Chiang Mai’s new museum district — as we’re calling it — offers not only the new Lanna Heritage Centre and the Chiang Mai Historical Centre but also the freshly upgraded Arts and Culture Museum. The museum is located in the splendid setting of the old provincial hall on Phrapokklao Road right behind the Three Kings Monument … read the full post

With the recent opening of several new museums in Chiang Mai, the part of the old town around the Three Kings Monument and along Phrappokklao Road is fast becoming something of a historical hub. This was formerly the administrative centre for the city, (and indeed location of the now disappeared palace of the kings of … read the full post

Visitors to almost any northern Thai temple won’t help but notice the numerous wooden poles propping up branches of the temple’s bo tree. What are they? Why are they there? Well, please read on. The bo, or bodhi or pho tree (ficus religiosa) is the Buddhist holy tree par excellence, since it’s the species under … read the full post

Along with the Lanna Folklife Centre, the excellent Chiang Mai Historical Centre is another brand new museum in the northern capital. Here’s a rundown on what goodies to expect inside. Chiang Mai and the North’s history is a long one. The Lanna and Thai period dates back a mere 700 years or so, but before … read the full post

Chiang Mai’s Lanna Heritage Centre, (or Lanna Folklife Museum depending upon which sign you read), is a brand new city museum. Here’s a rundown on what you’ll find here. The compact museum is well laid out, informative with plenty of clear and unusually well translated information and plenty of interesting exhibits. It’s an excellent initiative … read the full post

The slightly grubby and often congested stretch of road running between Chiang Mai’s Narawat Bridge and Tha Pae Gate, which goes by the name of Tha Pae Road, has always been firmly in the say light blue or at best purple set on Chiang Mai’s imaginary Monopoly board but these days, while not yet up … read the full post

Wat Sri Suphan is a worthy addition to our current Chiang Mai temple coverage — it’s a good one and its location adjacent to the Wualai walking street market makes it very convenient to combine the two. With Wualai being Chiang Mai’s traditional silver-making district, the temple’s claim to fame is unsurprisingly its silverwork. Having … read the full post

We’ve covered north, south and east: now it’s time for the final stretch of our Chiang Mai hike, which covers the stretch of moat road between Suan Buak Hat Park and our initial starting point at the northwest corner and junction of Huay Kaew Road. This stretch is one of the least built up and … read the full post

Having snacked, supped and cappuccino-ed your way along the Tha Pae side of town you’ll probably be ready to hit the much quieter southside of Chiang Mai’s old city. Well, okay, it’s true you’ve got to ignore the four lanes of traffic, but the roadside action is much less in what’s more of a low-key … read the full post

Having reached Sri Phum corner on our last Chiang Mai city walk and continuing in our auspicious clockwise direction, we’re going right into the thick of the action with a stroll along the old city’s eastern wall and moat. This takes us past the old backpacker area of Somphet, Tha Pae Gate — Chiang Mai’s … read the full post