Chiang Dao Temple

Having missed the turn to the temple, I decided to get up early the day we were leaving Chiang Dao and check out the wat. The walk to the wat was long and calm. There are 500 steps to the wat, but there are many landings with little buddhist sayings. Surrounded by the forest, climbing the stairs was an enjoyable activity.

At the end of the stairs, before the entrance to the wat, there was a pagoda with lots of photos of a famous monk that founded the temple. When I arrived, there were monks seated in a row in the pagoda preparing food that was being taken to the kitchen further down the trail. I wanted to take a look at the photos and continue to the wat proper, so I decided to enter the pagoda. To be respectful I knelt down and wyed (hands clasped and bow head, called the wy), three times to the Buddha image. Thankfully my host family had taken me to enough wats that I had learned what to do.

As I was seated some women with shaved heads and white robes came in and did the same thing. They were maechi--buddhist nuns. I was very excited because I recently read a book about Thai buddhist nuns and knew that encountering one was rare. After I finished my three wys I realized that something was starting to happen, so I remained seated like the women around me. A young man, of no particular status (aka not a monk) set small silver bowls and silver "i dream of genie"-like flasks in front of the women around me. Then he set one down in front of me.

I was so excited and a bit nervous. The monks began to chant and I sat with head bowed and my hands clasped. I occasionally glanced at the women next to me to see what they were doing. The women uncapped the flask and slowly poured the water into the silver bowl. I did the same.

When the chanting ended the women took their silver bowls and stood up. I did the same. They walked out of the pagoda and down to a patch of grass where they knelt and said a prayer as they poured the water onto the grass. I did the same.

When it was all over, one of the Maechi turned to me and asked if I spoke English, I responded in Thai and our conversation went from there. I told her I was a student in Chiang Mai just passing through. She invited me to eat breakfast in the mess hall, but I unfortunately had to decline (to make sure I got back in time to leave with the group). She wished me good luck and I left.

I was so excited by what had just happened that I hardly knew what to do with myself. I skipped down 500 stairs, pausing every so often to look back up at the wat.