Stay on the second floor of the Chiang Mai Teakwood Teahouse

Hidden in the alleys of Chiang Mai's Old City is a secret Chinese teahouse. Passing through the narrow courtyard and pushing open the copper-handled wooden door, you'll find a Danish teak sideboard from the last century facing Chiang Mai stone carvings, a Bauhaus floor lamp casting geometric shadows on a bamboo screen, and antique furniture gleaming with luster. The owner whispers, "There are two more Thonet chairs here than in the Chiang Mai Museum." Bird Forest has three old teak houses in the Lanna style of Thailand. This one is called Planter. The exterior structure is ancient, while the interior is comfortable and clean, with original teak floors and a bamboo-slat ceiling. The furniture is mostly teak antiques from the British colonial period in Burma over 100 years ago, oily and sturdy. Decorations include American industrial antique floor lamps and paintings by independent Burmese artists. In the morning, you can order a pot of tea from Wuyi Mountain or Chaoshan at the teahouse and browse through picture albums on the Finn Juhl sofa. At dusk, the courtyard waterscape reflects the honey-colored luster of the teakwood, and you'll notice the Memphis-style paintings that the owner brought back from Milan hanging on the wall. The charm of the age of mechanical reproduction is revived here.