This is one of the articles I wrote for the US website Tiplr.com
THE SECRET SACRED ROUTE AROUND CHAING MAI
Thailand is one of the most fascinating places in the world, especially for the westerners because of its different culture and traditions. When I travelled trough the country I was exclaiming “wow” at every corner, but there's a really cool experience I wanna share and recommend to do if you want to peek deeply into Thai customs: the 9 sacred temples' route of Chiang Mai!
The whole country is riddled of temples, very different from each other, but this I am going to explain is the path that every proud Thai makes to enrich his own life. Each temple has a function and, according to an ancient belief, if somebody wants to improve his life he has to pay respect to the spirits in the nine sacred temples. This tradition goes centuries back in time and consists of a ritual that is completed only if each one of these temples has been worshipped for its specific virtue. All the 9 temples are placed around the perimeter of the city of Chiang Mai, into the north of Thailand. Keep in mind that the tradition wants that you visit the temples in a precise order, on the purpose to respect the run of life.
Here's the list (in order to visit):
1. Wat Dub Pai (Wat Dab Pai) – to prevent accidents
2. Wat Chiang Man – to remain strong
3. Wat Chai Yuen (Wat Chiang Yuen)- to enjoy a long life
4. Wat Loi Kro (Wat Loi Kroh) – to free your destiny
5. Wat Chai Monnkol – to gain honour
6. Wat Duang Dee – to attract good luck
7. Wat Chai Prakiat – to achieve victory
8. Wat Muen Ngern Ngong (Wat Muen Ngoen Kong) - to experience abundance
9. Wat Palad (Wat Pha Lat) - to provide answers to our questions
This is not only a spiritual experience, it gives also the chance to discover amazing spots, as my favourite Wat Palad, that is dipped into a wonderful huge forest! I gained precious information when I was there: this route is quite unknown by tourists, because part of those temples are hidden and the worship's path is a secret that Thai people gladly guard. My tip is that you don't necessarily need a tour guide to do this, it's sufficient to rent a tuk tuk and to ask to be driven to the indicated places. So, all that remains from me, is to wish you to enjoy this stunning adventure in the Orient!
P.S. “Wat” in Thai means temple.