Mae Salong, officially Santikhiri, is a mountain village in far northern Thailand with a history unlike anywhere else in the country. It was settled by Kuomintang soldiers who fled Yunnan after the Chinese Civil War, then stayed on the Thai frontier through the Cold War and the opium years.
The village is now known for oolong tea, Yunnanese food, and cool ridge-top views. It is not polished or especially pretty at first glance, but the mix is memorable: Chinese signs, Akha market stalls, tea terraces, Thai temples, and memorials to a war that never quite ended for the people who arrived here.
Visit the Martyrs' Memorial Hall first if you want the history to make sense. Then climb to Phra Borommathat Chedi, taste tea at the plantations, and come back through the morning market if you stayed overnight.
Mae Salong works as a long day trip from Chiang Rai, but it is better with one night. The light is best early, the roads are slow and winding, and the village is most itself before the tour vans arrive.