We also visited Chiang Saen, which calls for a bit more history of Lanna (sorry!). When the Thai tribes first came down from China into modern day Thailand, around 500 AD, Chiang Saen was the first settlement. The Thais quickly fragmented into lots of feuding kingdoms, and Chiang Saen was a bit of a backwater. But around 1200 AD, Chiang Saen's king surprised all his neighbors by annexing all of them to form the kingdom of Lanna. The city of Chiang Saen was rewarded for all this hard work by having the capital of Lanna moved to the new city of Chiang Mai, so Chiang Saen promptly slid back into obscurity. Today, it sits on the Mekhong River, well off the tourist path and well worth a visit. The current town sort of lies on top of the ancient capital, so you have ruined temples jutting out of someone's rice paddy or behind their house, for example. But there are plenty of ruins abandoned in the jungle. They're small but quite atmospheric. As per above, I have lots more and better pics from my recent visit, but it will take me many years to eventually catch up to posting that.