The Kavila Monument
Kavila, a son of the ruler of Lampang, joined with the King of Siam to fight against the Burmese and in 1775 drove them from the city of Chiang Mai and most of the other cities in the Kingdom of Lanna. It was, however twenty-nine years before the last of the Burmese were expelled from the country. Kavila ruled as King of Chiang Mai from 1781 – 1813. He was a vassal of the King of Siam which meant he had to go to Bangkok once every three years – no great hardship as he could do his shopping.
Several other rulers in the north were in turn Kavila’s vassals.
Chiang Mai, under-populated, largely destroyed and short of food was abandoned for twenty years until, in 1797, Kavila ceremoniously re-entered the city and the fortifications that can be seen today date from that period.
The Kavila Monument fittingly stands in front of the army barracks on the banks of the river Ping. There is, behind the statue, an elegant building that houses a small museum dedicated to this great Thai leader.
The Kavila dynasty ruled Chiang Mai as hereditary princes, although with much reduced authority, until 1939 and members of the family are still influential figures in the north of Thailand.
The Mengrai Memorial In the heart of the city of Chiang Mai stands this small memorial of King Mengrai the Great.
The original inhabitants of northern Thailand were the Lawa. There was also a sophisticated Buddhist kingdom of Mon people at Lamphun. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries Thai people began to move into the area from the north.
The first real historical character we know anything about was King Mengrai the Great. He came from a royal Tai family in Yunnan and set up an independent state at Chiang Rai in 1263. It was probably in 1292 that he defeated the old Mon City of Lamphun and four years later he founded his new capital at Chiang Mai. He did much to bring all the different Tai tribes of the north together in a united kingdom called Lanna. At the time of his death, according to the Chronicle of Chiang Mai he was struck by lightening in 1317, a powerful Thai kingdom had been created that was to last for 250 years.
The small memorial situated at a crossroads in the heart of the city is in memory of this great ruler and is close to the spot where he is thought to have died.
The Naresuan Memorial 
King Naresuan the Great of Siam died in Chiang Mai and this small, often ignored memorial is in honour of him.
King Naresuan the Great had virtually nothing to do with Chiang Mai or the Kingdom of Lanna except for the fact that he died near Chiang Dao whilst on an expedition to attack the King of Ava.
Naresuan was born in1555. At the age of nine he was taken as a hostage to Burma to ensure the loyalty of his father, King Maha Tammaraja of Siam, whose country had recently been conquered by Burma.
In 1581 King Burang Noung of Burma, who had destroyed Ayutthaya, the capital of Siam, as well as defeating Chiang Mai, died and in the following year Naresuan, on behalf of his father, renounced allegiance to Burma. War began and continued until 1592 when Naresuan won a decisive victory in which he slew the Crown Prince of Burma in single combat on elephant back.
Naresuan established control over large parts of Burma and Cambodia and he was extending his influence into the Shan States when he died of natural causes on May 16th, 1605.
A monument has been erected in memory of the greatest warrior king ever to sit on the throne of Siam. The memorial, a small museum and a reconstruction of an old fort are set against the dramatic backdrop of the Chiang Dao Mountains just off the Chiang Dao – Vieng Haeng road.
Not worth the journey for its own merits alone, a trip to Chiang Dao, for many Thais, should encompass a visit to show respect to the shrine. Because tours ignore the monument, hiring a car and doing it on your own may even be a better option.
The Three Kings Monument 
Three great kings of Thailand are imortalised in this monument in the heart of Chiang Mai. Although there was certainly previous habitation in the area, King Mengrai founded a New City at Chiang Mai in 1296 and it became the capital of his kingdom of Lanna, as the grouping of Tai states in what is now the north of Thailand was called. For two centuries Lanna was a powerful and prosperous Tai kingdom until it succumbed to the overweening might of Burma in 1558.
Old chronicles record that King Mengrai invited his probably less powerful friends, King Ramkanghaeng of Sukothai and Prince Ngam Muang of Phayao, to assist in the planning and auspicious founding of the city.
It is their recently erected statues that stand in a pleasant square at the very heart of the city, in-front of what used to be the Provincial Hall, but which it is now the Chiang Mai City Arts and Culture Centre.
Phra Kru Ba Sriwichai Monument This monument is a memorial to a devout Buddhist monk who built the road up to Doi Suthep Temple. Residents of Chiang Mai pay respect to him at the monument located at the end of Huay Kaew Road before they continue their drive to the hilltop Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep.
This place is located in an old building of elegant architectural design built in 1924. Standing on the location of a former royal hall, the building was used as the central administrative unit of Siam, and later as the Provincial Hall of Chiang Mai. This place was received an award in 1999 for preservation of a public building from the Royal Society of Siamese Architects (Society of Siamese Architects under Royal Parsonage).
A fun little place to visit run by an eccentric couple showcasing an eclectic collection of insets, meteorites, fossil and other items of interest to the owners. On Sirimankalajarn road the museum is open daily from 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. (100 baht adults, 50 baht children)
This textile museum is at Old Chiang Mai Cultural Centre (near the airport). There are some 6,000 pieces on display. Quality textiles like these cannot be found anywhere else. Daily except Wednesdays. Starting from 10-12 a.m. and 1-9 p.m. Admission fee is 100 baht for adults, 50 baht for children, students and handicapped people.
This temple features an eclectic collection of artifacts. One of the most interesting art objects is an old Siamese ‘White Elephant’ flag. There is also a collection of old phonographs going back more than 100 years to the era of teak wallahs in Chiang Mai. The museum opens daily from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
About 16 kilometres from Mae Chaem town, on the road leading to Doi Inthanon, the awesome Mae Pan Waterfall can be found. There is a sign at the roadside directing travellers to these falls, the highest in Chiang Mai. Take the sign-posted road and follow it for 9 kilometres, then a 10 minute walk will bring you to the falls. Surging over a 100 metre high cliff, the white of the racing water stands out dramatically against the deep green of the surrounding forest. As the water hits the rocks below, a million tiny drops split the sunlight into rainbow colours and soak the vegetation nearby. Downstream from the falls are a series of pools where the traveller can swim in the chilly mountain waters. The sala on a mound close by the falls, affords a shady place to sit and enjoy a panoramic view of the waterfall.
Huay Kaew waterfall has 2 separate waterfalls, Pha Ngerb and Wang Bua Baan. To have a good view of the falls and enjoy the refreshing and cool shade of the many trees you will have to stray a distance of about 100 metres from the main road.
