Wat Phra Kaeo Don Tao, Lampang

Wat Phra Kaeo Don Tao sits on the north bank of the Wang river in Lampang, and its claim on Thai history is that the Emerald Buddha was kept here for thirty-two years in the fifteenth century, before continuing the journey that ended in Bangkok.

Architecturally it is a mixture, which is the point: a tall Lanna chedi in gilded copper plate stands beside a mondop built in the Burmese style in the late nineteenth century, elaborately tiered and inlaid with coloured glass and mother-of-pearl by Burmese craftsmen. The combination is characteristic of Lampang, which had a large Burmese teak-trading community.

A museum in the compound holds Lanna woodcarving and lacquerware. The temple is a short walk from the river and from the old teak shophouses of Talat Kao.