Thailand Northern Thailand (Chapter) Edition 14th Edition, February 2012 Pages 112 PDF Page Range 294-405 Coverage includes: Lamphun Province, Lamphun, Around Lamphun, Lampang Province, Lampang, Around Lampang, Chiang Rai Province, Chiang Rai, Around Chiang Rai, Mae Salong (Santikhiri), Mae Sai, Around Mae Sai, Chiang Saen, Around Chiang Saen, Chiang Khong, Phayao Province, Phayao, Phrae Province, Around Phrae, Nan Province, Nan, Around Nan, Phitsanulok Province, Phitsanulok, Around Phitsanulok, Sukhothai, Around Sukhothai, Kamphaeng Phet Province, Kamphaeng Phet, Tak Province, Mae Sot, Mae Sot to Um Phang, Um Phang & Around, Mae Sot to Mae Sariang, Mae Hong Son Province, Mae Hong Son, Around Mae Hong Son, Pai and Soppong. Useful Links: Having trouble viewing your file? Head to Lonely Planet Troubleshooting. Need more assistance? Head to the Help and Support page. Want to find more chapters? Head back to the Lonely Planet Shop. Want to hear fellow travellers’ tips and experiences? Lonely Planet’s Thorntree Community is waiting for you! © Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd. To make it easier for you to use, access to this chapter is not digitally restricted. In return, we think it’s fair to ask you to use it for personal, non-commercial purposes only. In other words, please don’t upload this chapter to a peer-to-peer site, mass email it to everyone you know, or resell it. See the terms and conditions on our site for a longer way of saying the above - ‘Do the right thing with our content. ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd Northern Thailand Why Go? Lamphun .......................298 Northern Thailand’s ‘mountainous’ reputation may cause Lampang .......................300 residents of Montana or Nepal to chuckle, but it’s the fertile Chiang Rai .....................308 river valleys between these glorifi ed hills that served as the Mae Sai .........................320 birthplace of much of what is associated with Thai culture. The mountains may not be large, but their impact and sig- Chiang Khong ...............330 nifi cance are immense. Phayao ..........................334 Not surprisingly, these old hills are the ideal destination Phrae .............................336 for a unique Thai experience. Exploring a Buddhist temple Phitsanulok ...................348 in Phrae, taking part in a homestay in rural Sukhothai, or Sukhothai......................355 sampling a dish at Lampang’s evening market – northern Kamphaeng Phet ..........366 Thailand’s cultural attractions are generally low-key but Mae Sot .........................370 are eminently rewarding. And for those seeking something Mae Hong Son ..............380 more vigorous, the region’s rugged geography ensures that there is also ample opportunity for more active pursuits Pai .................................388 such as rafting in Nan, visiting a national park in Phitsanu- Mae Sariang ..................402 lok or a road trip to Phayao. Best Places to Eat When to Go » Laap Khom Huay Pu (p 396 ) Northern Thailand is the place to head in winter (November » Lung Eed Locol Food (p 313) to January), when daytime temperatures at the higher eleva- » Ban Mai (p 352 ) tions are a relatively comfortable 20°C to 23°C and night- » Sue Hai (p 319 ) time temperatures can, in some places, dip perilously close to freezing. » Bamee Chakangrao (p 368 ) From March to May, the hottest time of year, daytime temperatures climb close to 40°C and smoke from slash- Best Places to and-burn agriculture can fi ll the skies. The rainy season, Stay June to October, should generally be avoided if you plan to do any trekking. » Fern Resort (p 384 ) » Boklua View (p 348 ) » Riverside Guesthouse (p 404 ) » Pukha Nanfa Hotel (p 344 ) 295 History north as Luang Prabang in Laos. The golden Northern Thailand’s history has been char- age of Lanna was in the 15th century. For a acterised by the shifting powers of various short time the Sukhothai capital was moved independent principalities. One of the most to Phitsanulok (1448–86), and Chiang Mai signifi cant early cultural infl uences in the became an important religious and cultural north was the Mon kingdom of Hariphun- centre. However, many Thai alliances de- chai (modern Lamphun), which held sway clined in the 16th century. This weakness led from the late 8th century until the 13th cen- to the Burmese capturing Chiang Mai in 1556 tury. Hariphunchai art and Buddha images and their control of Lanna lasted for the next are particularly distinctive, and many good two centuries. The Thais regrouped after the examples can be found at the Hariphunchai Burmese took Ayuthaya in 1767, and under National Museum in Lamphun. King Kawila, Chiang Mai was recaptured in The Thais, who are thought to have mi- 1774 and the Burmese were pushed north. grated down from China since around the In the late 19th century Rama V of Bang- 7th century, united various principalities in kok made eff orts to integrate the northern the 13th century – this resulted in the crea- region with the centre to ward off the colo- tion of Sukhothai and the taking of Harip- nial threat. The completion of the northern hunchai from the Mon. In 1238 Sukhothai railway to Chiang Mai in 1921 strengthened declared itself an independent kingdom those links until the northern provinces fi - under King Si Intharathit and quickly ex- nally became part of the kingdom of Siam in panded its sphere of infl uence. Because of this early period of the 20th century. this, and the infl uence the kingdom had on modern Thai art and culture, Sukhothai is Language considered by Thais to be the fi rst true Thai Thailand’s regional dialects vary greatly and kingdom. In 1296 King Mengrai established can even be unintelligible to native speak- Chiang Mai after conquering Hariphunchai. ers of Thai not familiar with the vernacular Later, Chiang Mai, in an alliance with being spoken. Găm méuang, the northern Thai dialect, is no exception and, in addition NORTHERN THAILAND THAILAND NORTHERN Sukhothai in the 14th and 15th centuries, THAILAND NORTHERN became a part of the larger kingdom of Lan to an entirely diff erent set of tones to mas- Na Thai (Million Thai Rice Fields), popu- ter, possesses a wealth of vocabulary specifi c larly referred to as Lanna. This extended to the north. The northern dialect also has a as far south as Kamphaeng Phet and as far slower rhythm than Thailand’s three other SPEAKING NORTHERN Northerners used to take off ence when outsiders tried speaking găm méuang to them, an attitude that dates back to a time when central Thais considered northerners to be very backward, and made fun of their dialect. Nowadays most northerners are proud of their native language and there was even a popular Bangkok-based TV series in which many characters spoke the northern dialect. To help you win some smiles from the locals, we’ve provided a brief lexicon of the local lingo. » Ôo găm méuang bòr jâhng I can’t speak northern Thai » A yăng gór? What did you say? » An née tôw dai? How much is this? » Mee kôw nêung bòr? Do you have sticky rice? » Lám đáa đáa Delicious » Mâan lâ Yes/That’s right » Bòr mâan No » Sow 20 » Gàht Market » Jôw (A polite word used by women; equivalent to the central Thai ka) » Ъàht só! Nôrng née ngáhm kànàht! Hey, you’re really cute! NORTHERN THAILAND THAILAND NORTHERN Tachileik Mae Sai L A O S Northern Chiang Huay Xai Saen Chiang Thailand Mae Salong Khong Mae Chan Highlights 0 50 km Tha 0 30 miles Doi Ang Ton 1093 Exploring one Khang 110 1020 1 (1300m) of the region’s Chiang Khong M Y A N M A R River numerous and diverse Fang Wawi Chiang Rai to Phayao national parks, such (B U R M A) Tha Sai Mekong 1 as Phitsanulok’s 107 Thoeng Muang historical Phu Hin CHIANG MAI Huay Nam Dang CHIANG RAI Ban Ngeun Rong Kla National National Park Huak Mae Hong Phan Park (p 353 ) or Mae Son Loop Soppong Chiang Ban Huay Hong Song’s rugged (Pangmapha) Kham 1080 Kon Salawin National Pai PHAYAO Pon Mae Hong Son Chun Park (p 404 ) Chiang Dao Chiang 1021 Klang 2 Hiking and 1091 rafting in Um Phang, Wang Phayao Pua Mae Taeng Pong Doi where the end of the Neua 1082 Phu Kha road leads to Nam MAE Doi Pui National Park HONG National Park 118 Chae Son Tok Thilawsu (p 376 ), National Park NAN SON Mae Rim Thailand’s biggest, 1 Samoeng Nong Bua most beautiful Khun Yuam Doi Saket LAMPANG Nan waterfall Chiang Mai Ngao 108 Mae Yom 3 Learning National Park to be a mahout 108 Lamphun (elephant caretaker) Wiang Sa Salawin at Lampang’s National Doi Khun Tan Song Chom National Park Park Ping 101 Thai Elephant Thong 11 Conservation Center Ban Hong PHRAE Nam Lampang (p 307 ) Hot Thai Elephant Mae Sariang Conservation Ko Kha Mae Center 11 Phrae Mae Ngao Yom National Park Wang Nam Den Chai Ban Sop Ngao Mae Mae 106 Kheuan 1 1268 CHIANG MAI Sirikit UTARADIT LAMPHUN Utaradit Nan Thoen Nam Mae Ping Mae Ban Tha 102 LAOS Getting off the National Park 4 Song Yang LAMPANG Ban Hat Siaw Mae Nam beaten path to the Mae Salit Si Satchanalai- Si Satchanalai little-visited but Chaliang Historical Park atmospheric northern Mae 1 Moei Kheuan Sawankhalok cities such as Phayao Tha Song Yang Phumiphon (p 334 ) or Phrae Nam PHITSANULOK (p 336 ) Nan 11 TAK SUKHOTHAI 101 Nakhon Thai Cycling around 5 Sukhothai the awesome ruins of Mae Ramat Phu Hin 12 Sukhothai Rong Kla Thailand’s ‘golden age’ Tak Historical Park Wang National Park Thong at Sukhothai (p 355 ) Mae Phitsanulok 105 Mae Khek and Si Satchanalai- 1063 Thung Salaeng Khao Myawadi Mae Sot Nam Chaliang Historical Nam Lam Nam Luang Wildlife Kho Ping Sanctuary Parks (p 363 ) 1 6 Renting a vehicle 1090 Yom Kamphaeng 115 and