Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [281]
LAMPANG PROVINCE
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LAMPANG
pop 148,199
Boasting lumbering elephants, the elegant mansions of former lumber barons and impressive (and in many cases, lumber-based) Lanna-era temples, Lampang seems to unite every northern Thai cliché – but in a good way. Despite all this, the city sees relatively few visitors, giving it more of an ‘undiscovered’ feel than some of the more touristed destinations in the north.
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History
Although Lampang Province was inhabited as far back as the 7th century in the Dvaravati period, legend has it that Lampang city was founded by the son of Hariphunchai’s Queen Chama Thewi, and played an important part in the history of the Hariphunchai Kingdom (8th to 13th centuries).
Like Chiang Mai, Phrae and other older northern cities, modern Lampang was built as a walled rectangle alongside a river (in this case Mae Wang). At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century Lampang, along with nearby Phrae, became an important centre for the domestic and international teak trade. A large British-owned timber company brought in Burmese supervisors familiar with the teak industry in Burma to train Burmese and Thai loggers in the area. These well-paid supervisors, along with independent Burmese teak merchants who plied their trade in Lampang, sponsored the construction of more than a dozen impressive temples in the city, a legacy that lives on in several of Lampang’s most impressive wáts.
Information
There are many banks with ATMs along Th Boonyawat, especially near Wat Suan Dok.
M@cnet (Th Chatchai; per hr 15B; 9am-10pm) Internet access.
Monkey Jump (Th Talat Kao; per hr 15B; 9am-10pm) Internet access.
Post office (Th Pa Kham; 8.30am-4.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat)
Tourist information office (0 5423 7237 ext 4103; Th Thakhrao Noi; 8am-noon & 1-4.30pm Mon-Fri) Locally run, with a decent map of the area and details about local sights.
Sights
WAT PHRA KAEW DON TAO
From 1436 to 1468, this wát (admission 20B; 7am-6pm) was among four in northern Thailand to previously house the Emerald Buddha (now in Bangkok’s Wat Phra Kaew, Click here). The main chedi shows Hariphunchai influence, while the adjacent mon·dòp (the small square, spired building in a wát) was built in 1909. The mon·dòp, decorated with glass mosaic in typical Burmese style, contains a Mandalay-style Buddha image. A display of Lanna artefacts (mostly religious paraphernalia and woodwork) can be viewed in the wát’s Lanna Museum (admission by donation; 7am-6pm).
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USE YOUR MELON
Diminutive Wat Suchadaram, located at Wat Phra Kaew Don Tao, is said to be located on the former melon patch (dorn ôw) of Mae (Mother) Suchada, a pious local woman. It is said that during a time of famine, a monk appeared and was given an unusually shaped melon by Mae Suchada. Upon opening the melon, the monk found a large green gem inside, and with the help of Mae Suchada, as well as the divine intervention of Indra, the gem was shaped into a Buddha image. Villagers suspected the collaboration between the monk and Mae Suchada of being a bit too friendly, and in a fit of rage, beheaded Suchada. Upon realising their mistake later (the beheading led to yet another famine), a temple was built in the woman’s honour. Today, the emerald Buddha image is held at Wat Phra That Lampang Luang.
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Adjacent to the temple complex, pretty Wat Suchadaram dates back to 1809 and is named after Mae Suchada, the central figure in a local legend (see boxed text, above).
OTHER TEMPLES
Wat Si Rong Meuang and Wat Si Chum are two wáts built in the late 19th century by Burmese artisans. Both have temple buildings constructed in the Burmese ‘layered’ style, with tin roofs gabled by intricate woodcarvings. Wat Si Rong Meuang has a display with detailed