This sacred temple is perched at 1,600 meters on the Doi Suthep mountain overlooking the city of Chiang Mai. Most people simply refer the temple as Doi Suthep.
Without fail, this is one of the must visit places on my first trip to Chiang Mai.
It seems there are two places to take the songthaew (red van) to the temple. You could either wait on the west corner of the Chang Phuak Gate and on Maninopharat Road or outside the main gate of Chiang Mai University.
As I'm staying in between these two locations and as Chiang Mai University is closer to the temple, I went there to catch the songthaew.
The songthaew works this way. You can book the whole songthaew to bring you up to the mountain, which costs 400 Baht. Or you can wait until there are 10 persons before the songthaew will sets off. This will costs you only 40 Baht as the cost is shared.
I reached Chiang Mai University at about 9:30am and saw a Chinese couple within the University's gate where a lot of songthaews were parked. They were also waiting to take the songthaew up to the mountain. So we joined them.
I guess it was pretty early as there wasn't any one besides them. So I told the Chinese couple that I'll take a look around the area. Then I saw another location along the main road with songthaew also offering the same service. Just then, I saw a songthaew with a full load of passengers driving off.
Perhaps this location is a better choice, I thought. They have a banner listing the prices for going to different places so you know how much to pay. After all, getting conned is the last thing that a tourist ever wants to happen to him or her.
So I went back and told the couple to join us at the main road.
The couple was a little impatient by now and suggested that the four of us share a songthaew up to the mountain. I told them we'll wait for a while more to see how's the situation before deciding.
And in less than 5 minutes, two locals came by. Another two girls came followed by a western couple plus an Indian man by himself. So now we got eleven and off we went.
Once there, you have to climb the 300 steps before reaching the temple. There's a lift for those who prefer not to walk up.
After touring the temple and taking in the views of Chiang Mai city, we decided to leave the place.
There were a lot of songthaew parked and there was one half filled. There were three Taiwanese also looking for transport down the mountain. The driver approached them and us and said 40 Baht to go to Chiang Mai University. When I heard it, I quickly take up the offer. After all, if I miss this one, I'll need to wait for another songthaew to be filled up before it will sets off.
As for the three ladies, they felt 40 Baht is too expensive as the songthaew only sends them to Chiang Mai University. They might have taken the transport at Chang Phuak Gate which is farther away for the same price. And they were trying to negotiate for 30 Baht or less for a shorter distance to Chiang Mai University.
They were walking around looking lost trying to find a songthaew and negotiating due to language barrier until I told them that 40 Baht is the standard rate. Finally, not knowing what to do, they boarded the songthaew I was on.
I quite surprised at the extend they went to just to save 10 Baht.
Perhaps they paid the same price or less from Chang Phuak Gate which is farther away and felt that the driver is trying to overcharge them. But even if they paid only 30 Baht to go up, isn't paying 10 Baht more to save you the trouble of finding one that will take you to Chang Phuak Gate for the same or lower price or one that takes you to Chiang Mai University for less than 40 Baht worth it? And you do not have to wait for another songthaew to be filled before setting off.
In business, are you doing the same?
Of course, if you are buying one or two million pieces of the same time, a one cent difference makes a lot of difference. But if you are buying just a few items, is it worth the time and effort? Why do we behave the same regardless of the quantity?
Am I overpaying? What if the next shop, the next songthaew, the next supplier is cheaper?
Is your fear of loss controlling your every decision?
Why not priorities what's most important to you instead of just deciding based on price?