CHIANG MAI

Chiang Mai has had a tumultuous history since it was founded by King Mengrai in the 13th century. It was central to fierce military battles and government overthrows between the Thais, the Khmer and the Laos. It’s most ‘recent’ invaders were the Burmese in 1556 but it was recaptured in 1775 and has remained in Thai hands since that time. Today it is lauded as a centre of culture, artisanship, genteel hospitality and a cooler climate.

There are 300 Buddhist temples in Chiang Mai which is an amazing figure when compared with the 400 in Bangkok which is a much larger city. The temple chedi, the moat which surrounds the old city and its ancient perimeter wall give this city of enormous historical significance a striking skyline when viewed from the hill-top temple of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, 16 kilometres west of the city and a popular destination with tourists and locals alike. Doi Suthep is also a popular birdwatching observation area (Ph. 053-275067) and cycling trips are also popular in the hills (Ph. 053-234239).

Located close to Doi Suthep and an excellent destination to include in a visit there is the Chiang Mai Zoo where you can see the two giant panda bears which live there. They are very popular with locals and, when they first arrived in 2004, people traveled all the way from Bangkok just to see them.

If you have a significant interest in viewing the temples, you will not be disappointed. The oldest is Wat Chiang Man which was built in 1296 by King Mengrai, the founder of the city of Chiang Mai. It houses the famous Crystal Buddha, the ownership of which, like the Emerald Buddha, has been a sticking point between Thailand and Lao for centuries.

Wat Phra Singh was built it 1345 and has a 1500 year old Buddha image.

Wat Chedi Luang has an interesting history. Built originally in 1411, it was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1545. Partial restoration has occurred in order to prevent further collapse but it remains a ruin and is popular with photographers.

After a long, tiring day “temple-hopping” you will find Chiang Mai a great place to eat out. It is much less expensive than Bangkok with a much more relaxed feel and there is a wide variety of venues to suit all budgets and tastes.

The northern Thai kitchen is quite different from the south and local Chiang Mai delicacies include several kinds of curry, Chiang Mai sausage and many kinds of shrimp paste and chilli sauces to be taken with crispy pork rinds and vegetables. A great way to enjoy Chiang Mai food and dance is to have a 'khantok' dinner which is served in the larger hotels and good restaurants.

After dinner, most people head for the Night Bazaar on Changklan Road, where you can find all sorts of wonderful things to part you with your money. It is a great place to buy souvenirs, silk, jewelry, ceramics and wood carvings but remember, this is first and foremost a market for tourists, so bargain hard.

People with a serious interest in local handicrafts should head for the Old Chiang Mai Cultural Centre on Hangdon Road and the Tribal Research Centre at Chiang Mai University which specializes in the hilltribes of the area.

More and more restaurants in Chiang Mai are offering cooking classes so that you can learn to make yourself the great Thai dishes you’ve eaten the night before. These are usually one-day sessions which you start with a visit to the local market to buy your fresh ingredients. You then return to the restaurant kitchen to prepare (and eat!) several different dishes. Most classes only have about 6 students in each class so you get plenty of personalized instruction and make new friends at the same time. Great fun!

Around Chiang Mai

Interesting as Chiang Mai is in itself, most tourists base themselves there in order to participate in any number of different activities further away. Any hotel or travel agency in Chiang Mai will book you on trips varying in length from one day to one week and the choice of activities is endless.

There are a cluster of handicraft villages on Sankamphaeng Road, east of the city. Here you will find Bor Sang Umbrella Village, a weaving vollage at Km 13 and a celadon factory at Km 6. Also in this area is the woodcarving village of Baan Tawai where the finished products are gaining in reputation and are now exported to Europe and the USA.

If you haven’t seen enough beautiful Thai temples, then you should visit the Town of Lampang, south of Chiang Mai. The temples here are unique in Thailand for their Burmese style as they were built when the Burmese ruled this part of Thailand during the 18th Century.

Just about everybody does the standard one-day tour which takes in the elephant rehabilitation and training centre at Maetang Elephant Park, 50 km north of Chiang Mai, where you can see a short performance by some of the elephants and ride an elephant through the jungle before returning to basecamp via a bamboo raft on the river. The afternoon takes in the local butterfly and orchid farm.

A variety of trips will take you into the hills to the north-west to visit the famous “longneck women” and other ethnic minority hilltribes. These visits are pretty commercial but it is still very interesting and a great opportunity to purchase locally made handicrafts.

There are a variety of longer trips (3-4 days) which take in these hilltribe visits as well as some of the best jungle trekking in Thailand, white water rafting and longer elephant treks.

There is also a one-day tour which will take you to the infamous “Golden Triangle”, so called because it is located at a point on the Mekong River where the borders of Myanmar, Lao and Thailand meet and which is notorious for being a central point for the highly illegal drug trade in this region. This trip also includes a short elephant trek and bamboo raft adventure.

For some unknown reason, Doi Tung is a little-known (to tourists) village in the mountainous region near Chiang Rai. It offers a host of unique and enjoyable experiences. Sometimes called the “Switzerland of Thailand" it was formerly the home of the Princess Mother Srinagarindra, the late mother of the current King. It is 1,500 metres above sea level and has a cool climate. Plant life flourishes and flowers bloom all year round, making it one of the most beautiful towns in Thailand and a great place to relax away from the heat of the lowlands. The Princess Mother dedicated the last years of her life to preserving the environment and improving the lives of the people of this northern region.

Within the development area is the 32-hectare Doi Tung Zoo. Local, rare species are kept in the zoo to ensure their continued survival. These include Siamese fireback pheasants, peacocks, bears, sambar deer, barking deer and hog deer. The zoo is open to the public and offers a great opportunity to see these rare animals in their natural environment.

Phra That Doi Tung is the oldestand most revered chedi in the Lanna region (covering northern Thailand, the Shan states of Myanmar and northern Lao) and this is also located at Doi Tung. It was built in 911 AD and is believed to house the collar bone of the Lord Buddha.

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