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Campus and Coffee

It was our first day waking up in Chang Mai, and out the picture window of the condo I could see the mountain we were about to hike up. The view of the actual temple we were hiking to was obscured by the other half of the condo building, but out on the street we looked up and saw the glinting gold structures. They looked so tiny and far away it was almost impossible to believe we were just going to walk there. I was feeling some nerves and hoped that I wasn't walking us into a sh*tshow of a trail. I had no way of knowing trail conditions or even difficulty really.

We walked through the university campus and across some busy intersections, stopping to marvel at an operational payphone. On the other side of campus the road narrowed and trees become larger and more frequent. We arrived at the intersection where a coffee shop was supposed to be. Ahead the road started to slope upward and a sign told us that was the way to the Monk's Trail (aka Pilgrim Path), as well as Wat Pha Lat (2.4KM) and the temple atop Doi Suthep (4.5km). But we weren't ready to tackle that without some coffee and breakfast.

Some people with mountain bikes caught my eye and I watched them walk into a fenced-in area with some modern looking little buildings. A signpost confirmed our coffee shop was in there, as well an outfitter and a couple of other food vendors. I had not expected this little eco village! Walking in to the coffee shop, with it's modern wood and glass aesthetic, we were greeted with a "Sawadee ka!" by the barista. They were running low on things, but we ordered breakfast plates and lattes and ate them out on the covered deck next to the shop.

A massive jackfruit tree grew up through the planks and wrapped around the beams above us. Two of the fluffiest, sweetest dogs I have ever seen made their way over to greet each table. I suddenly had the feeling of being in the exact right place and all of nerves melted away.

After breakfast, we checked out the outfitters next door. I bought a more wicking tank top than what I had on and changed immediately. Then we set about following those signs!

On Trail

Homes turned to huts and then there were no structures at all. A hand painted trailhead kiosk alerted us where to enter the jungle. It didn’t take long to come to a waterfall. With a partial view of the city, we could see that we had already gained some elevation. We considered putting our feet in, but decided wet feet to start our hike was probably a bad idea. After the waterfall we passed a bird bath where you could donate some of your water, and a vine perfect for photos. We knew we were getting close to our first destination when we started to see a small gathering of people ahead of us, so we stopped and pulled our temple clothes on.

Wat Pha Lat (Forest Temple)

We came out into a clearing and the view of the jungle temple opened before us. Instant awe! People were relaxing on a rocky terrace beside a tranquil stream running through the grounds. Stone structures rose up out of the greenery, housing Buddhas and reusis. To see the reusis (forest monks), in their tiger skins, here in the forest felt surreal.

Up the stairs guarded by the nagas we found even more shrines and a large chedi being cared for by some monks. Of all the temples we would visit on this trip, this one felt the most sacred to me. People spoke in hushed tones and took photos, but didn't line up for posed photos the way they do at other temples. I felt a reverence vibrating among the people around me as we explored. Most people skip this stop on their way up the mountain and even fewer actually hike to it, which contributed to how special it felt.

Though I didnt want to leave, I knew we should be getting on. We watched people walk to cars and songthaews as we prepared for the second, more difficult, leg of our hike.

Climbing On

I was struggling to understand from the map where we were supposed to go. I knew we needed to cross the road at least, so we hopped over the guardrail. As we did, a little black dog trotted up to us. We said hello and gave pets, and then it trotted ahead of us, pausing to look back at us. It seemed like the dog wanted us to follow, so we did. Well, that little sherpa dog deposited us directly at the next trailhead! If u can call it that. All we saw was a rut in the dirt going straight up under some power lines. We hesitated and the dog walked a little ways up the steep ascent, again turning to look at us. So once again we followed. When we'd made satisfactory progress, the dog turned around headed back, perhaps to sherpa the next group of confused hikers.

We climbed on. And climbed. And climbed. And climbed. Occasionally catching cool flowers and butterflies and then by a massive tree that looked like it was on stilts. Occasionally we had to scramble over downed trees crossing the path, but always upward. As a midwesterner, it was some of the hardest hiking i’ve ever done in my life!

There was only one other duo of hikers on this stretch, two French men who looked in way better shape than us, but appeared just as winded. We leap frogged each other most of the way up. We’d pass them huffing and puffing while they sat at the trail edge taking a break and then vice versa.

At one point I simply accepted that the trail was never going to end. I was so sweaty and everything ached. But finally, 4 hours and 5miles after leaving the condo, we bear crawled our way out of the jungle and landed back onto that winding road we had previously crossed. 15 minutes (and a skink sighting!) later we were at the foot of the temple Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep (Mountain Top Temple)

Nagas flanked the 306 stairs leading to the temple entrance. We’d heard there was a little trolley you could take up the last bit instead of the stairs and I’m not joking when I tell you that we hiked 4 hours to the top but were willing to give up the purity of our hike to take it. Fortunately we couldn’t find it so we were not allowed to give up so easily. We finished our pilgrimage on foot.

At the top we purchased our tickets and offering flowers, removed our shoes, and made our way in. There was so much gold everywhere it was almost blinding! It was so beautiful shining in the sun. We walked out onto a lower marble terrace with the most incredible view of the city and this was the moment it all felt worth it. We tried to pick out where our condo was in the city below. Some ladies overhead us talking about the hike and instantly became our hype women. They insisted on taking our picture and made us high five. It was so sweet.

We forgot our aching bodies and walked around looking at all of the interesting pagodas, statues, and shrines. What I found most intriguing about this particular temple was the inclusion of Hindu symbols, like Ganesh. And while this wasn't a 'jungle temple' in the same way as the first one we had encountered, there was still much space dedicated to let specimens like the Sala Tree and pines grow.

Coming Back Down

After exiting the temple and walking back down the 306 steps, we hobbled around from stall to stall at the little market. I was so thrilled to find the kanom krok - thai coconut pancakes - that I had heard about from a friend.

We had always planned to ride back down the mountain, so we sought out the red songtaews that were waiting for tourists. They won't leave until they are full and after several mins waiting we offered to pay for the additional heads if they would just go. The driver obliged and we began the ride down. 30 minutes of switchbacks had me feeling ill, and we still had a bit of a walk from where we got dropped off at the bottom.

We stopped in a 7-11 for jugs of drinking water to take back and added some snacks, like Tom Yum flavored Lay’s. We left at 9:30am and arrived back at the condo at 5:30pm, but it felt like midnight. We retreated to our adjoining rooms for showers and naps.