We visited two regions in Thailand. Chiang Mai in the northwest with our NatGeo guide and Bangkok in the south on our own. Thailand, formerly Siam, is the only SE Asian region to never have been colonized by foreign powers. Today the country is ostensibly a constitutional monarchy, but is actually ruled by a military junta. The two areas we explored were beautiful, with Chiang Mai, a historic capital (1296-1556), being particularly intriguing.