A small lake town between Chiang Rai and Lampang: sunsets over Kwan Phayao, Lanna temples and easy prices.
Phayao sits on the eastern shore of Kwan Phayao, the upper north’s largest freshwater fish habitat, in a valley ringed by mountains. It was a small kingdom more than 900 years ago and became a province of its own only in 1977. Today it is a calm university town: people walk the lakeside at sunset, boats cross to Wat Tilok Aram on its island, and Wat Si Khom Kham holds the largest Lanna Buddha image. Family houses often ask around ฿2M, and the new railway from Den Chai to Chiang Khong will stop here.
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