Thailand's northern border - Asia - Column

I recently had the pleasure of escorting a group of 20 travel agents on an extended familiarization tour of Thailand at the request of Korean Air. One of the most unusual and popular destinations was Chiang Rai, the northernmost city in Thailand.

Chiang Rai villages

Chiang Rai was built as a walled city in the year 1262 A.D. by King Mengrai.

Only a few remnants of this antiquity remain. Parts of the wall still can be seen, and the ancient temples of Wat Prasingh (built in 1345) and the restored temple of Wat Prakaew (where the famed Emerald Buddha was found in 1434) are of interest.

Today, this friendly, small city is primarily a commercial center and jumping-off point for many extremely interesting tours and treks.

Located in the area called the "Golden Triangle," it's here that the borders of Thailand, Myanmar (formerly called Burma) and Laos come together along the Mekong River.

The surrounding mountains are populated with various "hill tribes," most of which arrived from China and Tibet during the last 100 years.

Shy and clannish, each tribe has its own language, customs and culture. They live in their separate villages at varying elevations in the mountains. Their lifestyles have changed little over the years. They are animistic, and you'll see altars, fertility symbols and totems in their villages.

One of the best full-day tours goes first to visit an Akha tribal village, one of the least sophisticated of the hill tribes.

They don't believe in bathing, thinking that it will take away their strength or harm them in some way. Everyone seems to be coated with mud and dust and looks happy as a child in a mud puddle.

They do make some interesting handicrafts, and you're free to explore their village and homes.

The next stop is a Yao tribal village. Their embroidered costumes are wildly colorful. All of my group raved about the selection of exotic, inexpensive handicrafts.

Border-town shopping

Lunch on this tour is at Golden Triangle Resort on the Mekong River, right at the point where the three national borders come together.

From there, we traveled through the lush countryside to Mae Sai, the northernmost town in Thailand.

There, a bridge crosses into Myanmar. You'll be allowed as far as the barrier in the middle of the bridge for picture taking but not into Myanmar without a visa.

The town has a flourishing shopping district, selling Thai products to the Burmese plus, frequently, smuggled Burmese gems, antiques and artifacts. Some are real and some are not.

If you don't know your gems, don't pay any more than the stone is worth to you as costume jewelry and hope for a pleasant surprise.

One of my group was offered a "sapphire" by a shopkeeper. He suspected it wasn't a sapphire but liked the stone anyway and bought it at a modest price ($40-$50). A jeweler in Hong Kong later told him he actually had a beautiful aquamarine.

Others were not as lucky, so be a cautious shopper.

My warning also applies to the many "antiques" and "artifacts" on display; they may be hundreds of years old or only hundreds of hours old!

Buy what you like at a price you're comfortable with, but don't count on authenticity.

This tour returns to Chiang Rai in the late afternoon.

Hill-tribe visits

Those interested in adventure or soft-adventure tours will enjoy the hiking treks and elephant treks in this area. These often include overnight stays in remote hill-tribe villages.

There also is a one-day elephant trek, which I enjoyed. It started with a ride on the Mae Kok River in a "long-tail" boat. We visited an impressive temple in a limestone cave en route to a Karen hill-tribe village.

One of the most populous tribes, these Karen have settled by the river to raise elephants, breeding and training them as they have done for generations.

I boarded one of these gentle giants for a ride of about five miles, crossing rice paddies and then climbing a ridge where there was a spectacular view of the mountains around Chiang Rai.

We visited a Yao hill-tribe village and then stopped for lunch by a picturesque waterfall. Arrival back in town was in late afternoon.

Chiang Rai accommodations

The hotel situation in Chiang Rai is relatively easy to sort out.

The Dusit Island Resort is perhaps the finest hotel in northern Thailand. It occupies a small island in the middle of the Mae Kok River and is deluxe in every way -- fine rooms, strikingly decorated public areas, excellent food-and-beverage outlets and more.

The main dining room on the top floor had some of the finest and most beautifully presented food I've had in years -- absolutely splendid food, service and ambiance.

At the time this was written, rooms in this fine hotel were less than $100 double.

My second-highest recommendation is a family-run hotel in the budget category (less than $50): the Golden Triangle Inn in the downtown area is owned by the fine people who run Golden Triangle Tours, the very best locally based tour operator.

Jun (a former Thai Airways employee) and his American wife, Becky, have created a hotel with attractive rooms in several price ranges plus exotic grounds and a friendly, inexpensive restaurant with local entertainment.

If there's no space at either of the above, you might consider one of two first-class hotels downtown: the Wiang Inn or the Wangcome Hotel.

Both are pleasant and clean and have okay restaurants but are rather "Motel 6" (or perhaps "Motel 5") in atmosphere and amenities.

Two newer, higher-price hotels that pretend to compete with the Dusit are the Rimkok Resort and the Little Duck Hotel.

Both are certainly acceptable places to stay but are priced too high to be considered good value, comparatively.

Dining at places outside the hotels (particularly the Dusit) is not particularly rewarding, although I did enjoy the Italian food and pizza at Napoli Pizza.

The German restaurant Bierstube did not impress me.

Sister cities

Thailand surely is one of the most fascinating countries in the world, and you're sure to enjoy both Chiang Rai and its sister city, the shopper's paradise of Chiang Mai (described in this column, February '92, page 75).

When to go? October to March has the best weather, but any time is the right time for Thailand!

COPYRIGHT 1992 Martin Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group