Daily Archives: June 27, 2005

Witnessing a 40-yr-old tradition up Wat Doi Suthep

I visited Wat Doi Suthep on the morning of 18th June, which was a Saturday. On my songtaew ride up the mountains, I was pleasantly surprised to see thongs of Chiangmai University students trekking upwards by walking on the drain beside the road. Apparently, I was fortunate enough to witness a time-honoured tradition in which incoming freshmen trek to Wat Doi Suthep as part of their orientation to varsity life! The students were boisterous and in high spirits. It was awesome seeing them trudge up the mountains, holding hands or placing arms around one another and shouting cheers. Their energy and excitement was infectious. I would have alighted from my taxi and joined in their rousing parade if I weren’t afraid of being perceived as a weirdo. Haha.

Thai-blogs readers who are visiting Chiangmai in June [that’s when a new school term starts, i reckon], must simply ask around for the day of CMU students’ trek to Wat Doi Suthep so that they can bear witness to this joyous and monumental occasion.

*Chiangmai University was established in 1964 and celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. Trekking up Wat Doi Suthep is a practice fondly adhered to by every new batch of freshies.

More Satellite Pictures

I think it was back in April that I shared with you some screen grabs I took from a program called keyhole. It was a trial version of a program that allows you to view satellite pictures of Thailand and the rest of the world. The full program is quite expensive but you can get a limited trial for free. I think it was about that time that google bought up this company. The good news is that you can now view the satellite pictures on google for free without having to download any software.

http://maps.google.com

The entire country is not covered yet. I have given you a few screenshots below for you to use as starting points and then links so that you can go off exploring from that point.

Huamark Stadium in Bangkok – zoom and pan

Chatuchak Weekend Market – zoom and pan

Phuket with Phi Phi on the right – zoom and pan

Wat Phra Si Sanphet in Ayutthaya – zoom and pan

Namleuk Port west of Rayong – zoom and pan

Have fun exploring Thailand from the air. If you find any more interesting places, then post the links in the comments section.