Thailand Guide
The north
Rai Mae Fah Luang
Opening time: Tues– Sun 8am–5.30pm
Price: B200
Address: 5km west of the city centre in Ban Pa Ngio
Website: www.maefahluang.org
By far Chiang Rai's most compelling attraction is Rai Mae Fah Luang, a beautiful showcase of Lanna (northern Thai) art and architecture from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, and its influences from Burma, Laos and China. In particular, the museum displays the consummate skills of local woodcarvers, with a focus on teak, which in Thailand is associated with concepts of dignity. It's set in lovely parkland, including a young teak garden that holds 43 varieties from northern Thailand.
The main reason for coming here is to see the Haw Khum, an amazing, multi-tiered barn of a building on massive stilts. It took five years to construct in the 1980s, in honour of the Princess Mother, Mae Fah Luang, using materials from 32 old houses in Chiang Rai province. Look out especially for the fish scales roof tiles, which inevitably are also made of teak. Lit by candles, the interior's dramatic centrepiece is a huge, slender, wooden tower, representing the centre of the universe, Mount Meru, set in a sunken white sandpit – which not only symbolizes the Ocean of Milk, but also soaks up moisture to protect the teak. Dozens of very fine wooden artefacts surround the tower, including a beautifully serene Burmese Buddha in a delicate, many-frilled robe that looks as if it's moving.
Standouts among the displays in the nearby Haw Kaew – which is also made entirely of teak – are some ornate ceremonial alms bowls, and a bed headboard and footboard that sport scary carvings of Rahoo: the monster eating the moon connotes not only eclipses, but also a good night's sleep.