Adrian Bridge takes a Mekong cruise through Laos, where, despite the encroachment of the modern world, the ‘Mother of Water’ remains the region’s spiritual lifeblood. My first impression of the Mekong was disappointing. Night had fallen and as we sped north from Chiang Rai to the evocatively named “Golden Triangle” (the meeting point of Thailand, Laos and Burma), I was full of eager anticipation at…
Muang Chiang Rai refers to the city and it is here where most tourists to the province will base themselves. Here you will find plenty of hotels, restaurants, bars, bookshops, and all the other things that tourists like. Most people who visit the city remark that it feels a lot more laid back than Chiang Mai; it has the perfect mix of tourist friendliness and…
Chiang Rai International Airport is located about ten kilometers outside the city. It is a small airport with just one terminal and very little in the way of entertainment as you wait for your flight. Train There is no train service directly to Chiang Rai. The furthest north the train runs is Chiang Mai and from there you can catch as bus to Chiang Rai.…
Chiang Rai is a land of outstanding natural beauty, where visitors looking to avoid the hordes can visit remote hill tribes, spot exotic wildlife, and check out the golden triangle, the former center of the world’s opium trade and still a major drug route. Chiang Rai has been inhabited since the 7th century, but it was not until 1262 that King Mengrai established it as…
Doi Tung is one of the most famous tourist destinations of Chiang Rai Province – A few years after returning to Thailand, the late Princess Mother Srinagarindra, the Mother of the previous Thai King Bumibol Adulyadej, launched a project which became her largest commitment in the last years of her life. Looking at providing economic independence to impoverished communities plagued by social problems such as…
Worshiped for the sense of euphoria it brings and loathed for the depression that follows as its effects wear off, opium is one of the most addictive drugs known to man. Visitors to the Hall of Opium in Chiang Rai will learn about the drug’s medicinal benefits, its social implications, the wars it has caused and much, much more, and leave this fascinating museum with…
Boon rawd Brewery and Singha Corporation own the Rai Boon rawd Farm, which has extensive plantations of barley and tea. Recently it started to promote the farm as a tourist attraction for study tours and mountain bike trips. Route R3A links Thailand with Laos and Xishuangbanna Prefecture in Yunnan province, southern China, from where major highways lead to Kunming. In Thailand, the route passes through…
Chiang Rai’s Oub Kham Museum exhibits thousands of rare Lanna items, as well as the artefacts of the Tai people from neighbouring countries Starting as a passionate collector of items of Lanna art and culture 20 years ago, a retired teacher Julasak Suriyachai opened his house as a private museum to exhibit thousands of rare and hard to find northern-style items, as well as the…
Our journey begins in Thailand, where we board a small long tail boat in Chiang Rai, Chiang Khong district, cross the Mekong River to Huay Xai on the side of the border of Laos. The weather gods are not on our side and the small craft is hit by rain, wind and current in the rough. The cry of the women passengers with fear as…