Chiang Mai
One of the ways to participate in the daily activities of the monks to attend the morning charitable food giving. After viewing the amazing sunrise from the hilltop, I participated in the food-giving at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, one of the most famed temples in Chiang Mai.
This hilltop is actually located in the Doi Suthep-Pui National Park. Many locals bikes this hill on it’s smooth tarmac switch backs. The reason this hilly road is so smooth is because the famed monks who championed the project intended for worshippers of all physical conditions to do the pilgrimage up the hill. What the pilgrimage you say? Long ago, King Nu Naone of Lan Na said he will build a temple at where the white elephant, the symbol of royalty, stops. The final stop now is the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. Along the way, the elephant made many stops, so each stop has a small temple. The pilgrimage is the old elephant track which now turn into a scenic hiking route.
You can participate in this short pilgrimage each full moon starting from the center of Chiang Mai. Wat Phra That Doi Suthep also provide other well-wishing activities such as open meditation, receiving blessings, signing a blessed canvas, oil attending, or lotus giving.
A form of fellowship unique to the Northern Thai region are the “forest monks” from the Thai Forest Traditions. I highly recommend reading more on this tradition. In Northern Thailand rainy season, forest monk will go into natural caves to continue their practices. Unfortunately, there aren’t that many caves around Chiang Mai. Locals dug man-made “caves” or underground bunkers in order to make space for the traveling monks to have a place to meditate around Chiang Mai during the rainy season.
I don’t think caves would do it for me in this hot and humid weather. I opted for some foods that doesn’t raise the internal temperature so much.
Another place with cooler temperature would be the Northern Thai mountains where the highest point of Thailand is situated. While the royals appreciated the holiness of the peak with the temples and tombs, I surely appreciated the close to 40-degree Fahrenheit drop in temperature.
Elephants of the region have a different way to cool down. Their skins become more permeable allowing more moisture to escape, but they also needed to drop more water. The abundant water in the Thai mountains where some of the elephant sanctuary is located is perfect for these gentle giants. At these sanctuaries, visitors are allowed to feed and join the elephants in the water instead of riding from times of old. A step in the right direction for the animals’ welfare.
Golden Triangle, White Temple, and the crack
Moving even northeast from the Doi Ithanon National Park and Chiang Mai are the city of Chiang Rai and the border region of the famed Golden Triangle. It won’t be a boring drive. Along the way, you can soak your feet in the Mae Kachan Hot Springs and have some geyser boiled eggs.
Like many institutionally religious parts of the world, the newer generations of Thailand is said to have less intense relationship with the dominant religion. The designer of the White Temple(Wat Rong Khun), Chalermchai Kositpipat, wanted to renew this relationship through a temple-exhibition that emphasizes cycle of rebirth using contemporary themed art. The internet discovered the temple’s dramatic exterior and made it a must-visit for the northern Thailand.
Compared to a lot of temples, the ticketing logistics and bathrooms were well-organized and clean. Crowd control seem to be somewhat effective as there were still a lot of people visiting during the rainy season. The power of Instagram!
I have heard the infamy of Golden Triangle since I was a kid; the region that produced the drug that caused wars and killed many. This is a fertile region which danger still lines in its waters and lush hills. Situated on the border of three different country and closely connect to a fourth, the green lushes of the hills and the Mekong River makes it a perfect area for smugglers. Nowadays there are efforts made to plant coffee, increase commerce, and, well, include some gambling activities.
Koh Samui and Koh Tao Diving
One of the best parts of visiting Thailand would be the Thai beaches. Some love to relax, suntan, or party on the beach. For me, scuba diving was the biggest reason to go to these beaches. One can choose between the popular Andaman Sea and the lesser-known Gulf of Thailand for scuba diving. Because it’s beginning of the rain season, Gulf of Thailand experience the least impact from the weather. After some internet research, I locked in the island of Koh Tao.
Due to my late flights, I decided to stay on the island of Koh Samui before continuing onto Koh Tao. Koh Samui is lesser known but certainly not less beautiful. The clear blue ocean and the street market are all must-dos. If you have longer time than I did, definitely check out the big Buddha or stay at one of the resorts to relax.
A well-organized ferry ride took me from Koh Samui to Koh Tao on a sunny day. Koh Tao is small but certainly isn’t lacking in anything I needed. From restaurants by the beach to Muay Thai gyms, from dive shops to medical clinics, from bars to resorts Koh Tao has a little bit of everything and its super walkable.
I chose to dive with Phoenix Divers which had great reviews and was only 10-minute walk away from my hotel.
Since I had’t dive for about 6 months, I decided to do a shallower dive to view the beautiful fish and coral reefs and a deeper dive to the HTMS Sattakut, a wreck site. Wrecks are always fascinating to me. Diving in it feels like you are in a movie scene, exploring the unknowns of a lost civilization.
Leaving the paradise-like Koh Tao and Koh Samui was much harder than I thought. But The beautiful islands will never let you have a bad day. Harnessing the good weather of the island, Koh Samui airport is open air with beautiful tropical landscape. But most importantly for the travelers leaving the paradise, you can have cold beers and decious Thai food one more time before saying au revoir.
