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Bronze Phra

Guide to Chiang Mai, Thailand's

This isolation has kept Chiang Mai's distinctive charm relatively intact to the present day. It is pleasant to be able to report that a destination has improved over recent years, as has been the case in Chiang Mai, where the moats have been dredged and repaired, many roads repaved in attractive red bricks, lumpy concrete lamp posts replaced with ornate ones and the city walls restored.

On the one hand, the northern Thai city still holds on to its rural roots and the earthy local culture known as ‘Lanna’, which literally means ‘one million rice fields’. On the other hand, Chiang Mai has its own airport, three universities and outlets representing all the country’s main chains of shopping malls and restaurants.

Its main attractions, however, are its style and its splendour. Wander the Old City’s backstreets and you will stumble on some of southeast Asia’s most alluring Buddhist temples. There are over 300 temples in Chiang Mai and its outskirts, of which maybe be most magnificent is Wat Doi Suthep, topped by a stunning 24 metre high gilded chedi, partially shaded by gilded bronze parasols. Established in 1383 and famous for its large gold-plated chedi, it overlooks the city from its 1,073m eerie on the slopes of 1,685 metre Doi (Mount) Suthep and is visible from the city on a clear day. The site was selected by sending an elephant to roam at will up the mountainside. When it reached this spot, it trumpeted, circled three times, and knelt down, which was interpreted as a sign indicating an auspicious site. Centrally-located Wat Phra Singh temple’s small wooden Phra Viharn Lai Kham building is perhaps Chiang Mai’s most beautiful. The front of the building’s exterior is ornately decorated with gold leaf flowers on a red lacquer background whilst, in the interior, exquisitely carved window frames compete for the eye’s attention with fascinating and detailed wall murals.

At each corner of the Old City moat, you will be distracted by the spicy aromas that waft from the woks used to cook the region’s distinct cuisine, which fuses Thai, Lao, Burmese, Mon, and Chinese influences. For visitors whose bums are bored of bucket seat restaurants, the city has droves of restaurants that serve every kind of cooking imaginable, from water buffalo beef to tapas. Chiang Mai is Thailand's fifth biggest but second most-visited city and is a magnet for settlers from around the globe, many of whom are eccentric or unusual.

Meet silversmith Steve McCarthy, who designed the chalices that grace the spectacularly successful 2006 religious mystery movie The Da Vinci Code. McCarthy calls Chiang Mai “as close to paradise as you can get”. He likes the way that locals know neither the time nor day, have few wants and no pretensions. “People laugh at people who spend money ostentatiously,” he says, adding that everyone who visits Chiang Mai returns.

The temples and museums are as good as culture vultures would expect from Thailand’s second city, but what you maybe wouldn’t expect is that the shopping here is so good that even unreconstructed males might miraculously find themselves actually enjoying it. Chiang Mai, along with Bangkok’s weekend Jatuchak market, is one of the two best places to go shopping in Thailand. The city is the country’s best place to buy art and sculpture, of which the value and the quality of the higher-priced items is amazing. It’s best to buy it here as most of the best pieces never leave town: the best artists, like those the world over, are more interested in painting than selling. At the Sunday market here you can pick up beautiful oil paintings at less than a tenth of what comparable quality would cost you in the West. The market is open from 3 till 10pm, but don’t leave too early, as the best painters are a bit bohemian and don’t bother turning up till quite late, as they don’t have to try too hard to sell their work.

Whilst in Thailand, why not visit one of the country’s currently best three beach destinations:

Koh Lao Liang: http://www.andamanadventures.com/kohlaoliang.shtml

Ao Nang: http://www.andamanadventures.com/ao_nang.shtml

Railay/Tonsai: http://www.andamanadventures.com/railay-tonsai.shtml

About the Author

Runs Andaman Sky Co., Ltd, specialising in climbing and diving trips to Thailand’s best beach destinations.

Phra That Hariphunchai $24.99 Joe Cummings Phra That Hariphunchai - Photographic Print

Phra Farang $4.58 At forty-five, successful businessman Peter Robinson gave up his comfortable life in London to ordain as a Buddhist monk in Bangkok. But the new path he had chosen was not always as easy or as straightforward as he hoped it would be. In this truly extraordinary memoir, Phra Peter Pannapadipo describes his ten-year metamorphosis into a practicing Buddhist monk, while being initiated into the intricacies of an unfamiliar Southeast Asian culture. Phra Peter tells his story with compassion, humour and unflinching honesty. It?s the story of a ?Phra Farang? ? a foreign monk ? living and practicing his faith in an exotic and intriguing land.

Exterior of Wat Phra That, Thailand $24.99 John Hay Exterior of Wat Phra That, Thailand - Photographic Print

Phra Si Ratana Chedi $19.99 So Hing-Keung Phra Si Ratana Chedi - Photographic Print

Phra Mondop, Wat Phra Kaew, Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand $24.99 Phra Mondop, Wat Phra Kaew, Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand - Photographic Print

Tourist Boat on Shore of Phra Nang Beach, Phra Nang Bay, Thailand $24.99 John Elk III Tourist Boat on Shore of Phra Nang Beach, Phra Nang Bay, Thailand - Photographic Print

Phra Vihan Luang in Wat Phra Si San Phet, Ayutthaya, Thailand $24.99 Nico Tondini Phra Vihan Luang in Wat Phra Si San Phet, Ayutthaya, Thailand - Photographic Print

Phra Phuttha Chinnarat Buddha Inside Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat $39.99 Martin Gray Phra Phuttha Chinnarat Buddha Inside Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat - Photographic Print

Woman Meditating on Phra Nang Beach $19.99 Luca Tettoni Woman Meditating on Phra Nang Beach - Photographic Print

Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok, Thailand $24.99 Richard I'Anson Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok, Thailand - Photographic Print

Hat Thram Phra Nang, Thailand $19.99 Frank Lukasseck Hat Thram Phra Nang, Thailand - Photographic Print

Thailand, Bangkok, Wat Phra Kaew, Grand Palace, Statues in Wat Phra Kaew $19.99 Steve Vidler Thailand, Bangkok, Wat Phra Kaew, Grand Palace, Statues in Wat Phra Kaew - Photographic Print

Wat Phra Keo at Dusk, Bangkok, Thailand $24.99 Richard I'Anson Wat Phra Keo at Dusk, Bangkok, Thailand - Photographic Print

Wat Phra Sri Maha Thait at Sunset $49.99 Dmitri Kessel Wat Phra Sri Maha Thait at Sunset - Photographic Print

Sunrise at Wat Phra That Doi Khong Mu $24.99 Antony Giblin Sunrise at Wat Phra That Doi Khong Mu - Photographic Print

Museum, Haw Phra Keo, Vientiane, Laos $29.99 Panoramic Images Museum, Haw Phra Keo, Vientiane, Laos - Photographic Print

Tho Phra Ayama in Wat Si Chum $24.99 Tom Cockrem Tho Phra Ayama in Wat Si Chum - Photographic Print

Statues, Wat Phra Kaeo, Bangkok, Thailand $19.99 Brent Winebrenner Statues, Wat Phra Kaeo, Bangkok, Thailand - Photographic Print

Facade Detail of Wat Noen Phra Nao $24.99 Krzysztof Dydynski Facade Detail of Wat Noen Phra Nao - Photographic Print

Golden Stone Waterfalls of Inner Phra Nang Caves (Or Princess Caves), Phra Nang Caves, Thailand $24.99 Paul Beinssen Golden Stone Waterfalls of Inner Phra Nang Caves (Or Princess Caves), Phra Nang Caves, Thailand - Photographic Print

'Phra Phoot Sihing Buddha' $142.95 The quiet grace of a Buddha image is manifest against an ornate background. This beautiful statue sits in Thailand's Wat Phra Singh temple. Considered a supreme example of northern Thai art, the image is one of a rare series of "lion" style images. Chavanond captures its reverent beauty in black and white. Black and white photograph on high resolution Kodak Professional matte paper, it is presented with a mat board passe partout.

Monks Tatooing at the Wat Bang Phra Buddhist Temple $39.99 Alison Wright Monks Tatooing at the Wat Bang Phra Buddhist Temple - Photographic Print

Wat Phra Doi Suthep, Doi Suthep, Thailand $19.99 Walter Bibikow Wat Phra Doi Suthep, Doi Suthep, Thailand - Photographic Print

Wat Phra Kaeo, Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand $19.99 Gavin Hellier Wat Phra Kaeo, Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand - Photographic Print

Buddha Head, Wat Phra Mahathat, Ayutthaya, Thailand $19.99 Michele Falzone Buddha Head, Wat Phra Mahathat, Ayutthaya, Thailand - Photographic Print

Wat Phra Kaen, Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand $24.99 Frank Staub Wat Phra Kaen, Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand - Photographic Print

Thailand Great Emerald Buddha Temple (4/5)- Wat Phra Kaew - Bangkok - Templo do Grande Buda de Esmeralda - (4/5)