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Chiang Rai’s Sob Ruak
First published: 20 Aug 2011
The Thai government and Tourism Authority of Thailand have very successfully converted their part of this once wild region into a highly profitable tourism hot spot. It’s now firmly up there with floating markets, historic cities and Krabi beaches on visitors’ must-sees and where once opium flowed out of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai to … read the full post
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The Golden Triangle
First published: 16 Aug 2011
The Golden Triangle is one of those regions that has captured popular imagination: think warlords, secret armies, opium mule trains chugging through the jungle, triads, the DEA and CIA, hill tribes, remote villages and above all the chest-high pink and white poppies that are the source of opium and its derivatives, morphine and heroin. Through … read the full post
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Chiang Rai’s House of Opium
First published: 13 Aug 2011
Or ‘welcome to the house of fin’, (fin being the Thai translation)! The House of Opium is the original of the two museums in tiny Sob Ruak (in Chiang Rai province) dedicated to the sticky resin of this one particular flower. There is also the new, flashy — and expensive — Hall of Opium, which … read the full post
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Mae Fah Luang Botanical Gardens
First published: 09 Aug 2011
Mae Fah Luang Botanical Gardens are located in Chiang Rai’s Doi Tung district, close to the Burmese border town of Mae Sai. Now some 20 years old, the superb gardens were created in the early 1990s when the particularly troublesome Akha village of Pa Kluay was relocated by the royal-backed Doi Tung Development Project. The … read the full post
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Chiang Rai’s Suan Charin
First published: 02 Aug 2011
Suan Chari, or as it is sometimes spelt, Jarin, is a resort and restaurant located in Mae Suai district of Chiang Rai province. It’s located at a highly scenic spot on the banks of the Mae Lao river, set in extensive and well-tended gardens — and it’s probably our favourite stop-off/lunch place on the road … read the full post
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Nakorn Ping Aviary, Chiang Mai
First published: 30 Jul 2011
Along with the excellent aquarium, the aviary is another of our favourite spots in the vast Chiang Mai zoo. It’s actually one of the older parts of the zoo but was completely renovated in 2004 and now incorporates 2.5 acres of a steep valley on the lower slopes of Doi Suthep. Indeed the entirety of … read the full post
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Lost chedis of Chiang Mai
First published: 26 Jul 2011
Pronounced jedee not jedi, so if you’re after a Star Wars-related post you’re going to be disappointed! Walking or riding around Chiang Mai you can’t help but notice these isolated, old brick stupas — or chedis as they call them in these parts — liberally scattered around town. They’re found in the old city, around … read the full post
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A great Chiang Mai market
First published: 22 Jul 2011
Don Phayam market is a bit out of the way but well worth the trip if you’d like to visit, what for us is, the quintessential Chiang Mai market. Take all the Thai market cliches beloved of guide books and tour programmes: bustling, colourful, lively, traditional, vibrant, and you’ve got Talaart Don, (sometimes written Ton), … read the full post
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Chiang Mai’s Old City and Cambodia’s Angkor Thom
First published: 19 Jul 2011
I had a mate from Siem Reap visit me in Chiang Mai recently. He’s a guide, so knows Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat, Ta Phrom and so on inside out . His first comment on arriving was, “Oh, it’s got a city wall… and a moat, and it’s square shaped is it?!” “Well, yes,” I said. … read the full post
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Lanna style in North Thailand
First published: 15 Jul 2011
Looking around Chiang Mai’s accommodation offerings it’s clear that for anywhere with pretensions above standard Thai hotel style or backpacker guesthouse chic then Lanna style is flavour of the month — or decade. But what is it? Good question. Historically and culturally Lanna refers to the northern Thai kingdom, founded in Chiang Saen but for … read the full post
