27 Sep 2011

Chiang Rai - The Art Route

Chiang Rai is much more than just The White Temple and The Black house..

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The municipality of Chiang Rai has come up with a great initiative. Finally there are some signs for places of artistic interest. Last year it was extremely difficult to find the way to The Black House, now just look for the purple signs along the road. These signs are in English and in Thai language and tell you the name of the artists living in a particular area. 

There is actually a map you can get in the hotels, or at the different artists house telling you about these spots around Chiang Rai province. It is really a mini adventure when you see a sign and finally get to the place. 
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We were really amazed by the great location and the design of Khun Teerayut and his wife Khun Orpins house. We thought we were lost but finally this little pearl appeared. It is recommended to call before you visit, something we didn't do but we were shown great hospitality wherever we went anyway.

We also dropped by to visit Khun Chaiwichit, admiring his more impressionistic work on the sakura blossoms of Chiang Rai.

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On the way back to Chiang Mai, we decided to check out the progress of the White Temple and we were lucky enough to meet the master Khun Chalermchai himself that day. 

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Another great roadtrip in the rainy season came to an end...

Please read our previous post about The White Temple and Black House here :

Text and photos: Per Sundberg

12 May 2010

Treasures waiting to get explored - Wat Pumin

The influential temple in the hidden valley

Wat Pumin, arguably the most influential temple in modern northern Thai painting is located in Nan.

The murals in Wat Pumin depict a sensitive time in northern Thai history. This is when the French appeared in the late 19th century. There appears to be plenty of politics to be read in to these murals and they also show daily life with a sense of irony and humor. The murals were painted from 1894 and after and is claimed to have the theme of orphanhood, depicting the story of Gaddhana. Was it maybe as to show how Nan had been orphaned by Bangkok when half of its area was ceeded to the French?

In Wat Pumin you can walk for hours and study these fantastic murals:

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Nan is still one of the least visited provinces of Thailand, a province that TAT has tried to promote for years. Just like Loei it’s still really in the backwaters.  A friendship agreement has been signed between Luang Prabang and Nan to develop the overland route between the two places. Nan is still waiting to be explored and Wat Pumin as well as Wat Nong Bua are some of the reasons to go there.

 

Read more about Thai Murals in David K Wyatts book, Reading Thai Murals.

Text and photos
Per Sundberg

The Northern Rose's Posterous

The Northern Rose consists of photographer Jan Friman and culture travel enthusiast Per Sundberg. Our aim is to awaken and grow the interest for Asian culture. On our blog we mainly publish stories about Northern Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. If you want us to do some travel writing for your website or magazine, please feel welcome to contact us. See about for more on our personal background, experience and knowledge profile.