Living Large in Lampang
1 Introduction
Lampang has a great balance of the new and old Thailand. With a population of approximately 800,000 (230,000 inside the city limits) Lampang is still small enough for one to be enthralled by the sights and sounds of traditional Siam, yet large enough for one to enjoy some of the conveniences of the new Thailand.
There are three seasons in northern Thailand. Rainy Season runs from June through October. It rains, often very hard, for at least five minutes most days and sometimes much longer (several hours). When it is not raining, temperatures hover around 35 degrees Celsius (85-90 degrees Fahrenheit) with very high humidity.
Cool Season begins in November and carries on through mid-February. It is cooler, 25 degrees Celsius (70-80 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day and 15 degrees Celsius (50-60 degrees Fahrenheit) at night. After a few months of living in Lampang, it will seem even colder! For most foreigners this is the most pleasant time to be in Thailand
Hot Season hits in mid-February and lasts until June. Temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius (95-100 degrees Fahrenheit) with high humidity are common. Welcome heat relief occurs in the form of “Songkran”--the weeklong water splashing festival celebrating the Thai New Year that come in Mid April. |
2 Transportation
Traveling to and from Lampang is quite easy by bus, train or airplane. Buses are cheapest, with significant price differences between the ho-frills government buses (48 baht to Chiang Mai, 380 baht to Bangkok) to the privately owned “VIP” coaches (90 baht to Chiang Mai, 600 baht to Bangkok). Trains cover a more limited area and run on less convenient schedules (2nd class sleeper berth to Bangkok 500-700 baht, depending on train – “Rapid,” “Express,” or “Sprinter”, and air conditioning). Reservations for planes, trains, and the “VIP” coaches should be made well in advance if traveling during holidays or peak seasons.
Within Lampang there are numerous “sii-loh” blue pick-up trucks with benches at the back. These trucks will transport you anywhere in the city. The fare can be determined by bargaining and when you are told 50 baht, rest assured that they saw you coming and will take you for more than just a literal ride. The usual fare is actually 15 baht within the city unless you ask. If they demand more, just laugh, hand them 15 baht and tell them you live here.
From about 7:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M., blue public mini-vans run from near the Bangkok Bank in downtown to the Mah Moh Electricity Plant, passing Yonok en route (15 baht per person--ask for the Cue rot Mah Moh when in Lampang). You can call a “sii-loh” for transportation to and from the campus any time of the day for a rate of 150 baht per trip, 250 baht for round trip, no matter how many friends go with you. A night trip typically costs more.
There are several more reliable “sii-loh” drivers. You can just simply give them a call to pick you up anywhere in town or at the campus
HELMETS MUST BE WORN WHILE OPERATING MOTORCYCLES. The local police take pleasure in enforcing the helmet law by ticketing the “helmet less”, so consider yourself as having been warned before you cough up that 200 baht cash fine. Remember that motorbikes can be dangerous and riding one in Lampang is an experience you want to be able to recall. Defensive driving skills are at a premium and common sense safety including wearing a helmet could save your memories and your life.
Driver’s licenses for motorcycles and cars alike can be obtained from the Lampang Transportation Office just up the road from Yonok. You are required to take a written test (Thai or English version) and a driving as well. Make sure you have the following materials with you before you go to apply for a driver’s license:
• Your passport
• Application form (you can get the form at the Transportation Office)
• Two (2) passport-size photographs (front view, color or black and white)
• Medical certificate (you can get this certificate at any clinic in town)
• Document as the evident of your residential address (you can apply for the residential address evident at Office of Immigration Bureau, Chiangmai)
Things are stricter for foreigners driving cars since such persons are assumed to be wealthy, especially around Chiang Mai (where the police can speak English). Thus, you should definitely get an international drivers license or a Thai driver’s license if you expect to ever drive a car belonging to a Thai friend.
Bicycles, including mountain bikes, are available in Lampang. The quality of such bikes is probably slightly lower than you might be used to although a couple of shops in Lampang are carrying quality bikes enough to make the aficionado drool. Bicycling would be a great way to see Thailand--provided that you stay far out of the way of the large trucks and speeding cars that rule the road.
Use extreme caution when driving in Thailand. The roads are in good condition, but have not been able to keep up with the nation’s recent economic expansion. Traffic can be very heavy in some areas--the road to Chiang Mai in particular. ASSUME NO OTHER DRIVERS ARE PAYING ANY ATTENTION TO YOU WHATSOEVER OR THAT THE RULES OF THE ROAD APPLY TO ANYONE BUT YOU! Buses and ten-wheeled trucks always have the right-of-way, and hit-and-run accidents are common. Other hazards include the occasional drunk speeding along on his motorcycle late at night with no headlights on and the older villagers peddling their bikes along oblivious to the rest of the world. Again, ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET WHEN ON A BICYCLE OR MOTORCYCLE. |
3 Eating
Many Thais and even more foreigners rarely cook in their homes--it is easier and almost cheaper to eat out. Several lifetimes would be required to sample all of Lampang’s restaurants; noodle huts, and roadside stands—virtually all of them safe to eat at. However, avoid fried foods that have been sitting out all day; if you want fried bananas or what not, get them fresh out of the wok and tell them “my pet” if you don’t want the normal dosage of hot chili peppers and flaming curries and “pet nit noy” if you want it a little spicy.
There are also a couple of restaurants that have good western as well as Thai food at reasonable prices. The Italian-owned Riverside Restaurant (Baan Rim Naam) serves great Thai and foreign cuisine in a pleasant setting along the Wang River. It has become even more popular since they added an Italian pizza oven. The Big C Super Center is a great place to entertain out of town guests and it has several attractive eating areas. Since the food service scene changes here much as it does elsewhere in the world it is best to just remember where you tasted something you really liked and then share that information with your friends and students.
The Yonok cafeteria and the food shops are always good for a quick lunch-20 baht will get you a plate of rice or noodles heaped with vegetables, curry, sweet and sour, etc. Coke, Sprite, Fanta, and Pepsi are 5 baht for a plastic glass and 13 baht for cans.
For the taste challenged or the terminally homesick, Lampang has Pizza Hut, KFC, and Swenson’s, and enough Seven-Eleven’s, including one near the campus to ensure the survival of even the most desperate fast food fanatic. |
4 Shopping
In Lampang there are several places that the foreigner will frequently visit as part of daily activities. Markets, department stores, super centers, restaurants, banks, post offices and transportation facilities are all part of the foreigners daily routine.
Lampang has two department stores as well as two western style super centers at which some kinds of western food and clothing can be found. Toiletries, shoes size eight and under for women, size ten and under for men and long pants under size thirty-two in length are readily available.
Clothing can be custom-made at reasonable prices. Electronic and computer goods while widely available are usually less expensive than they are in other countries.
There are numerous local markets and street stalls selling everything imaginable, and a few things unimaginable. The merchandise changes with the time of day as day sellers are replaced by the nighttime merchants. The Asuwin Night Market, located near the Tipchang Hotel in the center of town, comes alive at about 6:00 P.M. and has anything and everything anyone could want from fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats, to clothing, electronics, and jewelry.
Because Lampang is “real” Thailand the brand selection and sizes may not be everything the homesick faring might want, but with Chiangmai so close almost anything anyone might really miss can be found there including English language movie theatres.. |
5 Religion
In addition to 30 plus Buddhist temples, Lampang has one Islamic Mosque, two Sikh temples, one Catholic and several Protestant churches. All of these have regular worship services. While Yonok University has no religious affiliation, Southern Baptist missionaries have played a significant role in the institution’s development. The Yonok Christian Student Union has weekly Bible studies in the dorm and also plans student retreats, picnics, etc. Services at Lampang Baptist Church begin at 11:00 a.m. on every Sunday. |
|
|
