Wiang Kum Kam
Posted by Stuart at 06:44 PM on January 22, 2006My day started with a visit to the Chiang Mai Airport to try to book a ticket back to Bangkok for today. But alas, all of the flights on all of the airlines were fully booked. So I am now planning on heading back tomorrow.
Since I now had an extra day in Chiang Mai, I wanted to visit a few places I had never seen before. I started with the Warorot Market next to the Ping River. It is a huge, multi-storied, old-fashioned market, with everything imaginable for sale, from clothes to curries, from live frogs to light bulbs. Sometime, when I have time, I'd like to come back to do some real shopping. It looked like some great bargains could be had.
I then had breakfast at a nice colonial style house on Tapae Road, and then did some work in an Internet cafe for a few hours. Finally, the highlight of the day was a trip across the Ping River to Wiang Kum Kan.
The story of Wiang Kum Kan is an interesting one. It was the capital of Lanna for King Mingrai, around 1290, before he built the city of Chiang Mai. However, severe flooding had forced the abandonment of the city, and in fact the floods eventually covered the city in thick mud. The most interesting part is that the city was only re-discovered in the 1980s. Discoveries are still being made, with the last occurring in 2002-2003. In this last case, the foundations of a large temple were found 1.8 meters below the surface. All in all, around 20 temple ruins have been unearthed.
So, that wraps up my trip to Northern Thailand. Tomorrow, it's back to Bangkok for "regular life"... at least for a few days...
Happy Birth Day!