Sights in Chiang Rai
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A
Hilltribe Museum & Education Center
This museum and handicrafts centre is a good place to visit before undertaking any hill-tribe trek. The centre, run by the nonprofit Population & Community Development Association (PDA), is underwhelming in its visual presentation, but contains a wealth of information on Thailand's various tribes and the issues that surround them. A visit begins with a 20-minute slide show on Thailand's hill tribes, and exhibits include typical clothing for six major tribes, examples of bamboo usage, folk implements and other anthropological objects. The curator is passionate about his museum, and will talk about the different hill tribes, their histories, recent trends and the community …
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B
Wat Klang Wiang
This Buddhist temple appears thoroughly modern, but dates back at least 500 years. Extensive remodelling in the early 1990s has left several structures in the temple with a unique 'modern Lanna' style, but the elegant hŏr đrai (manuscript depository) appears to retain its original form.
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C
Wat Jet Yot
The seven-spired chedi at Wat Jet Yot is similar to that of its Chiang Mai namesake, but without stucco ornamentation. Of more aesthetic interest is the wooden ceiling of the front veranda of the main wí·hăhn, which features a unique Thai astrological fresco.
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Museum
Situated adjacent to the Wat Phra Kaew is a two-storey wooden building which is a museum housing various Lanna artefacts.
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Wat Phra That Doi Chom Thong
The Buddhist hilltop Wat Phra That Doi Chom Thong has partial views of the river and gets an occasional river breeze. The Lanna-style chedi here most likely dates from the 14th to 16th centuries, and may cover an earlier Mon chedi inside. King Mengrai, Chiang Rai's founder, first surveyed the site for the city from this peak. It's located just west of town on Th Kraisorasit.
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D
Wat Phra Singh
Housing yet another copy of a famous Buddha image, this temple was built in the late 14th century during the reign of Chiang Rai's King Mahaphrom. A sister temple to Chiang Mai's Wat Phra Singh, its original buildings are typical northern Thai-style wood structures with low, sweeping roofs. The impressive wooden doors are thought to have been carved by local artists. The main wí·hăhn houses a copy of Chiang Mai's Phra Singh Buddha.
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E
Wat Phra Kaew
Originally called Wat Pa Yia (Bamboo Forest Monastery) in the local dialect, this is the city's most revered Buddhist temple. Legend has it that in 1434 lightning struck the temple's octagonal chedi, which fell apart to reveal the Phra Kaew Morakot, or Emerald Buddha (actually made of jade). After a long journey that included a long stopover in Vientiane, Laos, this national talisman is now ensconced in the temple of the same name in Bangkok.
In 1990 Chiang Rai commissioned a Chinese artist to sculpt a new image from Canadian jade. Named the Phra Yok Chiang Rai (Chiang Rai Jade Buddha), it was intentionally a very close but not exact replica of the Phra Kaew Morakot in Ban…
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Tham Tu Pu & Buddha Cave
If you follow Th Winitchaikul across the bridge to the northern side of Mae Nam Kok, you'll come to a turn-off for both Tham Tu Pu and the Buddha Cave. Follow the road 1km, then turn off onto a dirt path 200m to the base of a limestone cliff where there is a steep set of stairs leading to a main chamber holding a dusty Buddha statue; this is Tham Tu Pu. Continue along the same road for 3km more and you'll reach Buddha Cave, a cavern by the Mae Nam Kok containing a tiny but active Buddhist temple, a lone monk and several cats. The temple was one of several destinations on a visit to the region by King Rama V in the early 20th century.
Neither attraction is particularly amaz…
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Oub Kham Museum
This privately owned museum houses an impressive collection of paraphernalia from virtually every corner of the former Lanna kingdom. The items, some of which truly are one of a kind, range from a monkey bone food taster used by Lanna royalty to an impressive carved throne from Chiang Tung, Myanmar. Guided tours (available in English) are obligatory, and include a walk through a gilded artificial cave holding several Buddha statues, complete with disco lights and fake torches! The grounds of the museum are equally kitschy, and include a huge golden naga (mythical serpentlike being with magical powers) statue and countless waterfalls and fountains. Truly an equal parts biz…
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