Friday 6 December 20204
Three temples in Chiang Mai Old City

Wat Lam Chang

Leaving Wat Chiang Man and turning right on Ratchapakhina Road, Wat Lam Chang is only about 80 meters away. Its name translates to “Temple of the Tethered Elephant,” derived from its historical location where the royal elephants were housed and fed in medieval times. These elephants were used to carry members of the royal household and were very unlikely to have been used as labor. There are many images of elephants at this temple.

There are two entrances to Wat Lam Chang. The street entrance on Ratchapakhina Road is really the back entrance and was completely rebuilt in the last year or two, quite magnificently (but still behind a mass of communication wires):

There is a multi-year project to eliminate the overhead wiring in the old city. The project has involved many streets and sois being dug up for the burying of large conduits and channels into which the wiring will be moved. At some future date, I’ll be able to get a view of this entrance without the wires.

The main entrance is on a soi (smaller than a road, larger than an alley, like a lane) at the other end of the temple. The sign at the entrance. Notice the base is flanked by two small elephant statues:

The sign wording translates to: Lam Chang Temple, Tambon Sriphum, Mueang District, Chiang Mai Province. “Chang” translates to elephant, “Tambon” to something larger than a neighborhood, “Mueang District” means the city of Chiang Mai, in the province of Chiang Mai (like New York City is in the State of New York).

I entered through the street entrance. Being at the western (setting sun side) end of the temple grounds, the first thing I noticed are the remains of what was once the original brick chedi from the 14th century. All that is left is the square base of bare brick. There is one large niche over six feet tall set into the base and several smaller ones. None of the niches house any statues. The sides show remnants of ancient stone decorative carvings heavily eroded with vegetation growing.

The viharn is of typical Lanna style. The front entrance is richly decorated with gold floral motifs over grey mosaic tiles. The entrance to the front porch is particularly wide and supported by two columns with similar decoration. Two Naga serpents on each balustrade leading up to the door act as guardians. Just outside the Naga serpents are elephants, continuing the elephant theme.

Off to the side in front of the viharn is a full-size elephant honoring the royal elephants that were housed here by King Mengrai.

I did not spend much time at Wat Lam Chang. There are always many people and monks around preparing for some event. This is always a very busy temple. I walked through the main entrance onto Moon Muang Soi 7 then on to Khun Kae’s Juice for a refreshment before continuing on to the co-working space where I work on my blog.

This sounds a little trite, but every day in Chiang Mai is a good day. Especially now with winter easing in and morning temperatures at 23 C (73 F) closer to what is normal at home in San Diego. Afternoons are still hot, 30 C (86 F) and humid. Still a very good day here in Chiang Mai.

Next: A walk southeast of the old city.