Founded in 1296 as the seat of the Lanna empire , which stretched into Thailand from southern China through Burma and Laos , Chiang Mai has for the last few decades been a hippie hideaway , a place where those who could n't take the hustle-and-bustle of Bangkok or the sex-soaked southern beach scene came to chill out , study Buddhism in the local temples , or wats , and head into the surrounding wilderness in search of elephant camps , hill tribes and a more '' authentic '' Thai experience .
Thailand
Bangkok
/location/country/capital
Thailand
Bangkok
/location/country/administrative_divisions
Bangkok
Thailand
/location/administrative_division/country
Thailand
Chiang Mai
/location/location/contains
Thailand
Bangkok
/location/location/contains
PERSON
Lanna
LOCATION
Thailand
LOCATION
China
LOCATION
Burma
LOCATION
Laos
PERSON
Chiang Mai
LOCATION
Bangkok