Chiang Mai - Part 3: Temples & Poo

Our last full day in Chiang Mai, we met up with Noot, who graciously offered to show us around and gave us some background about Chiang Mai and Thailand culture.

We began our day at the Wat Phra Singh Temple, built in 1345.  A “wat” is a Buddhist temple.  In Chiang Mai there are over 300 wats and within the old walled city, which is roughly a square mile, there are 36 wats!

The walled city was constructed in 1296.  The king put 10,000 men on each of the four walls, gave them a shovel, and had them dig the moat, which is still used today.

At this time Chiang Mai was part of the Lanna kingdom, which consisted of the land south of China including modern day Laos and Myanmar (Burma).  The Lanna kingdom was its own country and not part of Thailand (known as Siam at the time), which was to its south. In 1892 the Lanna kingdom was colonized by Siam but was free to rule themselves.  Overtime the Lanna kingdom merged with Siam and in 1949 Siam officially became known as Thailand.  Thai New Year is celebrated in April because this celebrates the Lanna New Year and combining of the two kingdoms.  During Thai New Year the two Buddha images in the Wan Lai Kham temple are removed and paraded through the streets with the Thai people showing honor the statues by sprinkling water on them.

Kids in front of Walled City

Monk at the temple in front of were the important Buddha statues are housed.

While pure Buddhism did not involve idols or images, modern Buddhism in Thailand today includes much symbolism.  Today’s Buddhism in Thailand is a combination of the superstitious religions of Brahmanism (traditions, dates, and zodiac) and Hinduism.  In addition to Buddha images, which are illegal to use on merchandise, for decoration or tattoos, and cannot be exported out of the country, there are other sacred images.  The elephant is important in Thailand because it is believed to uphold the Buddhist religion.  The Narca, a mythical dragon-looking creature believed to be the ruler of the underworld (but not hell), symbolizes guarding and protecting.  The Sacred Fig tree, often called the “Bo” tree, has heart-shaped leaves and is thought to be the tree that Buddha sat under when he achieved enlightenment.  The lotus flower is a Buddhist symbol representing the stages of the soul as this flower begins below ground in the mud and rises through the water in order to ultimately bloom above the water because of its overall strength.

The chedi at Wat Phra Singh

Close up of the Phrathatluang chedi, a Narca lining the steps with elephants in the background.

Look closely, this is not just a Narca, but is actually 2 animals and the Barca is being spit out! It represents the desire to be free from the occupation of the time

Wan Lai Kham is the main attraction of the Wat Phra Singh complex as it houses two important statues of Buddha.  This building was built in 1345.  The pictures on the walls of this temple read as a story telling the life of Lord Buddha who is considered the perfecter of Buddhism, which existed before he was born.  Lord Buddha is Indian but he was born in Nepal in 624 BC.  He was a prince but was not satisfied with life and sought to have a deeper understanding of fulfillment.  When he was 29 years old he left his wife and child and wandered and fasted for six years searching for answers to being content, the purpose for suffering and the goal of life.  During this time of simplicity and searching he wore a robe/cloth that was used to bury the dead.  These cloths were often bloody and difficult to clean so they would be dyed with tree bark.  This is why the Buddhist monks we see today where saffron colored robes.  Roughly at the end of his six years of searching, he sat under a tree and many of the answers he’d been searching for came to his mind and he attained enlightenment which strives to be middle of the road in just about everything.  After one goes through nirvana they are free from the cycle of reincarnation.  Because Lord Buddha is now free from this cycle, it is predicted that another Buddha is coming, just as there were Buddhas before Lord Buddha. There have been about 40 in total, but a few are not universally accepted.

A significant amount of effort is given to earning merit in the Buddhism religion.  There are twelve different stupas in Thailand, one for each of the twelve years of Buddhism (cat, rat, dog, etc..).  The most significant merit one can make is to go on one’s birthday to the cheti that matches the animal of the person’s birth year and to make an offering.  

Another way to earn merit: 7 Bowls for each day of the week's offering (two for Wednesday) along with 8 Buddha
poses (each position shows a different attitude that has significance).

After learning about Buddhism and the temples, we headed outside of the city to the Elephant Poo Poo Paper Park.  The boys really wanted to visit this place to see all of the products that can be made out of poo.  It was interesting to learn about the process and to get to help stir the poo, add some to be beaten into pulp, and make sheets of paper with it.  The kids enjoyed making a craft afterwards with some of the paper and found the concept of this place entertaining.  As a business this is brilliant because elephant poo is everywhere, virtually free, and really has no other uses.

G stirring a patch of elephant poo!

The princess and the poo!  Poo needs to boil for 7-8 hours.

Elephant poo ground into pulp for making paper

Cuties with dyed poo-pulp balls!

Making large sheets of paper with the elephant poo pulp.

Screens of paper set out to dry

We then went to lunch where we devoured amazing food and salads from an organic garden grown alongside the restaurant – what a treat for us travelers who don’t often get to enjoy greens due to being health cautious!

We learned so much and enjoyed visiting with Noot and continuing to learn about her life and ministry.  We are grateful for this connection in Chiang Mai and for her willingness to give us an insiders perspective on life in Thailand.  Thanks Garborgs!