Chapter 5: Following the Monk’s Trail to Enlightenment
January 13th , 2020:
Waking up alone to the sound of birds chirping, wrapped in a fluffy, luxurious white duvet, I smiled. It was still early, 5am in Thailand. Jet lag was real. After researching possible adventures for the day, I pulled out my travel yoga mat and practiced a few sun A and B salutations to start my day. Coffee time as “Wake up” café was delectable. I met S for coffee and we planned out a long, winding journey to walk up the “Monk’s Trail.” The Monk’s Trail is a somewhat little-known hiking trail, difficult to find and warned against attempting, which leads adventurous hikers up the side of Doi Suthep mountain to a majestic Buddhist temple, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. The beauty of hiking (rather than grabbing a much more convenient “red truck”) to this temple is the ability to walk past a secluded, peaceful temple called Wat Pha Lat midway up the mountain. This hidden temple promised to be calm, quiet, and relatively free of the tourist commotion we were sure to find at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.
The 45-minute urban walk to the start of the trail led us past charming cafes, dirty parking lots, hidden side streets, stray dogs napping on the sidewalks, sculptures, gardens, sewage, and busy roads filled with mopeds racing much too quickly a few feet in front of us. It was exhilarating. Senses on overload, we finally found the edge of Suthep Road and followed it as instructed (by, I’m sure, a very knowledgeable blogger we were smart enough to blindly follow to the end of a narrow path). The road wound its way up a hill past local farms and neighborhoods. Midway down the path, a temple appeared (not an infrequent occurrence in Thailand). Wow, we felt so lucky! Not even to the trail yet and already a beautiful temple was open for exploring. We curiously walked down the inviting path only to be greeted by three very unhappy and territorial stray dogs. I love dogs; my dog at home is my sweet furry child whom I would do anything for, yet these dogs absolutely terrified me. Have you ever been chased by a growling, teeth-barring angry and hungry stray dog in the middle of the woods in a foreign country without any working cell phone or map? I don’t recommend it for safety purposes, but as far as adventuring goes it was pretty exciting. Knowing our nearest rabies immunoglobulin booster was over 2 hours away in Bangkok made things slightly more exciting as well. We backed away slowly, wanting to run and run but knowing this would likely only make matters worse. Thankfully, the dogs responded to our cautious exit and we left, walking quickly back towards the path, hearts thumping, breath shallow, blood racing through our veins. Sometimes, a good scare isn’t always a bad thing. Perspective is important to change up.
Back on the trail, I laughed and smiled, now knowing danger was temporarily passed. The escape from the thing that scares you, once freedom and safety are regained, brings a sense of peace nearly no other event can bring. Perhaps the ending of my marriage was a somewhat similar experience, not scary in the same sense but filled with fear of the unknown. Let me explain. J is the kindest, most incredible man I know. Fear in this situation came from making a decision that was so full of the unknown there is no guidebook, no map, no cell service. Knowing how wonderful my husband was, but still feeling that something, just “something” was missing, made our separation all the more difficult. It would have been a million times easier to stay, pleasantly content but never really knowing if there could be something more for either of us. The fear, then, wasn’t in what I was trying to escape but was in what I knew I would be leaving behind. Boots on, march forward. Onwards and upwards.
Finding the discreetly labeled opening to the start of the Monk’s Trail, S and I entered what would soon become the most fun, rewarding, intense hike of my life. Armed with nothing but a camera and a vague sense of where we were in the world (a water bottle might have been a good idea too), we started to hike. The first few miles wound through dense vegetation, with the trickle of small waterfalls musically falling all around us. Apart from two runners who flew by us in a frenzy, the trail was all but deserted. I noticed orange, faded fabric markers tied around a few trees along the way. Monks’ robes, leading the way to enlightenment. On this one-way path through the mountains of a world unknown, fortunately, there was nothing to do besides follow them.
Winding up the mountain and deeper into the forest, I could almost feel myself relax with each breath. Mid-way up, an absolutely gorgeous temple structure emerged. Following ascending steps made of ancient stone and lined by old, beautiful Buddhist sculptures, I found myself looking directly at Wat Pha Lat, a hidden forest temple unlike anything I had ever seen. Temples in Thailand often include a large area with multiple separate but related structures surrounded by gardens, sculptures, and room for quiet meditation. S and I found a small patio structure available for quiet, open-air meditation. We sat there quietly, eyes closed, and I thanked the world and the Buddha for this moment of pure joy.
Continuing on through the temple, I could hardly take in all of the beauty I was seeing. Each place my eyes landed brought more and more incredible art, sculptures of the Buddha, of elephants and dragons. Art that could inspire awe in any luxurious museum anywhere in the world was sitting here, in open air, in the middle of a forest in Thailand halfway up a mountain. I was so inspired. Breathing, walking, resting, I found myself frequently thinking there is nowhere else on earth I would rather be.
After soaking in the pure magic of Wat Pha Lat, we continued on up the hill towards Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, one of the most legendary temples in northern Thailand. Ancient Buddhist wisdom tells us that a Buddha relic, a piece of bone, once broke in two. One piece is located at Wat Suan Dok, another gorgeous temple located in central Chiang Mai close to my apartment (more to come on this later). The other piece of bone was placed on a great elephant who carried it up the mountain of Doi Suthep. Where the elephant stopped is the location that Wat Phra That was created. (Apologies if my Buddhist knowledge is lacking here, but I liked what I could comprehend of this story). The journey to this temple was incredibly arduous. Most tourists take buses to the base of the temple and complain a bit about the 300-flights of stairs that lead up to the temple’s entrance. Loving the hike, the workout, the exercise after days of traveling, S and I climbed all the way up. We hiked up tiny, windy dusty trails without water or an end in sight. The humidity made my breathing shallow. Despite the past year of working on my physical endurance through challenging daily exercise (I’m a very odd lover of the Stairmaster), I felt out of shape. This hike is not for the faint of heart. Arriving to a clearing in the path, we followed a group of Thai students down a strange neighborhood road towards a mediation retreat center ahead. This looked promising. Seeing the monks’ orange robes drying on balconies ahead led the way to the opening of the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep temple. Covered in gold, it shone like a beacon of hope and magic in front of us. Only six miles of crazy elevated hiking and you too can experience this joy (or hallucination, depending on how much water you bring with).
After much exploring, meditating, and photo-taking, we decided to treat ourselves to a mango smoothie followed by a $2 USD red truck ride back down the hill towards the Old City. We arrived at the gate of the Old City and spent the afternoon exploring this part of town, miles of hiking not nearly enough to damper our adventurous spirit on such a glorious day. We ate inexpensive, delectable green curry at a small indoor-outdoor café in the Old City. This curry was so good, I could have died right there, mid-bite, and been perfectly content all the way to the end.
This day of adventuring and climbing really had my muscles craving an authentic Thai massage. I walked back home, picked up my book and expected to wait a while at the massage parlor across the street. Amazingly, I was ushered right into a small, wood-paneled private room to immediately start a 2.5 hour massage experience, complete with Thai massage, oil massage, and a facial. The masseuse stretched me into deeply painful, but intensely wonderful positions for the first 60 minutes of the session. This was followed with an oil massage, similar to a Western Swedish massage, which was followed with a facial massage during which I fell into the deepest, most pleasant sleep of my life. I was awoken to facial “packing” where a putty the consistency of mud and honey was essentially slapped onto my face until my skin was fresh as a newborn. Now finished, I was treated to a hot tea and a cookie before I was graciously asked to pay $30 USD for the entire three-hour experience. Once again, I headed home to my gorgeous apartment and fell into a luxurious sleep.
As my eyes closed, I thought: Enjoy every little moment; for these are often life’s greatest moments simply in disguise.
Fondly,
Courtney
© CB2020