A temple and monastery in Thaton

Next up in my tour of Northern Thailand is Thaton, a small riverside town about 175km NE of Chiang Mai.

It's a pretty setting, on a bend of the Kok river, just a couple of kilometers from the Burmese border. The town boasts a large number of hotels and restaurants for such a small place, and presumably is (or once was) a popular stopping over point for backpackers, as well as hosting visiting tour groups from China, and weekending Bangkokians.

The riverfront, with Inter View Guesthouse in the centre

However on my visit, during a midweek in early October, very few tourists were about; many of the hotels were either closed, or almost deserted (I was the only guest at my small guesthouse).

The main attractions in the town are visiting the hilltop temple (Wat Tha Ton), relaxing with a meal and a beer at one of the riverfront restaurants, or taking boat trips down the river towards Chiang Rai.

Night falls over the monastery and bridge

I was actually a wee bit disappointed by my climb to the temple. You climb up through 9 levels of the hill, through forest, encountering various buildings and shrines at each level. Before visiting, I'd read the Travelfish description which mentioned paths and staircases that connected the levels, past pretty gardens and multiple viewpoints. Those paths and staircases don't appear to exist - at least not any more - or I'm dumb and somehow missed them both going up and down, so 90% of the climb is actually along the road.

Great views from part way up

There are three access routes from the town to level one. The only one still in use is the road access, just west of the 7-11. There are also two old staircases, but neither is maintained. The first one is reached from the small road that runs along the riverbank, across from the police office. You'll pass a couple of houses, then see a run-down gazebo / shelter. Next to that is a small overgrown path, that leads through long grasses to a staircase that winds up through a fake rock grotto to emerge at the Goddess of Mercy statue on level one. One section of this staircase has been overgrown with a massive vine, so necessitates careful foot placement, but the rest of the stairs are largely accessible.

I do not recommend trying the third approach, which is the one signposted from the road. You'll see the blue and white sign (in English and Thai) posted on a wall east of 95 Coffee and almost opposite the phone shop, half hidden by a street food vendor. It directs you down a small alleyway, past a gym, to a staircase. The staircase looks quite overgrown. I decided to climb it anyway.

I'm an idiot.

The third approach

As I climbed, it just got more overgrown. I wished I'd brought a machete by the time I emerged at the base of the dharma school, where the giggling novices thought I was hilarious for coming up that route.

(They thought it was even funnier when I then stopped and spent 5 minutes removing about a hundred burrs from my clothing).

The dharma school on level one

Level one also includes a coffee shop, a gold chedi, a large carpark, and several other monastery buildings. A short flight of stairs at the uphill end (or a short road) leads you to level two, with a small ordination hall and a few small bungalows for monks.

This is where the steps end. From here, it's road all the way up.

Level three is home to a large seated Buddha. Four is home to the meditation centre (topped with another big Buddha), and five to seven is primarily a residential area for monks. Eight is the main pagoda, a flashy and modern afair filled with donated artifacts and stupendous views. This level also includes a large carpark, a friendly cafe (they gave me free drinking water, when I turned up drenched in sweat from the climb), and several large dragon/ naga statues. Note: Travelfish is wrong when it says the pagoda is on level five.

Colourful.

The views and some of the structures are very impressive, but I was disappointed in the lack of maintained footroutes; I guess everyone goes up by car or motorbike these days, so the staff and monks no longer bother maintaining them.

A seat with a view, on level eight

Still, the views are worth the effort. Just don't use the third route.