Amazing what you find at the frontier

Tourists find Parabola an ideal place to take a break.

Architect Natcha Nakbua and her husband came to Chiang Rai and opened the lovely little cafe last year.

"At first no one could figure out how such a stylish cafe could survive in a remote spot like this, far from Chiang Rai town centre," she says.

Maybe there's something in the cappuccino. Or maybe pampered visitors from the cities further south just miss their frothy coffee.

Tourists find Parabola an ideal place to take a break as they make their way to destinations along the border. This is, after all, the route to Doi Mae Salong, Mae Sai, Chiang Saen, Chiang Khong and the Golden Triangle.

Natcha learned to bake from her sister, who runs a cafe in Bangkok.

"Business is on the up," she says, "and I have to bake at least 10 kinds of cake every day. The favourites are banana chocolate cake, whitechocolate cheesecake and squidgy chocolate cake."

Natcha's architecture degree from Rangsit University came in handy putting Parabola together. Its open kitchen has the bonus of allowing delicious aromas to waft all over the place. The only drawback is that it makes it very hard to leave.

>>Parabola Coffee and Homemade Bakery in Chiang Rai's Mae Chan district. Call (053) 772 234.

Vipasai Niyamabha