CHIANG RAI

Immerse yourself at the riveting Hall of Opium, which calculatingly chronicles the area’s history in the drug’s production and trade.


Train as an elephant mahout (a handler and caretaker) and go elephant trekking through the surrounding jungle.


With your expert guide, explore the fascinating architectural history and museum collections of Chiang Saen, the capital of Thailand’s 14th-century Lanna kingdom.


Journey up the “Burma Road,” a hair-raising route straddling the narrow and mountainous border between Thailand and Myanmar.


Visit the beautiful mountaintop village of Doi Mae Salong, home to indigenous hill-tribe peoples and Chinese settlers. Once opium country, Doi Mae Salong is now home to Thailand’s premier oolong tea production. Go for a one-hour hike through the tea fields and hill-tribe villages. You’ll have a special opportunity to sip tea with the owner of one of the largest plantations in Thai¬land, followed by lunch and tea with a prominent member of the Doi Mae Salong community to discuss the life today in this rural part of the country.


Cruise approximately 30 minutes by boat up the Khong River and into Laos. Disembark and visit Ban Had Tai village, where your expert guide will introduce you toits residents for a better understanding of life in this remote region.

CHIANG RAI
CABBAGES AND CONDOMS

CABBAGES AND CONDOMS

This oddly named restaurant started out as a part of campaign to promote birth control in Thailand. A multitude of crepes and tasty fillings feature on the menu, best enjoyed on the cushioned porch. Alternatively the menu is laden with classic Mediterranean dishes including tsatsiki and numerous pasta dishes. Profits generate is to support family planning and anti-AIDS projects in Thailand.

DA VINCI

DA VINCI

Located right in the middle of the centre of Chiang Rai City, with 125 seats, Da Vinci is probably one of the most popular pizzerias in the city, but the menu offers a lot more than pizzas only. This open area casual fine-dining concept offers a blend of classic and contemporary Italian cuisine. Da Vinci offers Italian and Mediterranean specialties. The kitchen uses essential ingredients like olive oil, basil, oregano, olives, cheeses, tomatoes, herbs etc. to prepare fresh and delicious dishes. A restaurant considered by most of the locals in Chiang Rai to offer the best beef ravioli with shi-take and gorgonzola cheese sauce and Lasagne in town. The thin crusted delicious pizzas, baked in an authentic wood fired pizza oven, are topped with the best hams, olives, cheeses and anything of your choices. Da Vinci also has a large wine assortment to accompany with your chosen dish.

PHU LAE

PHU LAE

This air-conditioned restaurant is exceedingly popular among tourists for its yummy northern Thai dishes. Oddly, this is the only section of the extensive menu that hasn’t been translated into English, but you can still point-and-choose from the glass case out front. Recommended local dishes include the gaang hanglair, pork belly in a rich Burmese-style curry, here served with pickled garlic, and saiòoa, herb-packed sausages.