What comes to mind when I think about Northern Thailand?
The mountains, cool weather, slow speech, slow life, and delicious food.
800 year-old temples entrapped in the middle of cities.
A miraculous cave rescue of a young soccer team.
The legend of the Golden Triangle.
The endless struggle to preserve the lifestyles of local hill tribes.
Northern Thailand is full of charm and mystique.
The first place I visited in Thailand was Chiang Mai as a very very very short-term exchange student. As that initial experience had a strong and positive impact on my time in Thailand, I have an underlying preference towards Chiang Mai. It continues to be one of my favorite in-country escapes from Bangkok.
I also spent several months living in Tak province, a place that doesn’t receive too many western tourists but which is an area of significant economic and political importance.
All of the other places in Northern Thailand that I write about in my blog are based on my experiences purely as a lost tourist.
