The Folklore
Museum, in the same compound as the Ban Fai garden
restaurant three kilometres from town on the Phrae-Sung Men
road, is made up of several buildings and wooden structures
displaying exhibits on the local way of life. The different
types of wooden houses demonstrate the different statuses of the
local people. There are also market and shophouses of the past.
Ban Pong Si
Ban Pong Si at
Tambon Thin of Mueang district is a village which collects and
exchanges second-hand household utensils for daily use. It also
sells silver products.
Ban Rong Fong
Ban Rong Fong
specialises in making metal agricultural tools using traditional
production method. The village can be reached by taking Highway
No.101 (Phrae-Nan) with a turn into Highway No. 1101 leading to
Rong Fong.
Ban Thung Hong
About 4
kilometres away on Highway No. 101 (Phrae-Nan) is Ban Thung
Hong, a village noted for the making of products made from Mo
Hom material. It is a local cotton fabric dyed in blue which is
used in making native and modern wears.
City Pillar Shrine
The City
Pillar Shrine of Phrae, situated on Khum Deom Road in town
centre, features an inscription stone with ancient Thai scripts
of the Sukhothai period describing the construction of a temple
in the town.
Hua Dong Market
About 9
kilometres to the south of town on Highway No. 101 in Sung Men
district is the Hua Dong Market. It is the centre of products
made from wood and rattan, mostly household furnitures and
decorative items.
Phae Mueang Phi
About 12
kilometres out of town, and with a further 6 kilometres after a
right turn, is the Phae Mueang Phi , a wide area with no large
trees. Because of subsidence and erosion of the soil, the harder
elements remain and are formed into the shapes of exotic-looking
mushrooms.
Phraya Chaiyabun Memorial
The Phraya
Chaiyabun Memorial is about four kilometres from the Phrae
townhall on Highway No. 101. Governor of the town during
1897-1902, he was slain by rebelling Shan tribesmen when he
refused to cede the town to them. After the rebellion was put
down by government troops, King Rama V ordered a memorial
erected in his honors.
Wat Chom Sawan
Just one
kilometre from the townhall on Yantrakit Koson Road is Wat Chom
Sawan, a Burmese architectural style temple. The building which
combines the hall for conducting religious rituals and monk's
living quarters is beautifully decorated both in its interiors
and exteriors.
The
over-lapping roofs are adorned with fine fretworks. Antiquities
found here include marble Buddha statues, statues made of woven
bamboos coated with lacquer, and Buddha statues made from ivory,
as well as ivory scripture slabs with Burmese scripts.
Wat Luang
Wat Luang on
Kham Lue Road in town is an ancient and principal temple built
at the same time Phrae was established. Several restoration
works have taken place. Some of its major features include the
Vihan and Chiang Saen-style Chedi enshrining a Holy Relic
brought over from Myanmar. Others are the museum housing various
antiquities including several 500-year-old Buddha statues and an
ancient Lanna-style wooden structure.
Wat Phra Bat Ming
Mueang
Wat Phra Bat
Ming Mueang, located on Charoen Nakhon Road near the townhall,
was built in 1955 by combining two ancient temples. There is an
old Chedi containing a replica of the Holy Footprint inside.
Wat Phra Non
To the west of
Wat Luang is Wat Phra Non near the site of the old city walls.
Some of the architectural works include the Chiang Saen-style
Ubosot with narrow openings to let in light instead of normal
windows. The lintel is made of wood with graceful designs. The
eaves over the Vihan are all fretted, a symbol of northern
architecture. Inside is a 9 metre-long plaster Reclining Buddha.
Wat Phra That Cho Hae
This temple is
about 8 kilometres to the east of town on Highway No. 1022. A
major religious site of the province, it was built since the
time of Sukhothai. The 33 metre-tall Chiang Saen-style Chedi
houses a Holy Relic. It was built of bricks and covered with
bright brass sheets. The name of the temple refers to fine silk
woven in Sip Song Panna (in southern China) which was first used
to wrap around the Chedi when the temple was first constructed.
There is a fair celebrating the Chedi in March every year.
Wat Phra That Chom Chaeng
Three
kilometres from Phra That Cho Hae is Wat Phra That Chom Chaeng,
some 10 kilometres from town. Built in the year 788, the name of
the builder was unknown. The golden Chedi is 29 metres tall and
enshrines a Holy Relic. There is also a museum of rare ancient
relics.
Wat Sa Bo Kaeo
Located on Nam
Khu Road next to the city moats is Wat Sa Bo Kaeo, a temple with
several exotic Burmese artistic-styled structures and Buddha
statues. It is also where Burmese monks who travel to Thailand
to study the Buddhist scripture stay.
Den Chai
Wat Phra That Suthon Mongkhon Khiri
Three
kilometres from Den Chai district, or some 2 kilometres from the
provincial town, is Wat Phra That Suthon Mongkhon Khiri.
Although a comparatively modern temple, it boasts highly
eye-catching structures. The Ubosot in particular is noted for
its delicate sculptures with fine designs.
There is also
the golden teak structure in the Lanna-style which houses
valuable relics of the North, including Buddha statues,
lacquerware, Lanna musical instruments, ancient weapons and
pictures depicting past events.
Long
Fabric Weaving Village
Long District,
some 45 kilometres the provincial town on Highway No. 1023, is
the site of a centuries-old community since the time of
Hariphunchai Period. The local people are skilled in the craft
of weaving, both silk and cotton. The art of making the Tin Chok
fabric in particular has been handed down from generation to
generation.
Its design has
also been developed to meet with new and different preferences,
although the original method has been retained. A fair
celebrating the Tin Chok is held annually in Long district
around November.
Kaeng Luang Rafting
A leading
attraction, Kaeng Luang is located in Tambon Ban Pin, Long
district. To get there, go on the Phrae-Lampang road for about
50 kilometres, then take a right turn at Km.69 and continue on
for another 7 kilometres. The scenery is lovely and amid the Yom
river are rocky formations which create fast-flowing rapids.
On the other
side of the river, which can be crossed by ferry, and with a
100-metre walk uphill, will be found the Erawan Cave adorned
with elephant-and-female-shaped hanging and protruding crops of
rock.
Wat Phra That Si Don Kham
There is a
huge gold Chedi housing a Holy Relic at Wat Phra That Si Don
Kham. Legend has it that it was built as early as 535 A.D. when
the land was under the dominance of the Hariphunchai kingdom.
Wang Chin
Wiang Kosai National Park
The Wiang
Kosai National Park is about 70 kilometres from the provincial
town in Wang Chin district. It can be reached by taking Highway
No. 11 (Phrae-Lampang). Then take a left turn toward Wang Chin
district and continue for a further 13 kilometres to reach the
turn to the park headquarters.
A further 1.5
kilometres on are two waterfalls, the Mae Koeng Luang, one
kilometer from the headquarters, and the Mae Koeng Noi, 2
kilometres on foot further on. Streams from the falls flow into
the Yom River.
Song
Mae Yom National Park
The Mae Yom
National Park is in Song district 48 kilometres from town. The
terrain is mountainous with deciduous and rich teak forests,
probably the densest in the country. Along the Yom River in
front of the camping area of the park are the Kaeng Sua Ten
rapids, a two-kilometre-long
stretch of rock formations and best visited during
November-February when the weather is cool and the scenery at
its loveliest. Visitors may camp along the river banks.
Phra That Phra Lo
This is a
400-year-old Chedi believed to contain the remains of a king
named Phra Lo, ruler of Nakhon Maen Suang once located in the
vicinity. It is said he died together with his two lovers, Phra
Phuean and Phra Phaeng, which gave rise to the legend of a
folklore. The Chedi itself is at Tambon Ban Klang, Song district
on Highway No. 103 some 45 kilometres north of the provincial
town.
Rong Kwang
Namtok Huai Rong
Amid cool
forested area is the Huai Rong Waterfall. It can be reached by
taking Highway No. 101 (Phrae-Rong Kwang) and go on for 60
kilometres northward. Turn left at Km. 78 and proceed on for a
further 4 kilometres.
Tham Pha Nang Khoi
Another
interesting cave is Tham Pha Nang Khoi which is about 40
kilometres north of town on Highway No. 101 at Km. 59 within
Rong Kwang district. A 50 metre-long rail leads to the cave
mouth. Along the winding tunnels are strangely-shaped
stalactites and stalagmites.
At the end of
the cave is a stalagmite shaped like a woman holding a small
child. In front of the Nang Koi (waiting woman) stone is a
heart-shaped stalactite. They are the source of the legend of
the love of a woman who waited for her lover until she turned
into stone.
