The primary content of this post is taken from a discussion board thread I started on eBid on 3 Jan 2005. I’ve condensed it here and moved all the linked articles and other sites’ forum threads to a table of links at the bottom of the post. I open this blog-post with my closing forum-post [...]
What’s Going Wrong at Wieng Kum Kam?
by David Hardcastle & Garry Harbottle-Johnson
WIENG KUM KAM, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 1 Jun 2003 – The Ministry of Culture has announced a budget of 40m baht for the “preservation and improvement” of Wieng Kum Kam, the city founded by King Mengrai (prior to Chiang Mai), the ruins of which lay hidden for years just off the Old Lamphun Road.
Since it was officially “found” in 1984 – and began to attract archaeological and visitor interest – it has also become a cause for concern. Unauthorised buildings have encroached on the site, vendors have commercialised many parts of it, and there are concerns that some valuable artefacts have been removed.
Published in Good Morning Chiangmai News, Thailand – May 2002
Hot Season
And Getting Hotter!
CHIANG MAI, Thailand – 11 Apr 2002 - At approximately 7:00pm on Thursday 11th April 2002, as Chiangmai was anticipating the annual Songkran water fights, a solitary spark rose into the air over a poor area of southern Chiangmai city. Within ten minutes, the wooden shanty home was a bed of cinders and the owners homeless.
During the hot season, everything in Thailand is tinder dry, yet still people play with fireworks and carelessly throw cigarette ends away. The spectacle of “flashing the oil” often seen in Thai cooking is a particular hazard in older wooden homes. Who knows why this fire started, but praise must be given to the Royal Thai Fire Brigade who were on the scene within minutes of that first spark being seen. Crowds hindered the progress of other emergency vehicles arriving in the second wave – one youth parking his motorcycle directly in the path of a fire truck.
