Wat Chedi Luang translates as ‘royal stupa temple’; there are quite a few similarly named temples around but we’re referring to the old Chiang Saen one, so named since it’s thought to have been the principal temple of King Mengrai’s former capital. Located in the northwest of Chiang Rai province on the banks of the … read the full post

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

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

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