Sights in Phrae
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Vongburi House
The two-storey teak house of the last prince of Phrae has been converted into a private museum. It was constructed between 1897 and 1907 for Luang Phongphibun and his wife Chao Sunantha, who once held a profitable teak concession in the city. Elaborate carvings on gables, eaves, balconies and above doors and windows are in good condition. Inside, many of the house's 20 rooms display late-19th-century teak antiques, documents (including early-20th-century slave concessions), photos and other artefacts from the bygone teak-dynasty era. Most are labelled in English as well as Thai.
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Pratubjai House
On the outskirts of the town is Pratubjai House, a large northern Thai–style teak house that was built using more than 130 teak logs, each over 300 years old. Opened in 1985, the house took four years to build, using timber taken from nine old rural houses. The interior pillars are ornately carved. The house is also filled with souvenir vendors and is rather tackily decorated, so don’t take the moniker ‘impressive’ too seriously.
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Wat Phra Non
Located west of Wat Luang is a 300-year-old wát named after its highly revered reclining prá norn (reclining Buddha image). The bòht (central sanctuary) was built around 200 years ago and has an impressive roof with a separate, two-tiered portico and gilded, carved, wooden facade with Ramayana scenes. The wí·hăhn behind the bòht contains the Buddha image, swathed in Thai Lü cloth with bead and foil decoration.
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Wat Phra Baht Ming Meuang
Across from the post office within the old city, Wat Phra Baht Ming Meuang combines two formerly separate temple compounds (one of which contains a museum that is sporadically open), a Buddhist school, an old chedi, an unusual octagonal drum tower made entirely of teak and the highly revered Phra Kosai, which closely resembles the Phra Chinnarat in Phitsanulok.
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Wat Luang
This is the oldest wát in Phrae, probably dating from the founding of the city in the 12th or 13th century. Phra That Luang Chang Kham, the large octagonal Lanna-style chedi, sits on a square base with elephants supporting it on all four sides. As is sometimes seen in Phrae and Nan, the chedi is occasionally swathed in Thai Lü fabric.
The verandah of the main wí·hăhn is in the classic Luang Prabang-Lan Xang style but has unfortunately been bricked in with laterite. Opposite the front of the wí·hăhn is Pratu Khong, part of the city's original entrance gate. No longer used as a gate, it now contains a statue of Chao Pu, an early Lanna ruler.
Also on the temple grounds…
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Wat Jom Sawan
Outside the old city on Th Ban Mai, this Buddhist temple was built by local Shan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and shows Shan and Burmese influences throughout. An adjacent copper-crowned chedi has lost most of its stucco to reveal the artful brickwork beneath. Since a recent renovation, Wat Jom Sawan is more of a museum piece than a functioning temple.
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Baan Pratubjai
On the outskirts of the town is Baan Pratubjai (Impressive House), a large northern Thai-style teak house that was built using more than 130 teak logs, each over 300 years old. Opened in 1985, the house took four years to build, using timber taken from nine old rural houses. The interior pillars are ornately carved. The house is also filled with souvenir vendors and is rather tackily decorated, so don't take the moniker 'impressive' too seriously.
Pratubjai House is somewhat difficult to find; your best bet is to exit at the west gate of the former city wall and follow the signs, turning right after the school. A săhm·lór here should cost about 60B.
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