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Please click to select: Chiang Rai. Lampang. CHIANG RAI – THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE Distance Chiang Mai-Chiang Rai: 180 km/111 miles Thailand’s most northerly province, Chiang Rai, has a long history and hosts myriad ethnic tribes in its hilly terrain to which many visitors trek. The provincial capital has a couple of major temples, but perhaps most fascinating is the all-white Wat Rong Khun sculpted by the contemporary artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, just south of Chiang Rai. To the north-east, the fabled region of the ‘Golden Triangle’’ is where Thailand meets Laos and Myanmar at a confluence with the Mekong River. The area’s former notoriety as a hub of smuggling and drug production has almost completely transformed into a hub of tourism. The state-of-the-art Hall of Opium puts this history into perspective, and upmarket resorts, one even with an elephant mahout school for guests, line the riverbank. The sleepy former capital of Chiang Saen is famed for its ancient ruins, temples and museum of antiquities. The town has re-emerged as a major port in riverine trade with China. Older Chinese influence is prevalent at Kuomintang villages in the hills of Mae Salong, north of Chiang Rai. Further on at the frontier with Myanmar, the town of Mae Sai harbours a thriving border trade, jade workshops and daily crossings into the Tachilek township of Shan State. Close to Mae Sai, the Mae Fah Luang Foundation Under Royal Patronage runs various community-supporting attractions founded by the late Princess Mother. These include Doi Tung Royal Villa — the Princess Mother’s chalet-style former home, botanical gardens and an arboretum. DOI TUNG DEVELOPMENT PROJECT DOI TUNG - SWITZERLAND OF THAILAND HALL OF OPIUM MAE FAH LUANG ART AND CULTURAL PARK (RAI MAE
FAH LUANG) MAE FAH LUANG FOUNDATION LAMPANG
The province of Lampang receives far fewer visitors than Chiang Mai, but is the charming base for a number of major attractions. Dating from when the city was a timber town a century ago, the riverside Talat Kao district is lined with magnificent timber mansions and shops, many with ornamental fretwork. Some of these landmarks have been converted into restaurants and guesthouses. Getting between here, the Ban Sao Nak house museum, and the Burmese-influenced temples on both banks, can be an experience in itself. Thais and foreigners alike relish traveling in a horse-drawn cab, the last draft animal transport service available in Thailand. On the northern edge of town, Lampang Medicinal Plants Conservation Assembly offers a diverse range of herbal preparations, baths, saunas, medicinal therapies and traditional massage. Lampang’s Wat Phra Kaeow Don Tao was one of the resting places of the famous Emerald Buddha before it settled in Bangkok’s Grand Palace temple. The green jadeite statue also spent time at Wat Phra That Lampang Luang, the province’s most notable temple, west of the city near Hang Chat. Fortified and flanked by other significant temples, this pilgrimage site is the apogee of Lanna architecture and design. The most intriguing way to view its gold plated chedi is projected in a camera obscura in the compound.The road towards Chiang Mai scales the spectacular mountain pass at Doi Khun Tan National Park, but south of that point lie two major destinations. At the National Elephant Institute/Thai Elephant Conservation Center, 37km west of Lampang, pachyderms bathe in the river before morning shows that are non-exploitative but illustrate the beasts’ former employment in forestry. Other perspectives can be gleaned from the elephant hospital, mahout school and shop selling surprisingly adept paintings and music created by elephants, as well as paper made from elephant dung. All proceeds support elephant conservation programs. Nearby, the Thung Kwian Market bristles with forest products, specialty foods, a blade foundry and racks of Lampang’s distinctive ceramic tableware, decorated with the town’s motif, the cockerel. OFFICIAL HOTELS |
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| ROYAL FLORA RATCHAPHRUEK 2006 International Horticultural Exposition for His Majesty the King At the Royal Agricultural Research Center, Chiang Mai, Thailand 1 November 2006 – 31 January 2007 |
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