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Jan 11, 2025 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Ron Emmons
CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- When Thailand's Phu Phrabat Historical Park, with its extraordinary rock formations, was designated a World Heritage Site at the latest meeting of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee at New Delhi in July 2024, it joined seven other Thai sites and 1,222 sites globally that share this accolade. To be granted World Heritage status, a site must satisfy at least one of 10 criteria that determine eligibility on historical, cultural or natural heritage grounds.
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Nov 22, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Ron Emmons
CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- In early October, people watching television coverage of catastrophic floods in northern Thailand and neighboring countries were shocked by video footage of elephants struggling amid surging water, desperately trying to escape. One of the most affected places was Elephant Nature Park, near the northern city of Chiang Mai, where two elephants drowned while trying to reach higher ground.
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Sep 22, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Ron Emmons
CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- I became obsessed by teak, and its history in Thailand, while researching a historical novel based on a 19th-century teak boom in North Thailand. My research included the almost magical durability and workability of teakwood, the complex steps involved in logging and the lavish lifestyles of the teak tycoons. But with the book written and published I wanted to learn more about the use of teak in Thai art and architecture. For that, there was only one place to go -- Phrae.
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Aug 5, 2024 | 
scmp.com | Ron Emmons
Explainer | What are Thailand’s colourful spirit houses – and how are they set up? From Bangkok’s famous Erawan Shrine to humble rural outpostsSome of the most distinctive and unforgettable sights of Thailand are the dollhouse-sized buildings, frequently draped in garlands, that stand on pillars in the gardens of homes or in the grounds of public buildings. Their form varies from simple, stilted representations of Thai houses to elaborate temple buildings, reflecting the status of the owner.
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Jul 16, 2024 | 
msn.com | Ron Emmons
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Jul 16, 2024 | 
scmp.com | Ron Emmons
Thailand’s ‘Lost Kingdom’ in suburban Chiang Mai, where ancient temples sit beside housesNorthern Thailand was once part of the Kingdom of Lanna – the name meaning “a million rice fields” – which, in its heyday between the 14th and 16th centuries, extended to parts of modern-day Laos, China and Myanmar. Chiang Mai became the capital of this kingdom in 1296, but for a decade before that, King Mangrai ruled his domain from Wiang Kum Kam, 5km to the south of the city.
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Jul 4, 2024 | 
remotelands.com | Ron Emmons |Travelogues Storyteller
Before Northern Thailand became a part of Siam at the end of the 19th century, it functioned as an independent kingdom called Lanna (meaning ‘a million rice fields’). In its heyday of the 14th–16th centuries, Lanna extended its rule far into present-day Laos, China and Myanmar. But by the 19th century, the illustrious name had fallen into disuse, and the kingdom splintered into local fiefdoms.
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Feb 26, 2024 | 
scmp.com | Ron Emmons
Thailand’s tourist-free teak town Phrae: how its ornately carved wooden buildings tell the story of a place seemingly lost in timePhrae, around 550km (342 miles) north of Bangkok and 200km southeast of Chiang Mai, is a town seemingly lost in time, and almost completely ignored by tourists.
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Dec 21, 2023 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Ron Emmons
In their previous book, "Yangon Echoes: Inside Heritage Homes," photographer Tim Webster and oral historian Virginia Henderson adopted a simple but successful formula -- presenting personal tales connected with the city's heritage buildings, illustrated with beautifully composed, atmospheric images. This formula has now been applied to a much broader topic, and the resulting, sumptuous tome, "The Social Life of Teak," casts a spotlight on the most highly prized tropical timber on our planet.
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Oct 23, 2023 | 
scmp.com | Ron Emmons
4 temples to visit in Chiang Mai in Thailand for mindfulness, some serious meditation, history – and, hopefully, enlightenmentFor anyone in need of a little enlightenment, a half-day tour that takes in four temples on a 6km (3.7 mile) route leading west from the centre of Chiang Mai to the foothills of Doi Suthep, the guardian mountain of the northern Thai city, might be just the ticket.
