Mon Cham is a restaurant and “camping resort” situated in the Nong Hoi Royal Project in a remote corner of Chiang Mai’s Mae Rim district.  Numerous Royal Project agricultural sites are scattered across Northern Thailand, (such as Mae Fah Luang) and are generally devoted to  assisting villagers, in particular hill-tribe people, to diversify their farm … 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

Before starting our brief description of this little known ethnic group, a word on their name. Ethnologists usually refer to them as Mabri (or Mlabri), whilst to the Thais they are the Pee Tong Luang people – which roughly translates as ‘spirit of the yellow leaves’ tribe. The Mabri people themselves apparently prefer to drop … read the full post

I recently re-visited the Doi Pui Hmong Village with some trepidation; on my first visit nearly 10 years ago I’d found it tacky and touristy, and had turned my nose up at a hill-tribe village with Visa stickers and a coach park. As it turns out, I thoroughly enjoyed it this time around. No room to … read the full post