Tuesday 17 December 2024
A birthday hike to Wat Phalad on the Monks Trail

Today is the 121st anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, USA on 17 December 1903. Their first flight was 12 seconds covering 120 feet at a speed of 6.8 miles per hour, and on their fourth flight that day, they covered over 850 feet in 59 seconds. I contemplate this when I am in an airplane flying more than 12 hours from Los Angeles to Incheon (Seoul’s main airport). [The scheduled flight time is 13-1/2 hours.]

It is also my birthday, not 17 December 1903, but 17 December almost 50 years later. Being a special day, I decided to hike up the Monks Trail to Wat Phalad for the first time this winter. I got a motorbike ride to a place called Base Camp, a coffee shop and hiking supply store. This is about 2 kilometers from the trailhead of the Monks Trail, and more of a landmark for getting a ride.

Finding the Monks Trail Trailhead

When I spent my first winter in Chiang Mai, I was told that I might like to hike to Wat Phalad, a peaceful temple up in the forest (in between a forest and a jungle). I heard that the trailhead was somewhere west of Chiang Mai University. The best direction I could get was to look in the distance for two large communication towers, aim for them, and supposedly I would find the trailhead. A little too ambiguous for me. So, I got a driver to drop me on the main road close to the road entrance leading down to Wat Phalad. I wandered around the grounds and liked the solitude and the general ambiance. I noticed a couple people coming into the temple grounds from the forest and surmised that this might be the path. So I walked down that path, and 40 minutes later, I was at the trailhead. Continuing down the road for another kilometer or two, arrived near Chiang Mai University. To this day, I have not seen those communication towers.

The Trailhead

Now, with social media, the Monks Trail trailhead is well-documented and is even on Google Maps. This is a good thing because many more people are finding the trail, hiking in the forest up to Wat Phalad, and enjoying both the hike in the forest and the Wat Phalad temple grounds. When I first made this hike, I was surprised to see more than one or two other people. Now, there are dozens of people making the hike every day. Since I was here last February, the trailhead has been dramatically improved and is more obvious than ever.

The Monks Trail

From the trailhead to Wat Phalad, the trail is moderate to difficult at times. Some sections are fairly steep, and even the sections that seem flat are uphill. The recent heavy rains at the end of the rainy season that caused massive flooding in northern Thailand took a bit of a toll on the Monks Trail. Not as serious as I expected, though. There is some obvious erosion leaving more of a rock surface in places.

Here are some photos of my first hike up the trail in the forest to Wat Phalad:

Sometimes the path is open and light, and other times the forest is dense and the trail is almost a tunnel through the foliage.

And sometimes there is a steeper section with logs across the trail to reduce erosion and provide footing. The photos do not convey just how steep this section is – it is steeper than typical stairs.

After about a 45-50 minute hike, there is a last set of stairs to get into the Wat Phalad temple grounds.

I have been to Wat Phalad and written about it in many blog posts in the past. I am quite certain I have shared this story of my connection with Wat Phalad and Thich Nhat Hanh before, but could not find it, so I’ll just tell it again.

Thich Nhat Hanh and me

As I said, Wat Phalad is one of my favorite temples to visit, worthy of the moderate hike in the forest. When I first came to Chiang Mai, I went to a meditation group and the leader announced, “We meditate in the style of Thich Nhat Hanh” to which I thought, I’ve never heard of him, but I’m game. Upon returning home and researching Thich Nhat Hanh, I learned that he was a Vietnamese Buddhist Monk who was exiled from Vietnam in 1966 because of his opposition to the war. He was also nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King in 1967, but no award was made that year (too many wars taking place).

Wikipedia says he then moved to France, but an expat I know here who teaches English to monks at a few temples, including Wat Phalad told me that they have records of Thich Nhat Hanh having lived at Wat Phalad from 1966-1969 or 1970 before he moved to France.

Nevertheless, later he moved to Paris and then started Plum Village in southeastern France. Over time he became famous for his writings on mindfulness and peace. He started a Vietnamese Buddhist Monestary outside San Diego, Deer Park. I discovered he was traveling to the United States that year, would appear on Oprah (the interview with Oprah is on YouTube), and would be at Deer Park for two weeks. All the sessions were in Vietnamese except one day, a Day of Mindfulness, in English. I was there, and it is a powerful feeling to do a silent walking meditation with 500 or more people to a small hill where Thich Nhat Hanh is standing in his orange robes and well-known smile. On my return to Chiang Mai the following winter, I learned about Thich Nhat Hanh’s having lived at Wat Phalad.

Thick Nhat Hanh suffered a stroke in 2014, was no longer able to speak (although he could chant). He sought treatment outside San Francisco, and also at Plum Village Bangkok. In 2018, the Vietnamese government granted him permission to return to Hieu in central Vietnam, the town and temple where he was ordained as a monk, and he lived there until he passed away in 2022 at the age of 95.

Wat Phalad

Over the years, I have posted many photos of Wat Phalad. It is a peaceful temple almost hidden away in the forest. There are several small buildings, a fairly new cloister area, and several places to sit and rest, or sit for a meditation. One of the first things I see when inside the temple grounds is this beautiful stand of very large bamboo. Each stalk is 4 inches or more in diameter. When a breeze comes, they make a light tapping or clattering noise.

Just to the left of the bamboo is a smaller viharn (assembly or worship hall) that used to be dark and almost forbidding inside. Since a renovation about 3 years ago, the inside is now light and inviting.

To the right of the small viharn is the relatively new cloister with a Buddha statue at the north side.

Up a little higher is a very old chedi, now in need of cleaning and restoration. I was surprised that after all the improvements and renovations at Wat Phalad over the last 3 or 4 years, the chedi has remained untouched. All of the moss and weeds growing will undermine the structure. It is a beautiful old chedi, and worthy of cleaning and/or resoration.

Closer to what I think of as the main viharn I noticed two separate sets of carved doors. I do not remember these from earlier visits, but must have missed them because they look very old and not recently installed.

Going down the hill along the waterfall and creek, there are two sets of stairs. The lower is what I call the Naga stairway, with the Naga serpents at guard. Above the Naga stairway is the Singha stairway, guarded by the large lion-like Singha creatures.

One last photo of the waterfall flowing over the large rocks before I leave Wat Phalad and head down the trail.

Going down is much easier than hiking up although one must be careful about slipping on unstable parts of the path. At times, the path is near the creek going down the mountain, and the sound of the water can be heard most of the way down.

Continuing in the forest, a downhill section and a flatter (but not really) section.

Then a rocky section followed by a flowered section, and the end of the Monks Trail.

Hiked down to the Base Camp coffee shop and hiking supply store and got a Bolt motorcycle taxi back to The 3-Sis. It is a long 6-kilometer (4-mile) walk with very busy traffic, so 50 baht for a ride (about $1.75) is well worth it. Bolt is like Grab or Uber.

Next: Return hike to the railway station to see flood evidence (if any)