Lampang (more words)

The onus is upon me to say a bit more about Lampang (partly because of Jim's
stated interest in the place).

I arrived in the city shortly after 5:00AM --i.e., before dawn-- and rode my
bicycle around the city until shortly after 6.

Thus, I witnessed the early morning pindapata; and the monks who were out
for alms at that hour were quite an impressive sight.

Only senior monks were visible; I suppose that younger monks take their
morning meal in the monastery, or simply sleep until a later hour.  All of
the monks carried out the alms round in both the spirit and the letter of
the Vinaya --and, to my surprise, each and every one of them walked the
concrete sidewalks with bare feet.  As with any city in Thailand, the
streets of Lampang have their share of broken glass and excrement; and at
later hours of the day, all of the monks I saw wore sandals --so I suppose
this is either an extraordinary austerity for the early morning alms round,
or that these men on the alms round represent an unusually austere sect.

Thus, my first impression of Lampang was that it was unusually well-endowed
with very serious senior monks.

The traditional (Lanna) architecture of the local temples is hardly worth
reporting on --what is remarkable is that it exists at all.  By contrast,
Chiang Mai is quite lacking in such (wooden) temples.  I recently read an
article concerning efforts to restore these temples in Lampang; the Bangkok
post reported that fundraising to restore golden implements on the roof-top
went well, but that people were reluctant to give money for lower parts of
the building or the pediment --as it would generate less merit.

Ta-ma-oh is a modern complex on an odd bend of the river --made somewhat
easier to find as the major road running past it has been re-named "Thanon
Ta-ma-o".  The buildings resemble those of any other Thai monastic complex
of the modern era, except that the notice-boards and schedules put up by the
monks are in Burmese, and two red "triple-lions" stand by the gate (in the
style of the Ashokan pillar).  I was there on one of the official occasions
to burn things, and the Burmese monks had dutifully complied with local
custom in setting up metal bowls of burning refuse of some kind along the
permiter of the property.  I believe this custom somehow related to the
advent of the Naga fireballs on the same full moon --but more than this I
cannot say.

The city of Lampang is not beautiful; looking at a map or reading the Lonely
Planet guidebook's description is misleading.  It is less ugly than Chiang
Mai, but this is "faint praise" indeed.  Particularly, I should note, that
while many hostels/hotels are set up along the river (with names such as
"River-view") the river itself is little more than a modern (concrete-block)
storm-drain system.  It can hardly be called a river at all; and, as the
last few months have proven, it is not entirely capable of preventing
floods.

The hostel that I slept at was in the process of restoration after the
recent flood damage --as was most of the downtown area on both river-banks. 
Although there is more than the average residuum of traditional (wood)
housing mixed in with the usual cinderblock architecture, the city is quite
ugly (one may call Vientiane beautiful by comparison) --and the relentless
traffic, paucity of sidewalks, etc., makes any form of transit (including
pedestrian) reasonably nightmarish.

Oh yes --I would be remiss if I did not mention that the entire city has an
intense stench of rot and sewage constantly emerging from grates in the
concrete-covered earth.  This phenomenon is similar to some areas of
downtown Chiang Mai --although the particular smell is distinctive to each
city.

Lampang does not have museums or other cultural institutions (I did not
notice any libraries) as most of this "capital investment" has gone to
nearby Lumphun or Chiang Mai.  One of the few complements that I can give
the city is that there are more reminders of recent history left about the
place, precisely because there has been less economic development and
government institutional expansion there.  I saw, for instance, an
old-fashioned "typing shop", where you could pay a few Baht to sit at a
(Thai) typewriter for an hour; nothing had changed in there since the 1970s,
and one customer was typing up a formal letter, under the bored watch of the
proprietor.

In every way, Northern & Northwestern Thailand is "difficult to endorse" in
comparison to Lao.  Although there are many difficulties in living in the
Lao P.D.R., it seems to me incomparably more meaningful to grapple with
these difficulties than to live in one of the dystopian modern con-urbations
of Thailand.  I would sooner consider relocating to Pakse, Champasak, Luang
Pabang, or even the very tiny backwaters of the Lao North before moving to a
city such as Lampang or Chiang Mai.  Indeed, what is universally reported to
me is that the few inviting areas of far Northern Thailand are precisely the
remote (and empoverished) areas that more resemble Lao; but they are falling
(one by one) to the common cycle of deforestation and industrialization. 
Witness Chiang Rai, Nan, and now Pai; I am assured that Pai is being utterly
transformed by Sino-Thai investment, and will resemble a miniature Chiang
Mai in a matter of months.

Well, it all must seem fairly inviting to Burmese refugees.  Racist
oppression and extra-judicial killings by police are ... somewhat less
frequent than in Burma, I suppose.

E.M.

--
A saying of the Buddha from http://metta.lk/
View Streaming Dhamma Video http://dharmavahini.tv/
The streams (craving) flow everywhere. The creeper (craving) sprouts and
stands. Seeing the creeper that has sprung up, with wisdom cut off the
roots.
Random Dhammapada Verse 340