Notes on Chiang Rai

What a fabulous place Chiang Rai is! It’s located in the Golden Triangle area of Thailand, where three rivers come together creating boundaries for Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. 

It’s a great place for a cheap vacation. On our visit, April 11-May 5, 2017, my daughter, Stacy, and I found everything there low-cost. Lunch was 75 cents. Dinner at a place on the river, including beverages, cost $10. 

We stayed in town, even though “10-star” hotels at “10-star” US prices were available. 

We went to the White Temple, a popular destination. A devout Buddhist artist spent $4 million of his own money to build it. It’s very, very white and has an unusual stylish design.

We also visited the Hall of Opium museum, in Golden Triangle Park, opened in 2005 by Thailand’s Princess Mother. It showed how the drug is produced plus its uses, and it mentioned contemporary people (including Elvis and other rock stars) who used it and lost their lives. It was very interesting.

JIM DELMONTE
Honolulu, HI