One of our favorite days in Chiang Mai was to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. Though quite a mouthful, this wat is particularly unique because it is set in the forest-covered hills overlooking the city. While it was hot and sticky walking around town, it was breezy and pleasant as we cruised on our motorbike up the windy road to the base of the temple 15 miles outside of town.
The entrance to Doi Suthep
According to Lonely Planet, the location of the temple “was ‘chosen’ by an honored Buddha relic mounted on the back of a white elephant; the animal wandered until it stopped (and died)” and a temple was built in that spot to preserve the relic. It’s pretty fantastic that the poor elephant died in such a lovely spot. Literally thousands of people make their way to this sacred temple each day.
To get to the temple required a pretty intimidating set of stairs, but it was totally worth it. The inside of the wat was spectacular too – literally covered in gold.
A grand entrance, and a lot of stairs
A beautiful wat!
A visitor pays respects
Colorful statues
Ornate entranceways
After the temple, we continued on up the road and saw the Thai King’s summer residence. Thai people are fanatical about their royal family – if you wanted to become immediately unpopular as a foreigner, insulting the King would be the first thing you could try. Everybody in the country is required to have a photo of the King somewhere in the house, and it is actually illegal to step on money in Thailand because the King’s image in on all coins and bills! We passed on touring the residence and instead continued on our motorbike to a nearby Hmong village further up the road.
Views of beautiful Chiang Mai from above
Road trip on the moto!
Our day-trip on the motorbike was a great success. Ted was an excellent driver, I was a happy passenger and the road trip was just what we needed to escape the heat and rejuvenate!
