A visit to the Wat Khao Khitchakut
THIPPTY / Shutterstock.com
We are in Chanthaburi for a few days for the opening of a salon for which we have supplied the supplies and equipment. Nui does some demos there.
On a day off, Nui, who is a devout Buddhist, proposes to propitiate Buddha before we go to the temple in Kao Khitchakut National Park. That temple is famous in Thailand, hence. Now I belong to the moderately indifferent congregation so I'm fine with it. I imagine a Thai temple like so many here. I will turn out to be wrong.
We set off, 20 km from Chanthaburi is the starting point, it all belongs to Khao Khichakut National Park. Parking lot annex stalls the size of a city. It is located at the foot of a large dam with a large reservoir. Turns out that you can and may only reach the temple, which is high in the mountains, with a 4×4 pickup.
The special thing is the location at an altitude of 750 meters, the road to it, the large boulders on the top that are also part of the temple event and the gigantic numbers of visitors. On your own is not allowed. Last year, a number of visitors who went on their own went off the road and died in an accident.
Nui explains how it all works. The temple itself is not really special, only 150 square meters and about 4 m high. Within the usual Buddha. The temple is only open for two months a year. Visitors come from all over Thailand, with buses full. It goes on 24 hours a day.
So buy a ticket for 50 baht per person for the first leg and enter the pickup. After a crazy ride there is a stop, get out at stalls and a counter. Buy a new ticket and enter another pickup, also 4×4. I ask why that is. Nui doesn't know, but I think it's a smart way to increase the sales of the stalls. After all, if Thai people walk around somewhere and see a food stall, there is no stopping them. Hungry or not hungry, it doesn't matter.
Then another crazy ride uphill to the end of the road. It's crawling with pickups here. Here is also the starting point of the 1 km long staircase to the temple, but again stalls. There is also a man who is constantly yelling into a microphone. I vaguely hear Nakhon Sawan, Sakeo, etc. calling. Nui explains that you can give the man money to buy things for the temple. For a bag of cement or a new toilet, for example. The man then shouts your name and place of residence so that everyone (including the ghosts) knows that you did a good deed.
THIPPTY / Shutterstock.com
Nui swears that I can only wish for one thing at a time
Then Nui gives me instructions on how to act in the temple. You can make all kinds of wishes, good health, profitable business, long life. But Nui swears that I can only wish for one thing at a time, if I do more then everything is invalid. But tell me, if I want more. Then you have to come back later, says Nui. I think yes, making sales.
In the temple you can also buy small statues, representing a monk. You can give these to acquaintances who can also wish for all kinds of things in the temple at home. So it is a very powerful temple that also cooperates with other temples in Thailand!!! LOL.
First we walk around a huge stone lump with hands folded in a wai, and then we are back at the beginning of the stairs after a brisk walk. I am amazed at the numbers of people and want to know more. The driver explains.
Turns out there are 120 pickups per leg. Each pickup drives up the mountain 3 times per hour. So per day per pickup 72 journeys with 10 people on board. The pickups are privately owned and the drivers work in shifts. That means that there are approximately 720 visitors per day with 120×90000 pickups. Suppose a turnover of 600 baht per visitor, that makes 54 million baht per day. Verily a very powerful temple.
Nui wished a good year for the business and I good health. And now fingers crossed.
Sorry, but the rule is that if you make your wish known, it will also expire.
But you can always go back again of course.
Best regards. Bz
Made the trip a few years ago with my girlfriend about 04h00 in the morning left at the foot to be at Buddah's footprint before sunrise and to watch the sunrise far up the ridge. A unique experience.
My wife swore to me that after three visits everything went superlative. So done. Is a nice outing
I would wish 100 more wishes to begin with.
Three years ago, our daughter suggested we visit that temple. Because a week later it would be closed again. So hurry was needed. My wife, of course, was immediately won over.
The second pick-up trajectory is indeed intense. You tear up the mountain at a crazy speed and skid from left to right. Sometimes you have to hold back because the previous pick-up has gone off track and has problems. Fortunately, there are quite a few 'guard posts' along the way to ensure that everything runs smoothly and that there are no collisions with the descending pick-ups. Normally they have their own bed, but on some parts of the route this is not possible and there is hardly a meter between them when crossing. At the speed at which things are going, it is a miracle that there are no accidents.
I can be brief about the climb. After about 500 meters both my wife and I were out of breath. The lack of handrails along the stairs in many places, the increasingly thin air, old age and poor physical condition have led us to stop our climb and return after a rest break outside the route. It was not very welcome because we saw many older Thais who apparently walked up with or without a stick without any problems. And very young children who made it a competition to be the first to the top.
During our descent we suddenly heard that everyone had to get out of the way. We had to give way to a heavy 'farang' with straw hat and sunglasses that was brought up on a sedan chair by two young wiry porters, followed some 50 meters further by a second transport. Unbelievable at what speed those men went up. Even in flip flops.
When we came downstairs we saw a few couples waiting for customers. The price? 2.000 baht. We just left it that way. I didn't feel like it anymore and my wife thought there was no merit if you couldn't do it on your own. But she was disappointed. But afterwards we still enjoyed the photos that our daughter sent through Line.