An entry in the TFS Travel Journal
Still getting used to this time zone, so we were both up from about 6:15. We enjoyed another delicious Veranda breakfast of dim sum and herbed-potato hash w/poached eggs. While we were packing up, we checked the nightstand drawers and found, instead of The Gideon’s Bible, a copy of The Teachings of Buddha. It was then off to the airport for our late-morning flight to the north.
How nice to be at an airport that was wonderfully air-conditioned (almost too much so!), after so many of our experiences on our last trip (we even got to watch the third period of the Flyers-Rangers game; how odd seeing ice hockey here in such heat and humidity). The flight was short and painless, and in the early afternoon we arrived at this beautiful resort set at the base of the hills. It is a sprawling place, with many little “residences” which, but for the Thai architectural details, look a bit like a ski-condo buildings. We dropped our stuff in our enormous room, then set off for our afternoon tour. The weather here is hot, but much drier than Bangkok and with a nice, though warm, breeze.
Our guide was a Chiang Mai native, and, like many of the people of this area, had features that showed the Burmese influence (full, round faces, relatively short). The first stop was the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, the grand temple built in 1384. Due to divine provence (the king’s white elephant wandering until it “chose” this location, hence the several monuments and sculptures around town of white elephants), the Wat was located in a picturesque setting near the top of the 3000-foot-high hills outside of town. Along the drive up the hill were many small pagoda-looking roadside structures; we were told they were rest stops (most had the sweeping views into the city and valley below) and were particularly popular with young, dating couples. These hills are also the winter home of the King and Queen, who come here for a few weeks each year, always handing out the diplomas for the fine local public universtiy.
The temple was grand, in fact a sort of mini (very mini) Grand Palace. To get up to it, we first rode a little funicular a few hundred feet up the hillside. Interestingly, although many of their temples are centuries old, they are constantly renovating and restoring them as they are almost all still used for worship, so the structures often appear quite new. This one had the usual ornate exterior decoration (variously colored cut glass along the stark white walls), broad murals with the story of the Lord Buddha along the inside wall, a large gold-covered central pagoda, and several places for worship. There was also a broad collection of bells of all tones and timbres, which were constantly being played- and played with - by visitors, giving a medieval-monestary sound to the experience. The worshipping taking place here means places for the faithful to observe such rituals as lighting candles and incense, placing gold flakes onto the Buddha representations, and making donations into the pot in front of the Buddha representing the day of the week on which one was born (that being very important: the Thai will consult with a monk to learn what day is most fortuitous for a business deal, wedding, etc.) In fact, donations to the temple and or monk learning centers seems an important method for scoring points in the next life. In a touch of universality, we learned that people come to these sites primarily to ask Buddha for good health, happiness and success in business!
We walked down the 306 steps to the bottom (with a green tiled undulating dragon forming the hand rail all the way down) where we were offered, surprise!, a tour of a jade factory. First was a 5-minute video (shades of lapis-land) which included some scientific explanations, as well as much about the smuggling of jade from the north of Burma, source of most of the world’s jade, to this area, along with some interesting info about the different types and colors. We then saw the artisans cutting and polishing the stones, and took a quick look around at the plentiful offerings but kept our Baht in our pockets, again disappointing our guide.
We set off for a final temple - the oldest in the city - driving along the remains of the old city wall and moat, built to ward off the perpetually-invading Burmese. (Chiang Mai, which means “New City”, in 1996 celebrated its 700-year anniversary) This temple was smaller, but wonderfully detailed with elephant and dragon scupltures. It also contained two notable Buddhas - one of crystal and over 2,000 years old, and one of marble over 1,500 years old. As a note, before entering all temples here, one must show respect by removing shoes and, unlike our own, hats; inside, when one sits, the feet - considered the lowest part of the body - must always point away from the ever-present Buddha in the center.
It was getting close to 6, so we were returned to our resort paradise. We strolled around the grounds, taking in an orange-fireball sunset over the nearby big hills. We dined on multi-cultural room service of Thai soup, pad thai, gazpacho and chicken tortellini w/artichokes. We then curled up with the good book and attempted to absorb some of the teachings of Buddha.