Chiang Rai ? a Great Retreat

Chiang Rai is laid-back city with a rich cultural diversity that strikes an instant chord with the wanderlust traveler. The picturesque city is surrounded by mystic hills and valleys, and allures travelers to explore the terrains. Chiang Rai is Thailand's northern-most province and shares its border with Myanmar and Laos. Chiang Rai has colorful customs and an unchanged way of life which gives a generous glimpse of its traditional lifestyle. There's a large highland population of hill-tribes, with each tribe speaking a different language. There are a numerous tourist attractions featuring Buddhist temples, shrines, and a lot of Lanna-style architectures which speaks volumes of history of Chiang Rai.

The most famous tourist attraction in Chiang Rai is the Wat Phra Kaeo, which is famous for its Emerald Buddha, which was later shifted to Bangkok. The Gate of Siam is also a much frequented place and its one of those few places from where you can witness a panoramic view of the mighty Mekong River. Wat Doi Se Tung is another very important temple in Thailand, and it is believed to have the left collar bones of Lord Buddha enshrined in the twin pagodas. The way up to this mountain shrine offers fantastic views; a shutterbug's true delight. Apart from the historical attractions, Chiang Rai has a lot on its platter to offer to travelers. It's also a place where you can get fantastic souvenirs and a splendid cuisine for the culinary traveler.

Chiang Rai being a picturesque city, offers many sightseeing opportunities, and the best way to get around is bikes. They are readily available too, and you can set out at your own convenience in a relaxed mood. Car rentals are also easily available and it would be worth while to explore the surrounding areas, for which Chiang Rai serves as a good base to explore. Apart from a number of tourist attractions in the city, visitors can also enjoy a scenic drive to the city of Chiang Mai, which takes around 3 hours by car. For a more relaxed vacation, you can also try out the two international golf courses, Santiburi and The Old Airport, located outside the city. Chiang Rai is served by an international airport, and travelers can also arrive in the city by road directly from Bangkok.

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Source: Chiang Rai : Culture Ministry to launch the Mekong River blessing ...

, That I’ve met loves this city and cannot believe how much I disliked it. To be fair, I think I was re-adjusting to life in Thailand and being so far away from my family again. I guess if I was given the chance, I’d give it another try… but there are waaay too many other places that I want to visit so I don’t see it happening any time soon! I did realize that my picture with Sticky Rice, the tiger, isn’t showing up…. So here’s me and my new tiger friend! After too many days in Chiang Mai, I took a bus to Chiang Rai to meet up with three other volunteers from Nakhon Phanom. Chiang Rai is a small town about three hours from Chiang Mai, and there isn’t too much to do there… but we had a great time! We stayed in the most charming guesthouse, Baan Rub Aroon Guesthouse, and it seriously made our stay there SO great! It’s run by the sweetest retired Thai lady, and she even cooked breakfast for us each morning! When most guesthouses say they include breakfast, what they really mean is that someone puts a box of corn flakes on the table each morning next to a loaf of white bread, so your options include yummy cornflakes or white toast with some jam. I’m not complaining… free is free. But at Baan Rub Aroon, we woke up each morning to banana pancakes, fried eggs, fresh fruit… all served on the most adorable little patio. Can you tell I loved this place? We spent most of our three days there just wandering around the city… they had a great night market, a clock that lit up in some crazy colors at 7, 8, and 9 pm, and I was also able to go to a local church for Easter Sunday! We decided we wanted to be a little active during one of our days, so we signed up for a 53 kilometer bike ride the next day in and around Chiang Rai. I know what you’re thinking… “Wait, 53 kilometers? Isn’t that like 33 miles?” Yes… you are right. It is. We even did the conversion in the tourist...

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The Ministry of Culture is preparing to host a blessing ritual to prolong the life of the Mekong River in the northernmost Chiang Rai province, according to the Minister of Culture Theera Salukpetch.

The Cabinet in 2009 has adopted the Mekong River blessing ceremony as the national agenda in a bid to strengthen cultural cooperation between the governments of Thailand and Lao PDR, where residents in the Mekong Basin can jointly preserve and revitalize their co-mainstream.

The ceremony is scheduled to be held during 8-9 May 2010 at Tambon Wiang, Chiang Khong District of Chiang Rai province, with featured activities including the exhibition on mainstream development and spritual performances.

The ceremony will be held in the traditional Lanna style, with various species of fish to be given out to participants, residents of Chiang Khong district and representatives from Lao PDR.

The blessing ceremony has been continuously held at seven provinces along the Mekong Basin including Chiang Rai, Nong Khai, Loei, Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan, Amnat Charoen and Ubon Ratchathani. The ministry urges residents of the mentioned regions to fully participate in the ritual to be blessed with the inheritance of local way of life and culture. (NNT)

Photo: Mat Honan

Source: Mekong River blessing in Chiang Rai | Thailand News

Before we ever came to Thailand Cale knew that he wanted to learn to cook Thai food while we were here. He also knew he didn't want to go to one of those commercial cooking schools that cater to tourists. From the looks of those on the internets and in the travel videos we watched, you and your closest 30 strangers gathered in a big room and watched someone cook on commercial grade equipment. Not what Cale had in mind. So he started searching on the internet for some way to have a small, intimate experience. The ideal situation would being able to homestay with a Thai family and just learn to cook from them as part of daily life. However, any homestay information to be found on the internet as part of some sort of tour package that was expensive and cheesy. I guess this is what you get when you are going to a country with a huge tourism industry. However, Cale did find mention on a message board of a cooking class in Chiang Rai. The message board indicated that there was a woman there who taught cooking and that the only way to find her was to look for her flyer which was found hanging up in the back of some bar. This was enough of a mystery and a mission to intrigue Cale. We knew we were going to Chiang Rai just so Cale could track this lady down and get her to teach him to cook. Cale's mission immediately became less adventurous when we started talking to Jake the linguistics PhD student we met up with in Chiang Rai. He is working with the Ahka to record, transcribe and translate the oral traditions of the shaman. He also knew the lady Cale was talking about and had her number in his phone. Cale refused to take the number because he still wanted to track her down. The mission became even less adventurous when we passed a large, display sign on the main tourist road advertising her cooking class. It appeared that this hard to find, little-known lady who taught a cooking class was in fact pretty famous in Chiang Rai. Later we would discover she has a web site, is on...

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