We drove the windy, steep road up Doi Sethep (that's the name of the mountain and the temple on top) to get to the famed three hundred step temple. It's a steep 309 steps (I didn't count the steps, but it is famous for being the 309 step temple, so I'll believe it.)
(Editor: You didn't drive the road. Writer: Technically you are right. Editor: Technically? You were a passenger in a large van.)
The mountain is 3,520 feet tall and is nine miles outside of Chiang Mai. It affords great views of the city; at one point we watched a plane take off from the airfield, and it looked a bit like a kids toy from our vantage point.
The first stupa was built in 1383, and it has grown since. The legend of its founding is the, uh, stuff of legend. (Editor: Backed yourself into a rhetorical corner there eh. Writer: Once I got into the corner of using "legend" twice in the same sentence, I pretty much panicked.)
I'll let Alexander Wikipedia tell it:
According to legend, a monk named Sumanathera from the Sukhothai Kingdom had a dream. In this vision he was told to go to Pang Cha and look for a relic. Sumanathera ventured to Pang Cha and found a bone. Many claim it was Gautama Buddha's shoulder bone. The relic displayed magical powers: it glowed, it was able to vanish, it could move and replicate itself. Sumanathera took the relic to King Dhammaraja, who ruled Sukhothai. The eager Dhammaraja made offerings and hosted a ceremony when Sumanathera arrived. However, the relic displayed no abnormal characteristics, and the king, doubtful of the relic's authenticity, told Sumanathera to keep it.
King Nu Naone of Lan Na heard of the relic and bade the monk to bring it to him. In 1368, with Dharmmaraja's permission, Sumanathera took the relic to what is now Lamphun, in northern Thailand. Once there, the relic broke into two pieces. The smaller piece was enshrined at Wat Suan Dok. The other piece was placed by the king on the back of a white elephant which was released into the jungle. The elephant is said to have climbed up Doi Suthep, at that time called Doi Aoy Chang (Sugar Elephant Mountain), stopped, trumpeted three times, then dropped dead. This was interpreted as an omen. King Nu Naone immediately ordered the construction of a temple at the site.
You get bonus points if you can pronounce all the names in the preceding two paragraphs. This may surprise you, but my pronunciation is so bad, I had points deducted. (Editor: "I'm not surprised." Turns, faces the audience and breaks the fourth wall. Sees everyone shaking their head. "And, it appears, neither are the readers.")
With my bad knee, it was a chore to get up the 309 steps to the mountaintop temple, but it was definitely worth it. Very beautiful views, and many striking Buddhas (by the way, for such a short people, they have huge step risers).
After wandering around a lower level for a bit, we took off our shoes and went up to the inner ring (does those steps count as part of the 309?). It's quite striking, and definitely worth the time to visit.
The only bummer is that the gold stupa was under scaffolding. It would have made for some great photos, but you can make do with these pics:
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