The guidebook made it sound so easy, just get on a mountain bike and pedal up to the top of Doi Suthep, the sacred mountain that sits to the northwest of Chiang Mai, and visit Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. Simple…. Why doesn’t everyone do it? So I pedaled out of town on a rented bike, and started up the mountain road. I didn’t make it very far before I had to stop and continue by pushing the bike up the mountain. I jumped on and rode where I could, but mostly I pushed that bike up the hill. When I saw the sign that said I had another nine kilometers to the temple, I started to grumble, but I quickly adjusted my attitude. I told myself that it didn’t matter how I got up the hill. It was a lovely morning and I was going to enjoy the scenery and the mountain air…..Then all of the traffic started. There were truckloads of people going up this mountain. There were even a couple of folks hanging off the backs of the trucks flapping in the breeze. I think a lot of them were students at the university because there were a lot of young people en route who seemed to be having a party and when they passed me they shouted and waved at the strange ferang who didn’t seem to understand that you ride on a bike instead of push it. This was enough to make me start grumbling again. It was bad enough to have to choke on those truck fumes, but to have to put up with the mockery was almost more than I could handle.
I needed another attitude adjustment (two in one morning!). I thought that I should feel pity for those poor people who had to take a stinking, polluting truck to pay a visit to the temple. I was the true pilgrim. I was getting up there under my own power and I knew that I was going to have one sweet ride down the mountain when my visit was over. So There! With this thought in mind, whenever a truck full of rowdy students would pass, I would just smile and wave like I was homecoming queen.
Did I mention that this was a popular tourist destination in Thailand? The place was more like a zoo than a temple. I was actually grateful for the food vendors, however, and after a large serving of fresh pineapple and a bottle of water, I was ready to tackle the 306-step stair case at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. The pilgrim’s legs were wobbling when she got to the top and the while the Thais proceeded through the entrance, the pilgrim took a slight detour to pay 30 Baht.
I paid another 10 Baht to purchase a lotus and some incense. I had never really participated in the making merit portion of visiting a temple, but I decided that today was special. I kneeled and held the lotus in between my palms as they pressed together for a wai. I said a prayer of thanksgiving for the air in my lungs and the strength in my body to get to the top of that mountain. I prayed for patience in dealing with myself as well as others. I placed the lotus at the offering place, performed the wai, and went to claim my reward for pushing a bicycle up a hill……
I raced motorbikes down that mountain. I don’t think Chiang Mai has heard such a hearty “woo-hooooo” and will never hear one again..
