Charms of Phrao
This bunch of caches wants to show you some of the hidden attractions of Phrao. Its singular location, shielded from heavy trough-traffic by a semicircle of mountains, let this little district town preserve its compact cohesion of an ancient „vieng“ (square-shaped small settlement), and its social function as a market center for the needs of the local agriculture-based life. Phrao lies amidst a rice-planting plain, criss-crossed by countless quiet lanes which connect the surrounding villages – an ideal sample of traditional rural life, but also an ample paradise for bikers – should it once be discovered by them.
All the caches' locations are accessible by any vehicle, albeit to reach some of the appropriate sites an additional walk of a few minutes may be needed. The caches should not be too difficult to find, to leave you more time for enjoying the scenery and atmosphere. To make it even more relaxing, you might consider an overnight stay – there are plenty of decent guest rooms at very fair rates available. Also for food, just reckon with about 30% below Chiang Mai price level. And even more with very friendly people all over the service scene!
Phrao can also be reached by well-serviced public transport, leaving from Chang Phueak Station around hourly. But unfortunately, up to now there is no vehicle rental in Phrao, what hopefully might change in not too distant future.
The Market
As elsewhere in Thai minor cities, the market is the absolute centerspot of commercial life, holding not only a quasi-monopoly for fresh food, but supplying virtually everything for everydays life's demand. Daily shopping is nearly impossible without coming here, and therefore, if you wanted to see all the inhabitants of Phrao and around, you'd just have to spend a full day here. But you'd have to hold out a long time, as the market is on from very early morning until around 6 pm. The stallholders must do so, that's why they need to take a little nap from time to time, letting their colleagues stay aware of potential customers. Not only for this reason, the atmosphere is utterly relaxed not only towards customers, but also between the „market competitors“.
Because of this bustle all day round, the cache is placed a little offside, and the way to get there is designed as a very simple mini-multi that requires only two figures – and no calculator!
First enter the covered main hall of the market. It's ceiling is supported by how many concrete columns?
A = _ _ (checksum = 2)
Then to the butcher's hall next to it. Below the ceiling there are window fans inserted into the walls on every side. That makes how many window fans altogether?
B = _ _ (checksum = 3)
The final coordinates are:
N 19° 21.9 _ _ (=A+3)
E 099° 12.2 _ _ (=B+10)
You may guess that that's not far away, so you don't need to return to your vehicle first...