Historical Phrae

Phrae, a paradise in the North, was the headline of an article by Gringo some time ago on Thailandblog. Reason to visit this hitherto unknown place for me.

A nice trip is, for example, to go from Chiangmai to Lampang, which is only 90 kilometers away, and to plan an overnight stay there. The elephant hospital and the newly renovated elephant camp located next to it is a nice trip. And what about a ride through Lampang by horse-drawn carriage. Or have a romantic dinner on the banks of the Wang River in the evening. In short, Lampang is a very nice place that is more than worth a stopover. Hence to Phrae is a distance of less than a hundred kilometers. It's all a piece of cake by car, but buses also leave regularly from the Arcade bus station in Chiangmai to Lampang and from there to Phrae.

Ancient Phrae

The place Phrae has become known, among other things, for a number of older houses and buildings built from teak wood. Not surprising, because Phrae was for many years the center of the teak trade. If you look at the sights of the place you can see that the 'old' buildings mostly date from the end of the 19th century.^e and start 20^e century. Viewed through a Western lens, it is not exactly unique. I myself live in the Netherlands in a national monument dating from the 16^e century and in my relatively small hometown I find a lot more historical buildings than in Phrae. So my heart doesn't race over the historic buildings of Phrae, nor over some centennial temple or a specially shaped window, door or roof.

Yet such a comparison is utterly flawed. You are in a different country with a completely different culture and customs and then you view everything in a more nuanced way.

Vongburi house – Sombat Muycheen / Shutterstock.com

The Vong Buri house

One of the most appealing buildings of the place is the Vongburi house where Luang Phongphibun, the last Prince of Phrae and his wife lived. The prince owned the concession for felling teak trees, which are richly represented in the area. A good income was thus guaranteed. The house was built around 1900 and gives a good impression of the wealth of a wealthy Thai from that period.

Gentle or malicious?

A tour of the Vongburi house shows the various rooms of the beautiful building from the living room to the matrimonial bedroom of the prince and his consort. A striking feature is a hatch in one of the rooms. Lifting the flap of the hatch you get a view of the basement below. Walking down you are shocked when you look at the cells where slaves and prisoners were locked up. Through the hatch above, the meager food was thrown down to the cells below. If you still have the impression that the Thai is gentle, you will get a completely different impression here. A large number of photos present give a good picture of the atrocities of that time. Prisoners were not exactly treated kindly. As a visitor, you remain in the dark about the 'crimes' committed by them. It is a pity that the explanatory text accompanying the photos is only indicated in the Thai language. False shame or just a shortcoming?

Phae Muang Phi Park

Surroundings

Of course Phrae has a lot more to offer than just the home of the last Prince of Phrae. The area is beautiful and there are plenty of reasonable hotels. For example, at a distance of only eight kilometers is the Phae Muang Phi Park, also called 'The Grand Canyon of Phrae'. In the word you recognize the words Muang Phi; City of Ghosts.