statues. It was short and really interesting. What we call jade is either of these stones. We went into the factory to watch the artists work! I never knew how many tools were needed to carve jade.

Pieces of uncarved jade

Tools for the small details

Polishing jade

What was then really cool was that we were able to meet the artist who made the nephrite from Canada into the Buddha that is in the Wat! He talked to us about the experience. Then we watched him work.

The artist who carved the nephrite buddha in the temple

 All in all, it was a great visit to Doi Suthep, and we highly recommend it! (We also recommend Mr. Chris as a tour guide!) The tour, althogether, was about four hours long including travel time from Chiang Mai.