I woke up on this day feeling a little sluggish and didn’t really want to get out of bed. I had gone out the night before to celebrate with a friend on his birthday. A great night out usually means a ruff next day and this day was no exception. Nonetheless, I got up and after my morning coffee, I decided to take my Yamaha Xmax300 motorbike out for a ride. I had just purchased it a few days earlier and couldn’t get enough of riding it.
My ride took me out to a Buddhist temple where I had discovered on a previous ride but had never viewed it from the inside. The name of the temple is Buddha’s Footprint Mandapa. It is located on top of a hill with a parking at its base. To get to the temple you had to walk up 230 steps which is why I never been inside. Today, I told myself, would be the day. There was actually a road which would allow anyone to drive up to the temple, but to me that would defeat the purpose of the steps.
I pulled inside the parking lot which, like on previous trips, was nearly empty. After parking my bike I took a deep breath and began the long journey up. Thailand’s main religion is Buddhism of which 92% of its population are a part of. You can find temples and shrines spread throughout any part of every city in Thailand. It is not unusual to see people stop and pray in front of them before passing by. For the record, I know little about Buddhism and was not there to worship. To me it was just an opportunity to experience something different. However, the atmosphere was so calm and serene, even more so once inside the temple. It was beautiful. I felt a spiritual uplifting. It seemed to have removed the morning after affects of the previous night out completely from my system. I regret that there was no photography allowed inside the temple. I would love to have shared them with you. If you ever get the opportunity to visit this place don’t pass it up.
