kitothailand..Kito Travelling: Lampang

About 100 kilometers south of Chiang Mai, Lampang is an ancient city founded in the seventh century, supposedly by the son of Lamphun's founder, Queen Chama Devi. In the nineteenth century the city was fortified with walls, and later became an important center of the teak industry. The city and its monuments has escaped much of the modernizations that have left many of the north's temples with little of their original decorations.

Clock Tower in Lampang

This picture credit to Hock my friend from Singapore

Like all of the former northern kingdom of Lanna, Lampang was occupied by the Burmese for nearly 200 years. Much of this influence can still be seen in the temples of the city.

About 20 kilometers from Lampang is the old temple of Wat Phra That Lampang Luang. On first glance, this walled citadel sited on a man-made mound of earth has a very fortress-like look to it. That's because the temple was built on the site of an eighth century fortification, called a wiang, that guarded the routes to Lampang.

The temple buildings seen today were built in the fifteenth century, and one of the reasons for the temple's popularity is the relatively pure state of all the temple buildings. Unlike most of the temples in Chiang Mai, Wat Phra That Lampang Luang hasn't been 'improved' to conform to modern Thai ideas about temples. The courtyard is still filled with sand, and the huge main wiharn (prayer hall) is still open on all sides.

The large chedi and prayer chapel of the temple.

To enter the temple, you must pass a pair of guardian lions and climb the naga stairway up to the massive main gate. The main prayer hall, the Wiharn Luang, stands close inside the main entrance. The wiharn is open on all four sides, forming a huge covered hall. Sturdy columns support the roof. The columns are finished in black lacquer and stenciled with gold leaf designs.

The gilded 'ku' containing the main Buddha image in the wiharn.

At the back of the Wiharn Luang sits a massive gilded ku, a sort of Laotian prang sheltering the main Buddha image. The Buddha image is the Phra Chao Lang Thong, cast in 1563. On either side of the Ku are throne-like pulpits, sometimes used by monks but more often used to house other Buddha images on important ceremonial days.

Behind the main prayer hall stands the 45 meter tall chedi. The chedi was faced with copper and bronze sheets, which over the centuries have oxidized into a variety of green and blue shades. The chedi has somehow escaped the gilding which is now universally applied to chedis, even if they weren't originally built that way.
Flanking the chedi on the south side is another prayer hall, the Wiharn Phra Phut, a small chapel built in 1802 with a beautifully carved fascade. Behind the Wiharn Phar Phut is a tiny tower-like structure, the Ho Phra Phuttabat. It houses a Buddha footprint sculpture. The building is generally only open on important festival dates, and may never be entered by women.
A 400 year old library building.

On the other side of the chedi and the main wiharn are two other small open chapels. Although very weathered, both have some rather interesting details and murals.
A doorway on the south side of the gallery leads you to several other buildings, as well as the temple's museum. On the way, you'll pass an ancient bodhi tree whose branches are supported by a forest of crutches.
The two museums are not very interesting, even though one houses the Phra Kaeo Don Tao, a supposed 'copy' of the Emerald Buddha and made at the same time. But it lack most of the subtlety of the Emerald Budda, and the setting doesn't do it justice. For a close-up look at the Emerald Buddha, you're better advised to visit Wat Phra Kaeo in Chiang Rai, where they have a recently made copy in a beautiful setting. However, there is a beautiful 400 year old scripture library in amongst the museums that is worth a look.

Lampang Shopping

Lampang is well known for its ceramics. There are reportedly more than 50 factories scattered around the province. There are a few places around town to buy ceramic ware, but perhaps the best and biggest is the huge market at Thung Wian, on the road to Chiang Mai.

Although Lampang has the usual array of tuk-tuks and samlors for transportation, the city also sports one unique method: the city's trademark pony carriages. While the conventional transport will get you where you want to go for 5 or 10 Baht, the carriages can be more expensive. They're usually used by tourists and so charge an hourly rate of around 120 Baht for a tour.