The Intrigue: Chiang Rai, where I will be living for the next year, is located at the very northern part of Thailand, and is approximately 120 miles north of Chiang Mai. The village is the jumping off place for the infamous Golden Triangle, สามเหลี่ยมทองคำ, one of Asia's two main illicit opium-producing areas, covering an area of about 367,000 sq miles that overlaps the mountains of four countries of Southeast Asia: Burma, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.
A Little history: Chiang Rai was established as a capital city in the reign of King Mangrai, in the year 1262 CE, and became the capital of the Mengrai dynasty. The full name means: "Mangrai's City." Subsequently, Chiang Rai was conquered by Burma and remained under Burmese rule for several hundred years. It was not until 1786 that Chiang Rai became Chiang Mai vassal. After Siam, or Thailand as it is now known, annexed Chiang Mai in 1899, Chiang Rai was proclaimed a province of Thailand in 1933.
Here's another bit of history and more intrigue: In 1432 during the reign of King Sam Fang Kaen of Mangrai dynasty (1402–1441) the Phra Kaeo, or Emerald Buddha, the most revered Buddha statue, was discovered in Chiang Rai when an earthquake split the Chedi at Wat Phra Kaeo of Chiang Rai City. The beautiful jade figure had been concealed. Another version of the tale has it that the 'Emerald Buddha' was hastily covered in mud just before marauders entered to pillage. It wasn't until many years later that the clunky-looking mud Buddha was found to actually house the magnificent jade statue, perhaps by way of the earthquake mentioned above - which caused a piece of the clay to break off - revealing the jade beneath.
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