The Ada House journal
Local culture
Local culture, hidden corners and practical tips — from the people who actually live here.
Spirit Mediums of Northern Thailand: The Living Tradition of the Ma Khi
Beneath the gilded calm of Lanna's temples runs an older current: a tradition in which ancestral spirits are said to 'ride' the living. Meet the ma khi.
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The legend behind Songkran: the riddle, the severed head and the Nang Songkran
Before the water fights, there was a riddle, a god who lost his head, and seven sisters who must never let it touch the earth. Here is the story we love to tell.
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Chiang Mai's old city walls, gates and moat: a history you can walk
Seven centuries on, the old city is still a square you can trace by its moat. Here's how we love to walk the walls — gate by gate, corner by quiet corner.
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The naga: the serpent that guards every temple
That scaly railing you grab on the way up to a temple? It is a divine serpent - and once you learn to spot it, you will see it absolutely everywhere.
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The best museums in Chiang Mai: a rainy-day, hot-afternoon guide
Whether it's pouring outside or the afternoon heat has flattened you, Chiang Mai's museums are a quietly brilliant plan. Here's how we'd string them together.
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Lanna textiles: a weaver's guide to Northern Thai cloth
Run your fingers down a length of indigo cotton and you touch centuries. Up here the loom has never really left the village — and the cloth tells you who made it.
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The lost alphabet of the North: Chiang Mai's curly Lanna script
Look closely at an old temple sign in Chiang Mai. Those rounded, looping letters are not Thai at all — they are a script most Northerners can no longer read.
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The monk who built the road up Doi Suthep
Tens of thousands of strangers, no machines, a mountain road carved by hand in five months. The monk behind it is still garlanded daily at the foot of the climb.
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Kathoey: understanding Thailand's third gender, with respect
Beyond the cabaret cliché: who Thailand's kathoey really are, the culture and history behind the 'third gender', and how to be a good guest in Chiang Mai.
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The Inthakhin: Chiang Mai's sacred city pillar and the spirits who guard it
Somewhere beneath modern Chiang Mai runs an older operating system, and at its centre stands a pillar said to be a gift from a god.
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Chiang Mai Flower Festival: the city in full bloom
On the first weekend of February, Chiang Mai dresses its streets in chrysanthemums and roses and throws a parade. It's one of our favourite mornings of the year.
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The white elephant that chose the mountain
Long before there was a road or a staircase, the story goes, a sacred white elephant climbed the mountain to choose the holiest ground in Chiang Mai. This is where it knelt.
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