Chiang Rai

Chiang Rai, Thailand’s northernmost province, is part of the Golden Triangle region bordering Laos and Myanmar (Burma). It’s distinguished by its remote hill tribes who live in mountainous terrain accessible by trekking. Chiang Rai City, on the Mae Kok Rive, has a well known night market and the White Temple (Wat Rong Khun), a modern Buddhist shrine with quirky modern sculptures and murals.Chiang Rai lies on the flat alluvial plain of the Kok River, a tributary of the Mekong, between the Daen Lao Range in the north and the Phi Pan Nam Range in the south. The Kok River runs along Chiang Rai’s north side, flowing eastwards out of Burma at Tha Ton town, bending north-eastwards and joining the Mekong River about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north-east of the city. The Lao River, a tributary of the Kok, flows south of Chiang Rai.

There are four bridges spanning the Kok River within the town’s boundaries, each running south–north. Most of the terrain surrounding Chiang Rai town is either flat or has moderate hills. The exception is outward in the west and north-west directions, where limestone hills are evident, some of which have vertical exposed cliffs. That is also the direction where most of the region’s hill tribe people have their villages, further afield.