No trip south is complete without a visit to the weaving cooperative Ban Rai Pai Ngam. South of Chom Tong, near the 68km marker, it is also known as Pa Da Textile Museum. Located along the Ping River, it is a beautiful site, with the entrance via a lane canopied by bamboo. Your arrival is heralded by the vision of a handsome two story, generously-proportioned, dark-stained wooden house. I recently learned that this fine home was once the summer home of a Chiang Mai ruler, back in the early 20th century. This explains what I've always thought of as its 'refined' quality: large rooms, good layout, nice details, and even an indoor kitchen. I don't know when it became the home of Mrs. Bansiddhi, but she formed the weaving cooperative that works on the ground floor, under the main house, after WWII. Their weavings are famous for the use of innovative patterning, lovely textures, and use of natural dyes.
A previous blog post shows more of the house and textile-making process.
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| Cotton skeins showing colors from natural dyes |
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This lady is setting up the warp threads prior to putting them on the loom
(above and below) |
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| Weavers at work |
Hungry for lunch, we headed back to Chom Tong, but turned right on the south side of town, toward the river where we found the Rim Nam restaurant (053/826-154) at the end of the road. We'd eaten here in the past and been pleased with the fresh fish and well-prepared Thai food; their 'yam plaa duk fu'/fluffy catfish salad is stellar in our memories.
Our next stop was to satisfy the 'culture vultures' in the group: the Ganesha Museum. This was a first for me, but I'd heard of it several years ago from a Ganesha collector and had wanted to visit ever since. One of Thailand's wonderful, eccentric private museums, this should be in every guidebook. 'Mike', aka
Khun Pundhorn Teerakanon, opened the museum in 2009 to house his 2000+ figures. His interest in Ganesha has taken him all over the world and the collection includes items from his travels. Ganesha (or Kaness, as pronounced in Thailand) is the Hindu deity with the human body and head of an elephant. It comes in many forms: multi-armed, on horseback, even as a female, and he has them all.
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| In a buggy, with his loyal attendant 'Rat' |
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| A modern version |
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| On horseback, in stone |
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| As a female, in ceramic |
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| The pagoda was closed |
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| Pagoda entrance |
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| Ganesha can even be found in nature |
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| Shiva as hermit |
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| The sun was setting and the museum closing |
A rich day of culture and the marvels of northern Thailand left us all amazed and stimulated by the wondrous sights. This is why I've yet to get bored living here!
Labels: Ban Rai Pai Ngam, Chom Thong, Chom Tong, Ganesh, Ganesha Museum, natural dlyes, Pa Da Textile Museum, Rim Nam Restaurant, thailand, weaving
