During a recent short trip to Pattaya, we made it a point to visit ‘Khao Chee Chan’, a mountain about which we had heard so much but were not able to visit on our previous trips. This mountain has a massive Buddha carved on it in pure gold with laser which can be seen many kilometers away. So we rolled on in a tourist-bus through green stretches of growing rice alternating with hills, plantations of bamboos and stately coconut trees, wondering why our footsteps have been so strangely guided to this mountain and thanking our good fortune for this spiritual experience because every such experience plays an important part in life. Dotted along the route were charming little Buddhist shrines, some severely simple and others ornate and over-decorated. There was complete silence except the sound of birds which is their morning chorus-song all over the world.

The mountain was reached, towering over us with its rugged grandeur, a lonely peak, thrusting it’s head hundreds of feet into the clear sky. A queer feeling of awe arose in me as I gazed and later meditated on the distinct outline of the Prince who gave up every luxury he was born into to become a Buddha. Other tourists began to prostrate before it. I picked up very strong vibrations because this mountain is sacred ground and I was silent- it wasn’t the silence of vacancy of thoughts but the silence of mystical-contemplation.

But I digress, the unique feature of Khao Chee Chan is the engraving of Buddha’s image which is 130 meters high, humbling the 71 meter high statue carved on a mountain just outside the city of Leshan in China’s Sichuan Province. Yes, it does not have a three dimensional characteristic that defines a statue but nonetheless, the image can be viewed kilometers away and testifies to the devotion of Thais to Lord Buddha. The image was formed by carving its outline on the side of the mountain with laser and inlaid with gold leaf. The image is in the usual sitting position and we learned that it is a ‘Sukhothai-Era Buddha’. Its actual name in Thai is ‘Phra Phuttha Maha Vachira Utta Mppas Sasada’. It is actually only fifteen kilometers south of Pattaya city. The place has an old world charm and you feel totally divorced from the hustle and bustle of modern civilization.

The story about how Khao Chee Chan came into prominence is interesting. During the Vietnam war, the Thai navy was given the orders to evacuate its camp near the mountain and then excavate its stone for the construction of ‘U-Tapao’ airfield for the use of Americans. At the end of the Vietnam war, the mountain turned out to be a temptation to private construction companies who mined it illegally for stone, thereby threatening the destruction of the environment.

It was in 1976 that his Majesty, the King of Thailand’s attention was drawn, who ordered the mining to be stopped. The stone mining had flattened one side of the mountain. In order to prevent further mining, a Buddha image was created on the flattened side using laser technology and then the grooves were filled with gold leaves. The surrounding area was turned into a park which is well manicured and clean with a maze of walkways and resting areas to attract people to have their picnics there. A lot of trees have been planted to keep the area cool with lotus-ponds. People also meditate there. It reminded us of the huge lotus-ponds in the Pamplemous gardens of Mauritius which we had seen several years ago.

Despite the tranquility of the place, there is an opportunity nearby to shop for food and drinks as well as buy souvenirs. Across the road from the park is a rare opportunity for an elephant ride. A word of caution. It is best to avoid this place in April, May and June due to the heat factor.