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A full day tour starting out on Highway 108 heading toward Hod. Your first stop is a few kilometres away from town at woodcarving and lacquerware shops. The shopping area which also contains many ceramic, silver and bamboo craft shops, continues until Km. 15. These shops provide you with the opportunity to observe woodcarving and neo-antiques being made. You may also purchase these items at inexpensive wholesale prices. Whether you are interested in a massive bedroom set or a tiny trivet, you will find beautiful hand-carved wooden furniture in Chiang Mai. Well known for their intricate floral motifs, Chiang Mai artisans provide an array of other intricate designs which are bound to strike your fancy. The furniture comes in a variety of finishes from pastel colors to a clear gloss displaying the natural wood grain to its best advantage. Even if you are not looking for furniture, you will find a large number of hand carved figurines which are sure to match your artistic taste at a reasonable price.
Silverware
Wat Prathat Si Chom Tong
A next halt on the highway is 58 kms southwest of ChiangMai, at Chom Thong - a town wich holds the handsome Wat Prathat Si Chom Thong. The temple, with its beautiful gilded chedi, dates from 1451. The large cruciform viharn, built in 1516, houses a collection of fine bronze Buddha images carved on elephant tusks. A secondary chapel contains a holy Buddha relic. After the visit to Chom Thong's temple you will return to the highway and follow the road to Doi Inthanon National Park, a 1,005 square kilometre area which includes Thailand's highest mountain and areas of dense virgin rain forest. Some 7 kms down the road, you will stop at the lovely Mae Klang Falls, Chiang Mai's most photographed waterfall. These falls are located at the foot of Doi Inthanon.
Some 45 minutes later, you will arrive at the highest point in Thailand, 2,595 meters (8,514 ft) above sea level. Located at the summit is a shrine to Chao Inthanon, a former prince of ChiangMai.
You can stop for the view, take a short nature walk through the rain forest and then go back down the mountain to Km. 41 where two remarkable chedi have been recently built to honour King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit.
The structures - which stand amidst tended garden of flowers and vegetables - show modernistic interpretations of traditional Buddhist themes portrayed in copper-coloured tiles and elaborate interior murals.
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The art of making lacquerware is a 400 year old ChiangMai
and Thai tradition. Lacquerware is entirely handmade. Lac Resin is produced
by insects from sap taken from fig trees. The exquisite oriental designs
on the flawless glossy black surface are made entirely by hand. The world
renowned Thai lacquerware can be decorated in paint, gold leaf, egg-shell
or simply engraved.
ChiangMai
offers a wide selection of modern and antique silverware. The city is a
prime source of such objets d'art because generations of artisans have
made their homes here. ChiangMai's laid back atmosphere has brought together
many ethnic groups, each with its own distinctive style, providing you
with a wide range of beautiful artifacts to choose from. The majority of
the best silver works are situated along the Chiangmai - Sankampeang Road.
Here you will find delicately patterned silverware from Thailand, Laos
and Burma along with antique and modern hilltribe jewelry.
Both silver coins and pure silver ingots
(smelted in a furnace) are beaten out by hand into the desired style or
shape. Months of patient effort go into these delicate and intricate designs.
