(Above) Wat Rong Khun, a monastery complex nicknamed “the White Temple.” Photo provided by Tourism Authority of Thailand. (Click on images to view larger versions.)

By Pamela Dittmer McKuen

Sep. 8, 2025 – One more glance from the balcony of my hotel room before breakfast, and there she was: A noble mama elephant, lumbering along in a jungle clearing, with her calf in tow. Enthralled, I stood motionless and watched until the duo wandered deeper into the foliage and disappeared. Breakfast would wait.

Elephant sightings are a daily occurrence at Anantara Golden Triangle, an ultra-luxe resort along the northern border of Thailand in Chiang Rai province.

The resort shares a 160-acre bamboo forest (left) with an elephant welfare camp run by the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation.

The organization rescues captive elephants and their dedicated lifetime caretakers, called mahouts, and their families from the plights of illegal logging, street performing, or begging, and provides them with new livelihoods in a natural forested environment. About 20 elephants make their home at the Anantara camp.

The Golden Triangle is one of Thailand’s most fascinating destinations. It’s where three South Asian countries – Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar – meet at the Mekong River (right).

The remote countryside undulates, ethnic cultures merge, and luxury pops up at some of the most unexpected places. Like at an elephant camp.

Anantara Golden Triangle is a 63-room resort with spectacular river and jungle views, memorable dining and imbibing options, nourishing spa treatments, outdoor infinity swimming pool and sundeck, and genteel hospitality.

The resort and elephant camp are deeply entwined. Besides the spontaneous viewing, guests may partake in activities such as picnicking in the company of pachyderms and creating herbal remedies for their ills. Only the mahouts are permitted to ride them.

We booked a session called Walking With Giants, a leisurely mile-long stroll alongside two amiable female creatures. Their mahouts talked about the elephants’ lives and habits, encouraged our interactions of stroking and sweet-talking, and made sure we got lots of photos. At one point, we were given a handful of limes and told how to feed the tasty treats: Hold the lime in the palm of your hand, and the elephant lifts her trunk. Place the lime just inside the nostrils, and she deftly grasps the fruit and curls her trunk to her mouth. Yum.

As we walked the dirt road, we had to wait as the elephants occasionally stopped for bites of the wild foliage. The closer we got to the main lodge; the mahouts had to dissuade them from eating the formal landscaping.

Guests who overnight in the Jungle Bubbles are in for another kind of elephant encounter.

The bubbles (left) are transparent room-size, air-conditioned spheres on elevated decks in a natural area where the elephants are free to roam and munch.

One- and two-bedroom bubbles are furnished with private en suite baths, king-size beds, and indoor and outdoor living areas. It’s a unique immersive experience with a chef and butler at your service.

I could have stayed longer, but there was more to see and do in Chiang Rai. Each new experience was more extraordinary than the last. Whether we drove through the undulating tropical countryside or into urban streetscapes, out of nowhere popped an elaborately gilded temple or a ginormous tribute to a deity, usually Buddha. Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country.

One notable landmark is Wat Huay Pla Kang (right), often called the Big White Buddha but actually a representation of Guan Yin, Goddess of Mercy.

Serenely poised on a bed of lotus blossoms, she towers 260 feet high above a hilltop, assuring her blessing for miles around. You can ride an elevator up to the 25th floor to catch a view, then walk up to the 26th, but first you must climb a gazillion stairs to get to the lifts.

The most exquisite of temples we toured was Wat Rong Khun, a monastery complex nicknamed “the White Temple.” Buildings, gateways, arbors, statuary, and other structures are lavished with pristine white plaster ornamentation inset with mirrored mosaics that gleam in the sunlight. Symbolism is rampant, starting with serpents and dragons warding off the most evil of spirits. The inclined bridge leading to the main hall crosses a pond filled with sculptures of grasping hands and anguished faces to symbolize transcendence from hell into heaven. Beyond the exit, the water feature is a peaceful koi pond.

Another artform, textile weaving, is vital to the cultural heritage of the Thai Lue people of Chiang Rai and various parts of Southeast Asia. Although different communities have their own traditions and styles, the work is still performed by hand, just as it has been for generations. To learn more, we visited the Leulaikham Museum, which showcases weavings – some quite historic – by Thai Lue artisans. (Left) A Thai Lue artisan with a hand-woven rug.

Often, the designs and patterns woven into a textile reflect current events or commemorations of the time. Weavings from Vietnam during the 1960s portray airplanes and helicopters, a reference to the American war. Others depict weddings, elephants, or temples. (Right) Wedding attire crafted from textiles.

Just down the street from the museum is a factory, Baan Thai Lue, and showroom where you can buy contemporary woven textiles in an array of colors and patterns.

The Mae Fah Luang Art and Cultural Park features two main attractions within a sylvan setting on Doi Tung Mountain: The Royal Villa and the Garden.

Formerly a strategic location for drug and gun trafficking, the park (left) is a Royal redevelopment project to improve the quality of life for rural Thais and dissuade poppy cultivation.

The Royal Villa is the former summer residence of the beloved late Princess Mother Srinagarindra, a humanitarian, environmentalist, and mother of two Thailand kings: Rama VIII and Rama IX. Her grandson is the current King Rama X.

Modest by palatial standards, the sprawling ranch-style home constructed entirely of teak perfectly complements its forested environment. On the interior are hand-embroidered wall coverings and a celestial map carved into the wood ceiling of the reception hall, along with mementos commemorating her tireless advocacy work.

The Garden, which wraps the slopes below the Royal Villa, is a biodiverse botanical park of free-range jungle and formal landscape. The mountain climate is a tad cooler than at lower elevations, creating conditions for a year-round spectacle of indigenous and international flora. Meandering through the kaleidoscope of color is a network of winding walkways dotted with arbors, sculptures, and rock formations. Just one more extraordinary experience in Chiang Rai. (Right) The author with a resident of Thailand’s Chiang Rai province.

Photos by Pamela Dittmer McKuen