Highlands

While the Thai lowlands swelter in stifling heat, cool winds carry mist across alpine meadows studded with wildflowers and long-trunked pines. Phu Soi Dao is not at all the kind of destination most people associate with Thailand, but ever since I’d read a feature about it in a local newspaper, we’d been planning a trip […]

Travel writers in Thailand throw the term “gem” around liberally.  This is entirely excusable in a country that is indeed studded with jewels, but knowing when something is genuinely special and worth a detour can be harder. Thansawan Waterfall in Doi Phu Nang National Park is one of these rare finds. An arc of wild cascades

Tucked into the far northeastern corner of Thailand, Nan Province lies well beyond the usual travel circuits.  It is a long, green valley hemmed in by high mountain ranges on either side, with the Nan River meandering gently through the lowlands between them. At the center of it all sits the ancient city of Nan,

The iconic image of a limestone block floating above a sea of mist in a mountain valley appears again and again in Thailand travel literature.  And for good reason: it’s an incredibly evocative scene, one that perfectly captures the atmosphere of Thailand’s northern highlands. The trouble is, almost nobody knows what it’s called or where

As we ate lunch in the Palong village of Pang Daeng Nai, just before beginning our walk through the Chiang Dao foothills, I ran through the cast of characters again.  There were two adults in reasonably good shape, one of whom—let’s be honest, it was Kat—would carry infant Charlie.  Isobel, aged five, already a reliable

Travel writers often describe a location as “remote,” as if the benefits of that description were self-evident.  At Doi Luang National Park, seclusion is not some vague selling point, but the heart of the experience. Most days, you’ll arrive at an empty trailhead, a simple parking lot with no stalls, stands, or services.  You’ll enter truly wild

Staying even a single night in Chiang Rai is the only sure strategy for enjoying this cultural capital properly. Visiting the temples early in the morning (before the first bus from Chiang Mai has arrived) and late in the afternoon (after the last one has left) allows a far more intimate experience than non-residents could

Phu Sang and Phu Chi Fa were only the first stops of our 10-Day Journey across Northern Thailand from Laos to Myanmar. Click the link to start planning your own Northern Thailand adventure.. To treat Chiang Rai as a mere day trip from Chiang Mai is a mistake and a missed opportunity.  Venture beyond the