The Golden Horse Monastery - Finding a Piece of Thai Legend

Chiang Rai Province, Thailand

You're a traveler, not a tourist, gosh darnit, and you want to do something unique.  Tripadvisor?  Pfft...that's for beginners.  Lonely Planet?  Gimme a backpacking break.  I wouldn't be caught dead
with one of those books!

I'm not actually above any of that, but I was in Chiang Rai, Thailand with very few recommended sights to see!  Chiang Rai is known for its White Temple, which is impressive, and will be saved for another post, but other than that?  Not much going on in these parts.  I would find something awesome and off the beaten trail to do.

Where is it?

Chiang Rai is the northernmost "large" city in Thailand.  I mostly stopped here due to a recommended ceramic site, and its proximity to Laos - I would be traveling there the following day.  As is my favored custom, I rented a motorbike in town and researched my options for the next day.  I don't even know how I stumbled upon what I ended up doing.

The Golden Horse Monastery 

There is legend.  There are documentaries.  There are no reviews and hopefully there never will be any.  You won't find this place on Tripadvisor or Lonely Planet and you will get lost getting there (or at least I did.  Severely).

The History

Once there was a famous Muay Thai fighter named Phra Kru Ba Neua Chai.  To his fans, he was known as Samerchai.  His reputation was built on having only lost three times in his fifteen-year boxing career.  He was even preparing to fight the world champion when he suddenly had strong reoccurring visions and left the ring to be ordained instead.  He spent a long period of time alone, contemplating his calling and finally returned to the Chiang Rai area, where his parents were farmers.  

In 1992, he traveled about an hour north of Chiang Rai to build his monastery on an overgrown and abandoned shrine - the Golden Horse.  He was alone, and gained the respect of villagers around him.  Being so close to Myanmar's border, there was a lot of drug trafficking going on in the early nineties.
 The Thai military was having great difficulty in battling these efforts and called on Phra Kru Ba Neua Chai for assistance in bringing dharma (Buddhist truths and a way of life) to the hilltribe villagers.  Once a successful boxer, he was a natural choice in this form of battle as he could defend himself if necessary.

In Thailand, gifts - usually food - is given to monks in exchange for blessings.  It is not surprising to learn that one day, a lottery winner donated a horse to Kru Ba in exchange for his meditated blessing.  As the tribe villages around him are spread far apart, the horse helped Kru Ba journey at dawn for his morning alms.  While the efforts to stop trafficking continued along the border, Kru Ba also took in several orphans, either addicted to drugs or whose parents were killed by the traffickers.

Over the years, more and more horses were donated to the monastery and saved from slaughter.  Kru Ba trained his young monk orphans in Muay Thai, giving them a discipline to use all parts of their mind and body and gain self confidence.  They were also trained in equestrian skills, caring for dozens of horses which they would ride twice a week to spread education about the dangers of drug use, teach Buddhism and collect morning alms.

My Visit

There are many sites who talk about the Golden Horse's beginnings, but almost none that tell you how to get there.  I think this is for good reason, in hopes that this place doesn't turn into a tourist destination.  Of course I saw this as a personal challenge.  I tend to get lost when trying to find a heavily documented location, how would I do with this hidden gem?  I won't reveal any turn-by-turns in this post so you can have a journey of your own if you so choose.

I started out early.  I knew where to turn off of the main road, but from there, I was relying on reading crude directions online from one visitor which I jotted on a piece of paper.
And luck (really?  Yes, really).
The views in Northern Thailand are, without sufficient descriptors, stunning.  I know, I know, every
post lately has been filled with "stunning" reviews, but really, this was another world.  I was out in the middle. of. nowhere.  No English, not many signs using the Latin alphabet even.  No big houses or flashy cars.  All farmers.  Rice paddies galore, and MOUNTAINS.  Oh the mountains.

So I might have had a little too much optimism for my luck.  Every correct turn from my scratched directions brought ecstatic relief but only took me so far.  Pretty soon I found myself on a road going very far in one direction without any sign that I was driving in the right direction.
I decided to stop for a coffee and turn around.  After a while, I found what I thought was the right road, and there was a Thai police drug roadblock.  Now, I was hesitant to stop even though they waved me on, but I needed to check my directions.  Why was I hesitant?  It's not technically legal to give your passport to motorbike renters and it's not technically legal for renters to ask you for it either, but no one gets a motorbike if this doesn't happen, so, passportless, I approached one of the officials in uniform and said the name of the monastery in Thai.  (Please please please I'm thinking...know what I'm talking about and don't ask for my passport).  They gestured in one direction, said "three" and then gestured in another direction, then waved me on with a smile.  Khob-kun-ka! and on I went!

In "three," I turned left and stopped at the next shop, and repeated my very limited Thai, which was always met with understanding and smiles and gesturing.  After ten or so more stops, smiles and extended hands guiding me along, I found it!  The journey should have taken about an hour and I got there in about two 1/2.  It wasn't exactly torture getting lost in Northern Thailand landscape, though, let me tell ya.

The Monastery

The Monastery is on a cliff of a mountain.  Driving up the steep cliff face was the finishline and thank God my motorbike had enough CCs to do it.  When I walked into the golden horse entryway, I was met with...nothing.  I thought, I worked so hard to get here and no one's home.  I wandered to the back of the grounds and found the stables.  Some Thai locals in plain clothes were feeding the horses and I stopped to watch for a while.  Feeling a little
defeated, I turned to walk back and what I saw in my peripheral made me freeze.  A heavily tattooed monk in orange robes trotted into the stable area and dismounted his horse in one of the stalls.  I watched from a distance and quietly approached to watch him give the horse a bath.  You could tell great attention and dedication was given to the care of these horses.  Grateful I had seen one of the monks, I pressed my hands together, bobbed a thank you and turned to leave.

Near where I had parked my motorbike, I heard some children laughing.  Being drawn to where they were, I started walking down a steep path toward a small village area.  Hearing a motor behind me, I turned just in time to step out of the way of another tattooed monk on a motorbike(?) smiling as he rode down the path toward the village.  I stopped and watched as he got off and offered some food to the children who were playing by a small green pond.  I waited in the distance, watching to see if he would return up the path.  The monk stepped into visibility and waved at me, calling "hello!"  Feeling silly, I took that as an invitation and joined them as they ate.  There was no language between us but smiles, but that was all we needed.

On the way back to town, I only took two wrong turns but eventually made it to the rental shop before sunset.  My passport hadn't been sold, huzzah!
I was exhausted but filled with a special personal adventure and peace in the day's events.