Horse-drawn carriages, Lanna temples, and the elephant hospital — Thailand's forgotten northern gem
Lampang is the only city in Thailand still using horse-drawn carriages as a form of local transport — the white horses with flower-decorated harnesses clip-clopping through the old teak merchant district are no tourist gimmick but an actual taxi service that has operated continuously since the Burmese teak traders introduced the carriages in the 19th century. The city's Lanna-era temples are among the finest in northern Thailand: Wat Phra That Lampang Luang, a 15th-century walled temple on a low hill, is considered the best-preserved Lanna religious complex in existence. The Thai Elephant Con…
Lampang (originally Nakhon Lampang, the 'City of the White Horses') is one of the oldest cities in northern Thailand — founded, according to legend, by a son of the Mon queen Chama Thewi of Lamphun around 600 CE, predating Chiang Mai by 700 years. The city passed between the Mon, the Lanna Kingdom, Burmese invaders, and finally Siamese control during centuries of shifting northern Thai politics. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Lampang became the centre of the northern Thai teak industry: British-managed teak companies logged the surrounding forests and Burmese teak workers brought t…