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CHIANG MAI

Chiang Dao Cave (Tham Chiang Dao)

Tham Chiang Dao is a charming cave located in Amphoe Chiang Dao. It is situated 72 kilometres from Chiang Mai town, Climb a staircase with a zinc roof to reach the cave. The lovely cave greets visitors with various kinds of fish swimming in a stream in front of the cave.

Tribal Museum

Tribal Museum is in King Rama IX Lanna Garden on Chotana Road. This is an ethnology museum featuring the indigenous culture of 9 hill tribes including Karen (Kariang), Hmong (Meo), Mien (Yao), Lisu (Liso), Akha (Iko), Lahu (Musoe), Lau,Thin, and Khamu including the minority tribe of Malabri. Each tribe possesses unique identity and culture.

Khantoke Dinner

Most of the northern dishes can be sampled at a "Khantoke Dinner" in Chiang Mai. It is a perfect event where you can learn more about traditional northern cuisine while enjoying traditional music and dance. Khantok in the Northern dialect means a wooden tray used for carrying dishes. Round in shape, it is made of wood, varnished or lacquered with 5 or 6 short supporting legs.
Guests are invited to sit on the floor around a Khantok, a circular tray with Northern dishes on it. They can enjoy watching traditional northern dances as well as hilltribe culture shows while their meal is being served.
The main dishes on the Khantok usually are steamed sticky rice, kaeng hang-le (northern-style pork curry), kaeng ho (spicy curry of bean vermicelli), kaeng om (spicy curry of entrails), sai ua (Chiang Mai sausage), lap (minced meat, half cooked and highly seasoned), nam phrik ong (chili paste with minced pork and tomatoes), which usually goes with khaep mu (crispy pork rinds) and khao soi (chicken/ pork /beef curry soup with noodles. Guests are encouraged to eat with their hands, as the locals do. The eating procedure is easy: take a handful of steamed sticky rice from the bamboo basket, roll, and dip it into the curry or chili paste and then taste it.
After the meal, a dessert called khao taen fried sticky rice covered with caramel is served. Also served are khiyo cigars and fermented tea, which is chewed to help digestion. The khiyo cigar is made of shredded tobacco and ground tamarind bark (khiyo), which can reduce the strong odor of tobacco.
During the Khantok Dinner, several dances and shows are performed. The most popular Northern dance is fon lep or fingernail dance. This show is impressive as female dancers are dressed in Northern Thai style, and wear long pointed brass fingernails.

Night Bazaar

The Night Bazaar is a shopping haven where one can find handmade products and souvenirs from many Chiang Mai villages and hill tribes. Local cloths and fabrics are reasonably priced for purchasing. The shopping street opens around 6:00 p.m

Wat Chedi Luang

This 14th century temple, where the City Pillar Shrine is located, is famous for its enormous chedi, which is measured at 282 feet high and 144 feet wide (at the base). Located right in the middle of the city, it is considered to be the largest chedi in Chiang Mai. Its spire collapsed in 1545 due to an earthquake. A pair of magnificent Naga staircases at the front porch of the chapel is among the most beautiful manmade serpents in the North. Chao Khun Uba Lee Poramacharn (Sirichantathera) and Chao Kaeo Navarat built the front chapel in 1928

Wat Chiang Man

The oldest temple in Chiang Mai town, Wat Chiang Man was built in 1296 by King Mengrai, the founder of Chiang Mai. The temple is famous for its Lanna-style chedi supported by rows of elephant-shaped buttresses and an ancient and invaluable Buddha image named Phra Kaeo Khao.

Wat Phra Sing

Built in 1345, the temple is located on Sam Lan Road. It houses the North's most revered Buddha statue, Phra Phuttha Sihing which is enshrined in Vihan Lai Kham, a chapel that features exquisite woodcarvings and northern style murals. Every year on April 13, Songkran Day, the image is paraded through the streets of Chiang Mai for local people to sprinkle scented water on. This area was formerly Wat Li Chiang Market until 1345, when King Pa Yu, the fifth king of the Meng Rai Dynasty commanded the construction of this temple and a 24-feet chedi to contain his father's ashes.

Wat Phratat Doi Suthep

Locals would say, You havent really gone to Chiang Mai unless youve been to Wat Phratat Doi Suthep. Truly, the place is the most important and famous Chiang Mai landmark. Built in 1383, this mountaintop temple has a chedi (pagoda) that houses holy Buddha relics. The gold-plated chedi lies in the middle of a square marble-tiled courtyard. The four corners of the chedi are adorned with parasols which represent royal regalia. The temples courtyard is lined by a cloister, which contains images and murals depicting Buddhas life. There are also two viharns situated in the middle of the east and west sides of the cloister.
This temple is 15 kilometers from town and is 3,520 feet above sea level. It is the perfect place to get a birds eye view of the city.

Wat Prasat

Located on Inthawarorot Road, near Wat Phra Sing, is Wat Prasat where a rare Lanna style Buddha image is enshrined. The temple is composed of a traditional Lanna style chapel, with its roof is decorated in colorful glasses and carved wooden lions.

Wat Suan Dok

Another temple located on Suthep Road, Wat Suan Dok was built in the 14th century and houses the 500-year old bronze Buddha image which is one of Thailands largest metal images. Several of the white chedis around the temple contain ashes of Chiang Mai's former royal family

San Kamphaeng

The village is located 13 kilometers the east of Chiang Mai town in a district that is famous for silk and a cotton weaving. The silk and cotton souvenirs produced in this village are high quality. Factories and souvenir shops selling woodcarving, silverware, earth ware, lacquer ware and cotton fabrics are located along the way from Chiang Mai to San Kamphaeng.
Located in San Kamphaeng is Bo Sang a village that produces handmade umbrellas. In addition to umbrellas, visitors will also be able to find various woodcarving and Thai silk products here.

 

 
 

 

 

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