Anyone here doing or previously done the candelit procession up Doi Suthep?

[somtum16]

Trying to decide whether it would be an enjoyable experience. I am not Buddhist so I'd literally be walking up Doi Suthep for the sake of it rather than because of any kind of religious ritual. There'll also be thousands of people there I'm assuming. Anyone done this walk before? What was it like?

[eyecatcher]

Yes I have done it and it was horrendous.

The walk is easy enough if you have a limp or short legs otherwise you will lose patience trampling over all those bloody dawdlers.

From a safety aspect I will never forget the Naga steps, infact the safest place for me and the wife was outside of the steps.

Imagine being at Hillsborough when 95 people were crushed, on the way down it takes one minute to descend one step. As a six footer i was literally off the ground, the wife head was down below and it wasnt worth the risk.

As a regular hiker up Doi Suthep I knew the best way to get down, through the monks quarters.

Enjoyable, no

Do it again, no

Glad I did it, i suppose so, I can now forewarn others.

 

 

On the way down, 20000 people and every toxic fuming songthaew in the city is up there with 30 people crammed in, on the roof, swinging from the doors, at 1.30 in the morning.

 

Tell you what.....you will never forget it!

Edited May 17, 2019 by eyecatcher

[somtum16]

 

 

 

 

 

4

30 minutes ago, eyecatcher said:

Yes I have done it and it was horrendous.

The walk is easy enough if you have a limp or short legs otherwise you will lose patience trampling over all those bloody dawdlers.

From a safety aspect I will never forget the Naga steps, infact the safest place for me and the wife was outside of the steps.

Imagine being at Hillsborough when 95 people were crushed, on the way down it takes one minute to descend one step. As a six footer i was literally off the ground, the wife head was down below and it wasnt worth the risk.

As a regular hiker up Doi Suthep I knew the best way to get down, through the monks quarters.

Enjoyable, no

Do it again, no

Glad I did it, i suppose so, I can now forewarn others.

 

 

On the way down, 20000 people and every toxic fuming songthaew in the city is up there with 30 people crammed in, on the roof, swinging from the doors, at 1.30 in the morning.

 

Tell you what.....you will never forget it!

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. I appreciate the honesty aswell. I don't think I will bother because that sounds nightmarish. I'd probably have a lot more fun picking a random morning and hiking up the monks' trail. 

[lkn]

On 5/17/2019 at 3:34 PM, somtum16 said:

Trying to decide whether it would be an enjoyable experience. I am not Buddhist so I'd literally be walking up Doi Suthep for the sake of it rather than because of any kind of religious ritual. There'll also be thousands of people there I'm assuming. Anyone done this walk before? What was it like?

I did it yesterday and can recommend it (I guess next year).

 

I really do not know what @eyecatcher is talking about, because this is quite an experience, as the 12 km road going up to the temple is filled with people giving away free food, drinks, cakes, icecream, etc. and there are even countless of people eager to take your trash, also people at the roadside waving pieces of cardboard to cool you down (although that gesture did seem a little pointless), at least two places with live music, and then a handful of places with monks blessing you (throwing water on people passing by).

 

While the holiday (today) is a celebration of Buddha’s life, the event yesterday was just about making merit by showing kindness towards others.

 

It took us five hours to reach the temple, but we had a lot of food on the way.

[eyecatcher]

If you want to generalise and say i dont know what i am talking about then from your report i could say you were only happy because there was free food.

I actually have a thread on here somewhere giving a proper detailed account of my experience.

[lkn]

2 hours ago, eyecatcher said:

If you want to generalise and say i dont know what i am talking about then from your report i could say you were only happy because there was free food.

What I meant by my statement was that you and I had very different experiences, as if we participated in different events, i.e. I do not know if e.g. you took the Monk’s Trail during daytime, and that is the track you are describing, because I could see that match your experience, and the point for a non-Buddhist in doing this trail during a holiday would indeed seem a bit pointless, as that trail is (for us non-Buddhists) mainly done for the scenic route and the exercise, neither of which you would get on a day where it is filled with Thais making merit by walking the trail.

 

The main road though during the evening before Visakha Bucha Day is quite a different experience, as you do it neither for the exercise nor the scenic route, it’s kind of a festival, but the road is wide enough for people to walk in whatever speed they prefer, there were several people *running* (at least when they passed me), so that is why I again say I do not know what you are talking about with losing your patience with slow walking people.

 

[holy cow cm]

Rode a bike up during the event, and that was enough to tell me nope, better for me to keep running marathons. 2 of my kids have done it as sanctioned by the school they were at, but they would not do it again unless have to.

 

But to be fair, it might be a great experience for a foreigner to be one and all with the Thai. 

[lkn]

2 hours ago, eyecatcher said:

If you want to generalise and say i dont know what i am talking about

Just to clarify, this is actually not what I wrote. I wrote *I* did not know what you were talking about, i.e. that I could not recognize the event I participated in from your description.