Perched high on the mountain next to Chiang Mai, visible at night like a Buddhist lighthouse, sits Wat Doi Suthep. As it sits on a mountain, it is quite often shrouded in clouds of mist, especially during the rainy season. We got lucky, however, with a perfectly sunny and clear day in which to view the bright golden chedi and surrounding statues and gardens. While it can be quite packed with foreign tourists, it is still a spiritual place for Thais and Buddhists alike.
The road getting to the wat is a pretty fun ride, especially by motorbike. It winds around a lot of the mountain and offers a lot of good points to stop and look at the city from a bird's eye view. Of course, part of our bike ended up dragging on the ground half-way up, but it was nothing that a couple of bungee cords couldn't fix!
The main chedi is under construction, but at least the scaffolding is golden!
A monk blessing a child.
People circling the chedi and praying
A row of flames, where people can put more oil to keep the flames burning.
The Buddha statues from below
Somebody has to do the gardening around here!
The flowers do a pretty good job of looking like the chedi.
Bessie in the eye of the dragon
There are a lot of Buddhas here.
Praying Thais.
We're silly and adventurous, computer geeks and yoga peeps.
September 06, 2010
Andi
September 07, 2010
Kyle
September 06, 2010
Eric
September 06, 2010
Earl
And driving back down that mountain on a motorbike is one of the most enjoyable rides in Thailand. Hopefully the two bungee cords held your bike together long enough to make it back into town...
September 07, 2010
Kyle
September 06, 2010
Rose P.
September 08, 2010
Bessie
September 07, 2010
TravelholicA
September 11, 2010
Linda
September 12, 2010
Bessie