Park with history Rai Mae Fah Luang Art and Cultural Park in Chiang Rai is a beautiful place where tourists can learn about Lanna art and enjoy the peace far from glare and scrutiny of busy tourist destinations. Sitting in the embrace of a huge garden and not encumbered by the presence of luxurious facilities and state-of-the-art buildings in the vicinity, Rai Mae Fah Luang fascinates visitors with its elegant wooden pavilions built in northern Lanna style and flanked by towering trees. Hundreds of plumeria trees line the garden paths that invite visitors for a stroll in beautiful natural surroundings. The 26-hectare garden boasts indigenous plants, trees and flowers that are known to have inspired many an artistic motifs in visual and literary form. After admiring the garden tourists can visit the Haw Khum golden pavilion, a present from the northern people to the late Princess Mother. It was built to mark her 90th birthday anniversary. Done in Lanna style, it boasts the finest collection of northern Thai art and artefacts in the whole of Thailand. The cultural park is run by the Mae Fah Luang Foundation. The pavilion houses Buddha statues and other religious icons and artefacts, some of them sourced from neighbouring countries. Among the items on display are miniature open-top "palanquins" called Prasat holding Buddha images, candelabra, wooden streamers called Tung Gradan, elaborately carved wooden flower holders called Khan Dok, ancient textiles and architectural objects. In the middle of the exhibition hall sits a crude looking statue of Buddha called Phra Pratoh, carved from wood using probably the most elementary form of knife ever devised. More than 300 years old, it's sourced from Phrae. This statue, said the resident guide, indicates how carving implements have evolved since ancient times. Most other objects featured included carved, lacquered and embellished wood that date to the height of Lanna kingdom around 1600 AD when it extended to the Shan state of Burma, Xishuangbanna in Yunnan, China, and Lan Xang in Laos. That is when the people of north Thailand spoke their own language and introduced their own alphabets, said the guide, adding that Lanna culture is much appreciated by connoisseurs of Southeast Asian art. Another pavilion worth visiting is Haw Kaeo where art objects made of hand-crafted teakwood and other ornaments are showcased. It is a rectangular structure surrounding a double courtyard and reflects the diversity of traditional and contemporary Lanna art and culture. The specimen range from boats, musical instruments and kitchen utensils to agricultural tools from the Lanna period. Mae Fah Luang Park is open daily from 10am to 6pm, except on Monday. The admission fees are 150 for locals and 50 baht for kids; and 200 baht for adult foreign tourists and 150 baht for foreign kids. For details, call 053-711-968. Bangkok Post |