Wat Phu Tok

Preamble! #

Note: This article will quite lengthy, as there were a number of events that occurred before and during my trip. Skip down a bit if you just want to hear about the mountain and temple!

Before we go up the mountain, we have to get to the mount 😄

Going back in time for a moment, I had booked a scooter to take me on this journey. Given I intended to cover 1,000 km this week, it was critical to be organised and ensure I had what was needed to get me there and back in comfort and safety.

I booked the scooter I wanted, I confirmed the gear it came with and was all set! When I turned up to pick up the rental, the shop had ‘accidentally’ rented it out already. I looked around at what was left, and was dismayed to see a bunch of Click 125’s (a cheap/small scooter… Sufficient for zipping about the city, but not the greatest for a long journey!

Dismayed, I motioned that I would need to look at another shop, the owner told me to wait. A few minutes passed and a woman (his sister) arrived. They got into a heated discussion, and she pushed a set of keys to me… He had just given me her bike. A slightly more comfortable, but still small (Yamaha Filano 130). I felt obliged to take it and signed all the paperwork.

As I was preparing to leave, I opened the seat to find, what is best described as a ‘hat’ posing as the included helmet. I motioned that I wanted a full face helmet, or at least one with a face shield… I ended up trying on the remaining helmets, the only one which fit was slightly more sturdy, but still faceless.

I begrudgingly took this and made my way, as I was already late! Two minutes in to the journey, there were ‘wind tears’ running down my face already, and to add injury to insult, I was struck by a small butterfly. This had cracked open a small wound on my eyebrow, which left me looking like a mess! I hadn’t even made it up to full speed and already had blood and tears on my face!

I stopped off at a little lotus and bought the first set of sunglasses I could find, a set of 80s era aviators… This would at least stop the tears and provide some protection to the next butterfly that wanted to hit me a centimetre lower.

Needless to say, I was annoyed. Having done my due diligence, I was now paying the price (in blood) for the wrong or missing gear I had requested.

My spectacular arrival #

As I made my way towards the region, I saw a couple stranded on the side of the road. I returned and saw the boy trying to kick-start his bike. It was dead. It made a terminally ill sound every time he tried to kick it over. I offered to push them from my bike, back towards the last town I had come past. There were at least some bike shops who could offer some professional help. The girl eagerly accepted my offer, while the boy continued to attempt to kick-start this clearly dead bike.

While the girl and I discussed getting them both to the next town, the boy ran off, endeavouring to give it a running start… The girl and I looked up, and she began running after him to explain what was going to happen next.

… Except it wasn’t going to happen. When she caught up with him, he was in no mood for assistance and was determined to get this working himself. She politely turned down my offer, and I left the awkward scene as quickly as I could.

About 30 minutes later, as I was less than 1 km from Wat Phu Tok, my own scooter stopped. Well, not stopped dead, but chugged and died a slow and spluttering death… I am embarrassingly familiar with this, having run out of petrol on more than a few road trips.

I checked the fuel indicator, and it was still showing half full… I trusted my gut more than this stupid bike, so I opened the fuel tank and saw absolutely nothing inside! The bike I had been given had a faulty fuel indicator. It worked well from 100% to 50%… But in reality, the 50% marker was empty.

I wasn’t confident if the temple would have a petrol station, but with no other option, I decided to push it the rest of the way, so I could at least seek assistance (and get a drink). No sooner had I formed this plan in my head, I looked up to see a passing motorbike turning around and coming back towards me. Two young girls jumped off and started chatting to me in Thai. Pointing to the open fuel tank, I motioned ’no’ several times. They nodded and jumped back on their bike and sped off again.

Unsure if my message had got through, I resumed pushing my bike towards the temple… Before long, the girls were returning, with a bottle of whisky??? They had purchased a 1 litre bottle of petrol from somewhere (I have no idea where, there was absolutely nothing nearby!) They came gleefully holding the bottle and a funnel and pushed me back from the bike while they operated on it. (I guess that they assumed if I was dumb enough to run out of petrol here, I couldn’t be trusted to pour it in either… Fair call really).

30 seconds later, I had a litre of petrol, which would hopefully get me to the nearest petrol station to top up all the way. By the time I confirmed my bike actually started, the girls had jumped on theirs and were about to take off. I ran back, and asked how much for the petrol (and their time). They straight up refused. I opened my wallet and realised I only had about 120 baht cash in there. After several denials, they reluctantly accepted the cash and carried on their way!

I like to think that the karma in trying to assist the couple earlier, was nearly instantly repaid when I needed support! With that out of the way, I carried on to the temple

Not the temple. #

I had put the temple into Google Maps and was blindly following the directions to the pin. I could see the mountain, so knew I was close. As I arrived at the pin, things didn’t seem right. I was now on a tiny dirt track, that did not show many signs of use, or at least the amount of use I would expect from a popular temple.

Regardless, I followed it down, as it seemed to be running parallel to the mountain… MUCH further down the path, I had now passed the mountain, and there was no sign of it looping back. I gave up and started heading back to the main road… It was at this point I was extremely grateful that I ran out of petrol on the main road, and not on this little goat track. There was no way anyone else was silly enough to come down here, nor would I have had much luck pushing the scooter back on this wet and muddy track!

Getting back to the main road, I travelled 100 m down it, until I saw big signs showing the temple was here… Finally, I arrived and it was now unmissable!

Arriving at the temple #

Upon entering the gates, there is a spectacular view of an emerald green pond, with multiple features crafted into and around it. A huge temple and the massive mountain stood in the background.

It . Was . Packed. There was some sort of Buddhist event going on, with monks wearing a variety of coloured robes wandering around with a huge group of regularly dressed people.

I avoided the temple areas and made my way to the entry and the start of many stairs leading up the mountain.

The climb #

Stairs, stairs and even more stairs. At the start, you are hit with an immediate set of stairs leading up the mountain. It was extremely steep, but did not last for too long. Eventually, you find yourself on one of many level of the temple.

It was a busy day, with many people taking on the climb. Making it to the first level of the elevated temple, I decided to bypass the crowd and head straight to the top of the mountain. I’d be able to get a few photos in, before heading back down to a hopefully quieter temple area.

The path involves several sections of flimsy wooden boardwalks around the sheer cliff edge of the mountain. While the integrity of the wood was constantly on my mind, at no point did it feel unsafe or vulnerable to failure. It was a stunning path around the edge of the cliff. Walking next to deep okra cliffs, with knotted wood underneath your feet, giving a full view of the drastic drop below, was an experienced! The weather had turned out, and there was an incredible view of the green fields in the region.

I thoroughly enjoyed the climb. As you come up, there will be a fork in the path, with the ‘200 m’ option taking you on this ’edge’ experience walk, while the ‘220 m’ option taking you upstairs cut into the rocks (easier for people nervous with wooden structures at height!).

Lost on the mountain top #

Having made it to the top, Once again on this day, things turned sour. I had no map, but knew of a lookout point. Thinking this would be well signposted, I carried on… It was not. Once past the temple level, and onto the top of the mountain, there were just numerous paths crisscrossing each other and no signs whatsoever. I guessed my way around, and found some lookouts, but not the one I had been hoping for.

I probably spent an hour walking around aimlessly on the top, before giving up and trying to return to the lower levels. By this stage, I was hopelessly lost and exhausted. Eventually, I found the path I thought would return me to the lower levels, but had inadvertently found the lookout I had initially been seeking. It was spectacular and gave me a much-needed boost of energy again.

… It also put me back on the popular path, and I was able to follow another group back down 😄

Feet back on the ground #

I made my way out, and it was much quieter now. Whatever event which had been on earlier had clearly finished and people had left. I arrive at the now empty dining hall, desperate to buy a bottle of water. There were volunteers there cleaning up after the event, and they offered me a bottle of water and some of the rice soup (I assume the meal the guests had eaten earlier). I gleefully took the water, and out of politeness accepted the rice soup as well.

I finished the water instantly, and they came back with another (which I again happily accepted). Not wanting to be rude to these wonderful people, I begrudgingly began eating the sad-looking soup… It may have looked sad, but it was incredibly flavourful. I’m uncertain if I was experiencing some sort of heatstroke, but this soup was one of the greatest meals I have ever had. I slurped up every drop of soup and grain of rice.

I was dead tired, but so extremely satisfied. I chatted with the volunteers for a bit, then offered to pay for everything. Nope, they were not having any of that either. I pleaded to pay something for what felt like a life-saving meal, and the flat out rejected everything, I tried. Sore and tired, I made my way back up to the lower temple area and made another donation 😄

Thoughts #

The hospitality from everyone I met in the area was incredible. I love Thailand, especially the regional areas of Thailand, for this reason. The upper temple area of the mountain was incredible… And if you can find the shortcut to the lookout point on top, it is worth going up for that view.

I experienced a range of emotions on this trip, but ultimately, it was gratitude for being able to be here in the first place, and to be able to interact with these people. These people, with few physical possessions, will give everything to help a stranger. They have some of the most beautiful locations, which they happily share with anyone willing to visit. I am consistently astounded by the Thai generosity.

📷 Photos #