After a low-key breakfast at our hotel, Baan Orapin in Chiang Mai, we took a taxi up, up and winding up to Wat Doi Suthep.
According to legend, holy relics discovered in the 14th century were placed on the back of a white elephant and it carried them up to the "Warrior Guardians" at the Wat. And then it died of fatigue. Unlucky for that particular elephants but these beasts of burden have a place of honor in the Thai folklore and are considered very lucky. So you see them on everything...
After you rise up 306 more steps you are hit with gilt to the hilt. Buddhas, elephants, dragons, and temples blinded us in the sun.
Unfortunately the Pagoda in the center of the square was covered in scaffolding to polish and reapply the centuries-old gold plates and foils.
The stairway that leads up to the temples is protected by the "Naga", a head-within-a-head dragon. At the foot of the stairs you find the gilded and mirrored heads; as you walk up, their tiled spines act as hand rails. Once you are at the top of the 300-plus steps you find their... ahhh ... anatomically correct bodies. I thought this was quite amusing, Colin found it mildly disturbing. You can be the judge.
And now we know the inspiration for the popular Thai children's book, "Everydragon Poops."
Posted by: Ted | December 09, 2009 at 04:59 PM