Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle

Chiang Rai

Wat Phra Kaew

Founded in the year 1262 by King Mang Rai, the 1st Lanna king, Chiang Rai is North of Chiang Mai. The bus took around 3 hours and I checked in to the Moon and Sun Hotel in a quiet street to the North of the city. Further North flows the Kok river where there are some beautiful resorts and restaurants. In the evening, I took a stroll around the city and the clock tower which is quite unique and a symbol of the city. 

The next day I started early and hired a bike as along with the city I planned to visit the countryside over the next 2 days. Chiang Rai is a small town and can be finished in a day. I started by first visiting the temples in the city. The notable Wats are Wat Phra Kaew Chiang Rai which had hosted the Emerald Buddha and Wat Phra Sing Chiang Rai which at one time housed the Phra Singh, the second most revered Buddha image which is now in Bangkok. In the outskirts of the city at the top of a hill is the Wat Phra That Doi Chom Thong which has the city pillar and some good views from the top.

White Temple

However the crown jewels of Chiang Rai are the new contemporary temples. The most famous one is the Wat Rong Khun or the White Temple in the south outside the city. Then there are the Blue temple and Black house towards the North on the other side of the river. 

Blue Temple

The white temple is south of Chiang Rai and a spectacular smorgasbord of twisting figures and spires put together using cement, plaster and mirrored chips. It is built by the Thai visual artist Chalermchai Kositpipat and is still work in progress. The overall effect is impressive and its worth spending half a day there. Attached to the complex is a golden building dedicated to Ganesha and a gallery displaying the works of the artist. The road to the White temple from Wat Phra Kaew is a pleasant drive through fields taking a side road and I went back through the main road back to town.

Garden of Reeds

In the evening, after completing the Blue temple spent some time at Chivit Thamma Da Coffee House, Bistro & Bar on the river bank and later visited the Garden of Reeds where they have the annual flower festival.

Mae Salong Highlands 

Early next day, I took the bike out to drive to the border town of Mae Sai (near Myanmar border) and take a loop through the Golden triangle back to Chiang Rai. The Golden Triangle is the point where 3 countries meet - Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. I didn't know at that time, but later found out that this is an area with legendary tales of Opium smuggling, human trafficking and Casino Mafias. 

With Owner of Ming Yong Coffee and Tea

Enroute, I took a detour to the mountains to the west towards Mai Salong which turned out to be a pleasant ride through Coffee plantations. Off the main trail in the middle of the jungle with breathtaking views, I came across a well kept temple, Wat Phra That Santitham. On the return loop back, I stopped at Ming Yong Coffee & Tea, a cute tea shop with great views and run by a lovely couple. They were from the Akha tribe which is one of the hill tribe groups that initially resided in Yunnan and moved to Thailand. 

Mae Salong is known for its settlement of soldiers from the 93rd Division of the Chinese Nationalist Army that refused to surrender to Chinese communists after the Nationalist Kuomintang government was routed in 1949. They escaped from Yunnan to Burma and some left for Thailand in the 1960s. The soldiers that settled in Mae Salong kept it as a military base in preparation for an eventual counter-attack against communist China and funded their arms purchases with opium production. In the 1970s the Thai government struck a deal with the soldiers to cease opium production in favour of cultivating mushrooms and oolong tea, which is now Mae Salong's main product.

The Golden Triangle

After reaching Mai Salong, I took a side road and drove along the Ruak river which is the natural border between Thailand and Myanmar. The river then joins the Mekong river coming in from the North which is the natural border between Myanmar and Laos and the triangle where they meet is called the Golden Triangle. As I descended down a hill into the triangle point, I saw a massive set of buildings ahead of me and I was puzzled as all across there were open ground and fields and there was no big city that I was aware of. It was then I realized its actually a whole set of massive building across the river in Laos, the infamous Golden Triangle Special economic zone (GTSEZ)

Golden Triangle

Inside the SEZ's King Roman's casino which is conspicuously visible for miles around, millions of dollars are exchanged in cash for chips in what seems to be an open display of large money laundering activities. Zhao Wei, the Chinese crime boss responsible for developing the zone has been on the U.S. Treasury sanctions list for “drug trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, bribery and wildlife trafficking” since 2018. Recently they have moved to online fraud operations that rely on trafficked labor, putting India's phishing capital, Jamtara to shame.

On reaching the Golden Triangle, I spent a few hours and then took the highway back to Chiang Rai. Earlier, I visited the Golden Triangle Park Hall of Opium where Opium's history, cultivation & usage are explored at this museum. Even today this region especially Myanmar is one of the world's biggest drug trafficking corridor for Heroin, Opium and Meth.

After a full day's riding and a night's well deserved rest, I left the next day morning to Chiang Khong to take the land border crossing to Laos through the Thai-Laos Friendship bridge No 4.