The ghosts of Doi Suthep
Doi suthep
Who Chiang Mai will in many cases visit the hill tribes. But certainly also at the Doi Suthep temple, located on a mountain that offers a magnificent view of Chiang Mai.
When you go with the tren traveling from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Doi Suthep looms in the northwest. The gilded chedi (pagoda) immediately catches the eye. It is one of the most important Buddhist shrines in the world Thailand. It is said that a piece of Buddha's skull is hidden in the chedi.
Spirit of Ya Sea
One of the legends about Doi Suthep is that the ghost of 'Ya Sae' is said to haunt it. A spirit house has even been built for him at Doi Kham, an offshoot of Doi Suthep, about five miles outside of Chiang Mai.
It is no more than a hutch made of planks, bamboo and corrugated iron. Once a year, the local farmers sacrificed a young water buffalo. That dates back to the time when the Lawa people ruled there. This people is now almost extinct, but it still plays an important role in Thai legend. The Lawas are seen as monsters, who have been personally called to order by Buddha.
Wat phra that doi kham, Chiang Mai
Buddha and the Lawa cannibals
The legend is about the three giant Lawa cannibals who are said to have chased Buddha while walking on Doi Suthep. Buddha managed to keep the trio Ya Sae, wife and son away through meditation. Buddha even managed to convert the giants and they became vegetarians. After the death of these monsters, the ghosts would still haunt Doi Suthep. This much to the fear of the local residents. To keep the spirits in check, a spirit house was built and a buffalo was sacrificed there every year, according to the old Lawa tradition.
I have been there a number of times, you can buy copper bells downstairs at the stairs and you can put anything on the clappers, names of loved ones, declaration of love, etc. temple, We have done that too, but then the names of our deceased animals written on it, as a tribute.
The temple is also always very peaceful, no matter how busy it is sometimes, The Doi Suthep is always our favorite place when we are in Chang Mai
I've been up there about 10 times now.
Every time I'm in Chiang Mai I do it 2 times.
Very beautiful and peaceful. But if you follow the Doi SUthep further up you will come to the MONGS, a hill tribe that is also worth doing.
Although the last time I was there I thought it had already become very touristy.
But you can get some bargains there.
Been there twice now, and think it's the most beautiful temple in Thailand. beautifully situated and nice way there. recommended!
Tip for cycling enthusiasts. Rent a good road bike or mtb and cycle to the temple in the morning. A regular climb of 12 kilometers is easy to do and good for the condition!
If you have been to the Mong village and you go back up, at the T junction turn left a few kilometers further you will find a beautiful and quiet campsite that you would expect here and even further an authentic village where the road ends.
you then have to turn right at the split and then you will find the campsite almost at the top. if you then go down to the earlier fork and you turn right (so turn left if you come from below) you go to the valley where Doi Pui is located.
Doi Suthep one of the most beautiful temples, just a pity that now all the flowers that are standing or hanging are colorful. And indeed the hill tribes in the area have become too touristy. I'm glad we saw everything before the mass tourism came. But when we are in Chiang Mai we want to go to the Doi Suthep so beautiful.
My favorite short walk is as follows: Just past the stairs to the temple, go up a dirt road. There are usually some songthaews parked here. Soon you will come to some open tin canopies on the left. Seems to be in the middle of a dump, but if you look closely there is a path between 2 shelters. If you persevere, the worst litter will stop after about twenty meters. The path you walk on offers a nice view of a forest setting. Soon the buzz of the surroundings also disappears and you walk through a wonderful peace. A few hundred meters is already a relaxed event!
If you have reasonable mobility, you will arrive after about an hour at a beautiful tree with many trunks. There must have been many more in the past. From that point you can walk back relaxed.
This walking line is very suitable to see if mountain hiking is for you!
Wat Phra Doi Suthep is indeed an impressive site and a very important shrine for the Thai Buddhist. there are those who believe that they want to visit it at least once in their life.
here you may be extra polite in your behavior. Slide on, kneeling the last bit. and the Monks in two chapels at the Golden Chedi will bless you. a modest donation there (for temple maintenance) is much appreciated and often (not always) you will receive a white bracelet tied with accompanying blessings for your safe journey.
You can also, like the pilgrims, walk 3 times around the Chedi in the inner walking path.
Not the skull, but a shoulder blade of the Buddha is said to be hidden in the Chedi. Nice story, the owner of it at the time, for the construction of this temple. had a conflict with another ruler. But he could only be satisfied with a piece of that shoulder blade. After much hesitation and delay, a special tent was erected as a temporary temple, and inside it some of the owner's senior Buddhists "broken" the scapula in a grand but private ritual. And so that opponent was handed his share of it, with a lot of ritual stuff. That circus disappeared with their prized possession. Some time later, the original shoulder blade 'miraculously' grew back into a whole shoulder blade. We can either believe in that miracle, or they simply broke another shoulder blade at random, like a magic trick.
The way up to Wat Phra Doi Suthep is a beautiful journey in itself. On the way up you pass only a few turns. For example Wat Pha Lat. a temple near the ascending route. It's always quiet here. part of this temple is very romantic overgrown with mosses and ivy. ideal place for photos.
For the fit walker, inquire in the city, on certain so-called Buddha (festival) days, many residents of Chiang Mai walk to the temple and back on foot at night. a frequent pilgrimage.
And for fit hikers, there is also the so-called Monks trail, through the jungle, with steps in many places. you pass everything, camera along. A very fit Thai friend of mine runs this jungle trail 26 times a year.
The location for the temple is a special story. After a long journey of half a people, they arrived at a ford in the river Ping, at the foot of Doi Suthep. They were emphatically worn out by a very long journey. A sacred white elephant was carrying a reliquary containing the shoulder blade of the Buddha. It was decided to release the elephant and where the animal would rest, the temple would be built there. To everyone's surprise, the old elephant still had enough energy to walk all the way up the mountain, there were no roads yet. Until the moment finally came when the elephant lay down and immediately died. The golden Chedi was built exactly on that location. Just outside the inner complex in the temple you will find a large bronze statue of an elephant with something on its back. That image is there to keep this story alive.
I myself regularly live for 4 months near Chiang Mai. If the daily heat sometimes drives me crazy, I enjoy driving up Doi Suthep. I pass the temple because higher up and further there is still plenty to do for those who drive a scooter. And it cools down tremendously. sometimes more than 10 degrees. You will only really notice this on the descent. 3 kilometers before the Zoo and the beginning of the built-up area you have already warmed up, but it is still doable. From that moment on, the clammy heat creeps up on you more and more at every turn.
If you go downhill by bike, scooter or car, watch out!!!! Sometimes you suddenly need a wider turn, descent and centrifugal force. but there you can collide head-on with a climbing truck. They drive at walking pace and, just like you, can no longer swerve. Many cyclists sometimes dive into the weed-filled deep ditches out of sheer necessity. Snakes live right there. that you know.