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Ringed by high mountains, the sleepy provincial capital of NAN , 225km east of Lampang, rests on the west bank of the Nan River and comprises a disorientating grid of crooked streets, around a small core of shops, where Mahawong and Anantaworarichides roads meet Thanon Sumondhevaraj. The best place to start an exploration is to the southwest at the National Museum (Wed-Sun 9am-noon & 1-4pm; B20) on Thanon Phawang, where informative displays introduce the history and peoples of Nan. Located 150m south along Thanon Phakwang, Wat Phumin will grab even the most over-templed traveller. Its 500-year-old centrepiece is an unusual cruciform building, combining both the bot and the viharn, and two giant nagas pass through its base, their tails along the balustrades at the south entrance and their heads at the north, representing the sacred oceans at the base of the central mountain of the universe. The doors have been beautifully carved with animals and flowers, and the restored 1857 murals take you on a whirlwind tour of heaven, hell, the Buddha's previous incarnations and incidents from Nan's history. Wat Phra That Chae Haeng , on the opposite side of the river 2km southeast of town, is another must, not least for its setting on a hill overlooking the Nan valley. The wide driveway is flanked by monumental serpents gliding down the slope, and inside the walls stands a slender, 55-metre-high golden chedi, surrounded by four smaller chedis and four carved and gilded umbrellas. The viharn roof has no less than fifteen Lao-style tiers, stacked up like a house of cards.
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