F
or the current owners of 137 Pillars House, the story
began when they sought a brief but peaceful respite from the
frenetic Thai Capital. The Northern town of Chiang Mai came
to mind for its laid back pace. “We have always been attracted
to its culture and history but it had been such a long time since
we had visited Chiang Mai,” noted a family member during a
recent interview about the historic building’s elegant transfor-
mation. “So we decided to just pack a couple of bags and buy
a plane ticket. First we thought we were going to escape from
Bangkok for couple of days, but we stayed more than a week,
visiting Buddhist temples and admiring Chiang Mai’s amazing
buildings”.