Oub Kham is a private museum in the northern part of Chiang Rai dedicated to the art and material culture of the Lanna kingdom, which ruled northern Thailand from the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries. The collection includes royal regalia, ceremonial objects, lacquerware, textiles, weapons, and religious items gathered from across the former Lanna territory — which covered not only northern Thailand but parts of modern Myanmar, Laos, and Yunnan province in China.
Entry is by guided tour only, and the guides are knowledgeable about the individual pieces. It is a more intimate experience than a conventional museum, and the objects themselves are of real quality. Plan an hour and a half. It is a good counterpoint to the temples: where the temples show living religious practice, Oub Kham shows the courtly and domestic culture that surrounded it.