Let’s
tell you more details about some interesting places to visit
The
ole city: Charming Chiang Mai
The
three King Monument: The Three King Monument is situated in front of
Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Center, The Monument was built in
commemoration of King Mengrai who established Chiang Mai in1296.For
the establishment of the city, King Mengrai invited two Friends,
PorKhun Ram Khamhaeng and PhayaNgumMuang,to work with him.
KhaimukChutoh was the main sculptor of this monument.
The
Chiang Mai City Arts and Culture Centre
The
Chiang Mai City Arts and Culture Centre is located in an old building
of elegant architectural design built in 1927.Standing on the
location of a former royal hall, the building was used as the central
administrative office of the Monthol Phayap administrative unit of
Siam, and later as the Provincial Hall of Chiang Mai.
The
site is on the former “naval of the city”, which was the original
location of the Inthakhin city pillar before it was moved to Wat
Chedi Luang. The site was an inheritance from Chao Kawilorot
Suriyawong to Chao Thep Kraison, his daughter. She married Chao
Intha-wichayanon, the seventh ruler of Chiang Mai.
The
site was used for a royal hall from where the ruler administered
Chiang Mai. When Inthawichayanon passed away it went into the
possession of his daughter, Chao Dararatsmi, who granted the site to
be used for a ‘government hall’ when the monthon was established.
When the old building remained empty. At the end of 1997, the
municipality requested permission to renovate the building in order
to turn it into the Chiang Mai City Arts and Culture Centre. The
renovation received an award in 1999 for preservation of a public
building from the Royal Society of Siamese Architects (Society of
Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage) .This center is open for
rotating exhibition and many other cultural displays. Ticket price:
90 baht and 40 baht for children. Open Tueaday-Sunday,from
8.30am-5pm. For more information, tel.0-5321-7793,0-5321-9833.
Phya
Meng Rai Hall.
Believe
it or not, King Meng Rai, the founder of Chiang Mai (B.E. 1839), was
killed by lightning at the center of the city’s old walls. Many
believe that he was killed in this way because he rode on the back of
an elephant. For one, he was very high up, and two, his attire was
made entirely of bronze, serving as a human lighting rod. Others
believe that the gods saw him as a man of virtue and therefore
belonged in heaven. It is up to you to decide which story is
historically correct. The Phya Men Rai Hall is located in the center
the city.
Wat
Chiang Man
This
temple was built in 1297 at the site of the camp King Mangrai used
when he supervised the building of Chiang Mai. It was the first
temple to be built in Chiang Mai and contains several very old
artifacts. The oldest structure is the Chang Lom chedi, which is in a
style that could have originated from Sri Lanka via Sukhothai, or
from Pagan. Fifteen elephants represent a sea of unformed matter upon
which the cosmos of the chedi floats.
Nearby
are a lotus pond, a raised scripture repository and an ubosot. The
stela in front of the ubosot was inscribed in 1581, and is one of the
oldest known records that establishes the founding date of Chiang
Mai.
The
temple has two Lanna style viharn. The larger viharn was renovated by
Khru Ba Srivichai in the 1920's. The standing Buddha image (front
right of the altar) has an inscription on its slightly lopsided
square base that dates it to 1465. This makes it the oldest dated
Buddha image to be found so far in Chiang Mai. Close study shows new
gilt veneer covers pits and cracks that indicate the image's real
age.
The
smaller viharn to the north (open 09:00-17:00) contains two small but
very famous Buddha images. The Phra Sila image is a bas-relief that
probably came from Ceylon in about the eighth century. The image is
believed to have the power to bring rain and is the focus of a
festival at the temple held from April 1-5.
The
Phra Sae Tang Khamani crystal image belonged to Queen Chamadevi, who
brought it from Lop Buri when she became the first ruler of
Haripunchai. The image reputedly survived the burning of Haripunchai
when it was razed by King Mangrai, and is honored for its powers to
protect against disaster.
Wat
Phra Sing (Monastery of the Lion Buddha) (built 1345 onward)
Wat
Phra Sing was built in the 14th century by King Pha Yu of the Mengrai
dynasty to enshrine the remains of his faher, King Kham Fu. It may
have been the first monastery to house the Emerald Buddha, a cultural
treasure that now resides at the royal palace in Bangkok. Wat Phra
Sing currently houses Phra Chao Thong Tip, the most venerated Buddha
statue in northern Thailand. Cast in 1477, it is made of an alloy of
gold and copper.
Despite
the monastery's cultural renown, it almost fell into ruin in the 18th
century when Chiang Mai was largely depopulated. It was only during
the reign of Chao Kawila in the early 1800s that the monastery began
to be repaired, a process that continued during the reign of his
successor, Chao Thammalangka, who sponsored the mural paintings now
seen in Viharn Lai Kham.
Tapae
Gate
Tapae
Gate is Chiangmai's main entrance to the old walled city. In days
gone by it was the gate through which traders, diplomats and visiting
monks passed when they had business in the city proper. As the main
entry route to Chiangmai was from the Mae Ping River and down Tapae
Road to the gate, this was the main thoroughfare of Chiangmai. Today,
the buildings and growth around the old moated wall have grown and
Chiangmai is a much larger city with much more business conducted on
the outside of the wall than on the inside, but Tapae Road is still
the main thoroughfare and Tapae Gate is still the main entrance to
the old walled city. And, it is still today the main center of
Chiangmai's public city activities and festivals.
All year round from January to December, there are numerous events
held at Tapae Gate. Often these are preceded by parades and floats
down Tapae Road from the river itself. These hark back to the old
days when all processions and important affairs approached the city
at Tapae Gate. A few examples of events centered around Tapae Gate
will give you a better idea of how important this center is to the
city.
In
February every year, there are two events held at Tapae Gate that
grab the attention of the whole city. One of these is the Flower
Carnival and while parades of flowered floats make their way down
Tapae Road the square at Tapae Gate itself is filed with beautiful
displays of flowers and blooming plants of the North. Also in
February is the Buddhist Makha Bucha Day. For this event, long
processions of Chiangmai residents drift down Tapae Road with lighted
candles, joss sticks and flowers. This is the occasion of the walk
around temple jedees with lighted candles, and in Chiangmai such
occasions are city-wide events. Thus, Tapae Road, and Tapae Gate, are
important city centers for the Buddhist festivities as well.
April is another good example of the role Tapae Gate plays in the
festivals and events of Chiangmai. This is the time of Songkran, the
Thai New Year. and Tapae Gate is the center of both the famous
annual/ Songkran Festival and parade and the city's water- throwing
fun, a most special event of the Songkran festival.
These
and many other festivals are only the largest and most festive
examples of how Tapae Gate serves Chiangmai and how important it
still is today as the city's main entry point. There are many, many
more, the most famous of which is the Loy Krathong Festival. Although
this festival centers on the f'ing River, the beautiful parades that
mark this occasion wind down Tapae Road through Tapae Gate, and on
into the old walled city. A very special feature of the Tapae Gate
area at Loy Krathong is that it breeches both sides of the city moat
and it is in this moat that people set adrift the Loy Krathong boats,
as they do also in the river. At Loy Krathong, all of the Tapae Gate
area and the surrounding moat is lit up in sparkling lights and
fountains rise from the moat through devices installed underwater at
various points.
For all of this, however. Tapae Gate offers a great deal more on a
regular basis and it provides the visitor with outdoor entertainment
choices all year round. This gate and the square around it,
especially today, serve as a meeting point for rural and city people
alike. In the old days it was here that people met daily - for trade,
for relaxation, on official business, or for merely entertainment.
Today, it is here that people meet for relaxation,entertainment, and
often for the meeting of friends
As
Chiangmai continues to grow, we tend to forget the truly rural nature
of the area and we forget that rural people all need a city center to
meet. This is a function served by Tapae Gate. It was this way
before, and it is this way today.
Visitors
to Chiangmai can always find some type of entertainment at Tapae Gate
on Saturday night. Every Saturday evening a local band performs on
the permanent stage at one end of Tapae Gate Square; and on many
other evenings entertainment may be a guest speaker on Buddhism, a
social campaign against smoking or some of the festival entertainment
we discussed above.
An
interesting feature of Tapae Cate and the Square where the festivals
and entertainment take place is that there are always vendors
available to provide you with food and drink. Unusually, beer is not
sold by these vendors (except on the really big festival occasions)
but you can bring your own beer and whiskey. Most Thais do.
The
various events held at Tapae Gate are so numerous that we can't
possibly recount them here, but if you re in town at any time of the
year, and if you see activity at Tapae Gate, stop and check it out.
It s sure to be worth it.
The
local markets
Somphet
market
Somphet
Market This smaller food market is regularly ‘discovered’ by
tourists wandering the old town as it sits beside the eastern flank
of the moat on Moon Muang road (soi/lane 6) and it’s a genuine and
fascinating glimpse at live food for sale. The cookery schools like
to bring students here to verse them in ingredients. It’s only a
five minute walk from Tapae Gate, northwards.
Phrtoo
chiangmai market
Chiang
Mai, Thailand is a bustling city where you can feast on cheap food.
There are many thai street foods that lurk the city of ChiangMai. You
can buy different dishes on the streets. You are given the option to
dine in or prefer food to go orders. At the Chiang Mai Gate Market
(Pratu Chiang Mai Market ), you will be amazed with the number of
vendors selling almost all kinds of dishes in the early hours of the
morning. And if you are wondering where to go for breakfast when your
favorite coffee shops are still closed, you can go to the Pratu
Chiang Mai Market near the Chiang Mai gate.