If you ask anyone about the temple Wat Phra Kaew (otherwise known in English as The Temple of the Emerald Buddha), they will surely tell you that they have been there. Wat Phra Kaew is definately on the Top 5 sites to visit in Bangkok along with the Grand Palace. However, not so many people know about another Wat Phra Kaew which is regarded as the original. You can find this Lanna style temple in the relatively sleepy town of Chiang Rai in Northern Thailand. I was there recently and I want to tell you about the beautiful Emerald Buddha image and the temple where it was found. Over the years the Buddha image has travelled far but the story started here in Chiang Rai.

Just south of Chiang Rai, off Highway 1, there is one of the most amazing and stunning temples I have ever seen in Thailand. Called officially the “Chapel of Wat Rong Khun” it has become to be known simply as “The White Temple”. This is another one of those places that hasn’t been discovered by the Lonely Planet people yet. (One of these days, I will start a website called “Not in the Lonely Planet”. Though I am sure that many of these places we have been featuring the last year or so will sooner or later end up in future editions.)

During our trip to Chiang Rai, we visited Doi Mae Salong, Doi Tung and then drove along the border with Burma towards Mae Sai. This is the northernmost spot in Thailand. In fact, there is a sign to the right of this bridge that says just that and you can have your picture taken underneath it. There is a lot of cross-border activity going on here with markets on both sides. I remember coming here over 10 years ago on a tour. I don’t think we did much as there wasn’t time to cross the border. We just took a picture of the blue gateway which marks entry into Burma. That is basically all we did this time too! Though we did find a small restaurant to eat a late lunch on the other side of this bridge. We chose a table overlooking the river which didn’t turn out to be a good idea. There was a lot of garbage there. Much of it on the Burmese side. Some children were playing in the water. This river marks the boundary between Burma and Thailand. I was just wondering about border security when a young Burmese boy walked down to the river, stripped to his underwear and then proceeded to swim across. No-one seemed to care as he climbed up the steps on the Thai side, pausing only to put back on his clothes.

We left Doi Mae Salong in the late afternoon and continued driving through the mountains passing more tea plantations along the way. As the sun was setting and dusk was upon us, we finally made it to the relative safety of Highway 1. Although we were only halfway to Chiang Rai City, the multi-laned highway meant we could cover the remaining distance in little over half an hour. We then used this city as a base over the next few days to explore the province further. Our first destination the following day was north to the mountain ranges of Doi Tung. According to legend, King Lawacahkalaj came down from heaven on a silver ladder. His purpose was to protect and uphold the Buddhist religion. A giant flag was flown from the peak of the mountain which marked the spot of where two chedis were later built in 911 A.D. The mountain upon which he appeared became known as “Mountain of the Holy Banner”. In northern dialect this is “doi tung”.