30,000 uni students take the long and winding road up Doi Suthep

PHOTOS: The Nation

Some 30,000 students, past and present, and staff from the Chiang Mai University headed up Thailand’s holiest mountain yesterday on the university’s annual trek to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.

It’s the university’s 55th anniversary of the annual climb.

Freshmen from 20 faculties from two of the CMU campuses trekked up the winding 14 kilometre road from their university’s main campus at the foothill to the summit of the sacred Doi Suthep.

Police provided security along the route while medical teams were also on hand to provide first-aid at 10 service points. At the summit, the students performed merit-making at the temple, praying for good luck for their studies ahead.

This traditional annual trek has been held since 1964 in order to bring the student body together, and it also serves as a rite of passage ceremony for first-year students, giving them a chance to make new friends and form new bonds with the seniors and with fellow ‘freshers’.

SOURCE: The Nation