Around Lan-Na

This book is a narrative and cultural guide describing an arc around Thailand’s north-western and north-eastern borders with Burma and Laos. It maps out an exciting frontier journey from Chiang Mai to Nan, taking in the KMT Chinese outposts of Nong Ook and Mae Salong, the recently vacated opium warlord territories of Hin Taek and Doi Larng, Mae Sai and the “Golden Triangle”, the ancient Mekong riverfront towns of Chiang Saen and Chiang Khong, the Tai Lue weaving village of Huai Khon, and a swathe of remote mountainous jungle extending down the Lao border as far as Bo Bia. On the way, the text features separate exemplary in-depth cultural-historical accounts of the KMT, the Communist insurgency, the demise of opium baron Khun Sa, the weaving of the Tai Lue people, Nan’s temple murals, salt extraction at Bo Glua, Thailand’s recent economic crash, and the history of Lan-Na, of Chiang Mai, and Chiang Saen, as well as accounts of several minority peoples, including the Wa, Akha, Hmong, Yao, Tai Lue, Palaung, Lua (Htin), and the “Stone Age” Mrabri or “Spirits of the Yellow Leaves”. The book is the most comprehensive and authoritative overview of this whole fascinating region available.