Sep 30 2012
Thailand’s Isaan region has been occupied since at least 6,000 years ago, when hunter gatherer tribes first migrated over the Phetchabun ranges from central Thailand, archeological work at such sites as Ban Non Wat in the Mun Valley in Khorat, Nok Nok Tha in Khon Kaen and Udon’s Ban Chiang has shown. Fertile valleys such … read the full post
Oct 21 2011
Chiang Khong … don’t think we’ve written about this charming little Mekong riverside town yet so to make up for our glaring omission here’s a series of colourful sunrise photos of this remote yet scenic border settlement. Actually first up are a couple of sunset pics taken from a vantage point above Chiang Khong town … read the full post
Aug 31 2011
Due to Chiang Mai’s location and its role as the kingdom’s second city visitors often expect more substantial consular presences in Chiang Mai than there actually are. Yes, it’s close to Burma and Laos, for example, but neither have consulates here. And while it’s nowhere near it, Austria has a consulate — but, say, Switzerland … read the full post
Aug 20 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
Aug 16 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
Aug 13 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
