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The 23rd Bo Sang Umbrella and San Kamphaeng Handicraft Festival 2006

Chiang Mai Postal Museum

The 23rd Bo Sang Umbrella and San Kamphaeng Handicraft Festival 2006

Kittiyaporn Kanjam and Pinutda Suwanchaisri (Student trainees MFLU)

Candidates in the Miss Bo Sang Beauty pageant 2006.

As the capital of Lanna kingdom, Chiang Mai is nowadays famed for its ancient temples, distinctive arts and crafts, scenery and unique Northern cuisine. Known as the main crafts center of Thailand, local artisans produce a wide variety of handicrafts such as wooden carving, silverware, lacquer ware, fabrics, ceramics and silk; reflecting centuries of Lanna expertise.

One of the most famous of these skills is the art of umbrella making and this craft is practiced principally in Bo Sang. Bo Sang is a village a few kilometers out side of Chiang Mai in San Kamphaeng district, in which almost all of population make umbrellas as their principal means of earning money. Bo Sang craftsmen and women are famed for their artistic skill in creating these beautiful and unique works of art.

Two participants dressed in Thai Lanna costumes.

How and when did this come about and who introduced this art form to Bo Sang? The precise history of Bo Sang is still unclear, but almost older villagers tell the story, that about one hundred years ago there was a monk named Pra Inthaa, who enjoyed traveling and on one occasion he went north, close to Burma, staying there for many years. One day, while the monk was receiving his morning offering, a Burmese man gave him an umbrella as a means of making merit, because he could see that the monk did not have one and was getting wet. The monk took great interest in the umbrella, wondering how it was made and asked the Burmese man to show him. He stayed in the area long enough to learn the process from beginning to end, then returned to Bo Sang and taught the methods to the villagers there.

A beautiful woman in a dazzling dress sitting on the litter to present Bo Sang umbrellas.

Of the many annual festivals held around Chiang Mai at this time of the year, one of the most beautiful and important examples is the “Bo Sang Umbrella and San Kamphaeng Handicraft Festival” which every year attracts thousands of tourists, both Thai and foreign. It is held annually at the beginning of each year in remembrance of Luang Pra Inthaa and to celebrate its traditional craft. This year was the 23rd successive celebration of the festival and it was organized during January 20-22, 2006. In the fair, besides showing the umbrellas and handicrafts of each shop, there were handicraft contests and exhibitions as well as cultural and musical performances, a traditional parade, sales of handicraft products, and a Miss Bo Sang beauty pageant.

Miss Bo Sang 2005.

A float decorated with fancy Bo Sang umbrellas participating in the traditional parade.

The traditional parade.

Candidates in Miss Bo Sang Beauty pageant 2006 waiting for the opening ceremony.

Suwat Tantipat, Chiang Mai Governor (center) presided over the opening ceremony.

The traditional Klong Luang drum followed the parade.

Chiang Mai Postal Museum

Pinutda Suwanchaisri-Kittiyaporn Kanjam (Student Trainee MFLU)

Thailand’s first postage stamp.

Until the end of the reign of King Rama IV in 1863, people in Thailand communicated by dispatch rider. Thailand, then known to the rest of the world as Siam, wished for more contact with foreign countries; so the British consulate was opened in Bangkok, receiving and sending mail, communicating with countries abroad by commercial ship. This international mailing service by the British consulate finished in 1882 but is regarded as being the birth of the postal service in Thailand.

The original post office seal.

The Mae Ping post office, is one of the first post and telegraph offices in Chiang Mai. The postal museum is on the 2nd floor, and contains a huge collection of postage stamps. The lobby walls are decorated with valuable postage stamps and enlarged reproductions of important stamps such as world’s first postage stamp from the United King-dom; and Thailand’s postage stamp, with a picture of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Her Majesty Queen Sirikit. There are postage stamps that depict the identity of the North, such as umbrella painting or Fon Leb dancing.

A modern day post box at the front of the museum.

At the right side of the building, is the library, containing a fine collection of books that tell the story of the Thai postage stamps, a history of Thai communication books, and philately magazines and news leaflets. There are postal and telecommunication machines displayed in the room at the opposite side of the building, with old weighing scales, old-fashioned telephones and telegraph sending and receiving machines; including original post and telegraph office seals and photographs of Mae Ping post office in the past.

As well as housing the museum, Mae Ping post office offers facilities for the serious stamp collector; and additionally, is a fully operational post office as well, open on Tuesday to Sunday at 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and even open on every public holiday

Vintage post box.

Ancient office equipment displayed at the left side of the building.

Models of early post boxes.

The old-fashioned postage machines.

The valuable stamps exhibited in the lobby.

Mae Ping post office and Chiang Mai Postal Museum.

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