12 March,2010 (Fri)  


 

 
Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is Thailand's principal northern city. Chiang Mai is the provincial capital of a largely mountainous province, also called Chiang Mai, which is some 20,000 square kilometers in area.

  • Wat Phra Sing

    • Sam Lan temples dateds from 1345 and is one of the focal points of Sangkran festivities each April 13-15 when people bathe the revered Phra Buddha Sihing image. The temple compound includes the lovely Lai Kham chapel with its exquisite woodcarvings and northern-style murals, and a magnificent scriptural repository with striking h\bas relief.

  • Wat Suan Dok (Suthep Road)

    • This temple was build in a 14 century Lanna Thai monarch's pleasure gardens and is a favourable spot for photographers, particularly for striking sunsets. Several of the white chedis contain ashes of Chiang Mai's former royal family. The 500-year-old bronze Buddha image in a secondary chapel is one of Thailand's largest metal images.

  • Wat Chiang Man (Ratchaphakhinai Road)

    • This is Chiang Mai's oldest temple and probably dates from 1296. The temple was the residence of King Mengrai, who founded Chiang Mai, and is noteworthy for a chedi supported by rows of elephantine buttresses, and a small ancient Buddha image, Phra Kaeo Khao.

  • Wat Ku Tao (Near Chiang Mai Municipal Stadium)

    • This temple is noteworthy for an unusual bulbous pagoda. The structure is decorated with colourful porcelain chips and is believed to represent five Buddhist monks' alms bowls which symobolise five Lord Buddhas.

  • Wat Chedi Luang (Phrapokklao Road)

    • This temple is the site of an enormous pagoda, originally 280 feet high, and which was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 1545. At one time, Wat Chedi Luang housed the severed Emerald Buddha image now enshrined in Bangkok's Wat Phra Kaeo. A magnificent Naga staircase adorns the chapel's front porch.

  • Wat Chet Yot (Super Highwaym north of the Huai Kaeo-Nimmandbemin Roads intersection)

    • This temple dateds from 1458. The seven-spired square chedi was inspired by designs at Bodhagaya, the site of the Buddha's Enlightenment in north India over 2500 years ago, and was built by Lanna Thai architects after visiting the holy site.

  • Wat U-Mong (Suthep Road)

    • This delightful meditation temple is completely different from Chiang Mai's other major temples and enjoys a bucolic forest setting. The ancient chedi is of particular interest.

  • Chiang Mai National Museum (Beside Wat Chet Yot)

    • The museum houses a collection of Lanna Thai works of art, ancient Buddha images, and war weapons. The museum open daily, except Mondays, Tuesdays and official holidays, from 9:00am until noon and 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm.