The conference in Thailand was held in Chiang Mai, the second largest city in the country (after Bangkok).  The city is modern, with strong Western influences including the typical McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Baskins Robbins, Mr. Donut, 7-Eleven, Coke and Pepsi, etc.  McDonalds does have a "pork burger" on its menu - which is actually pretty good.  Small internet cafes are abundant.  A large percentage of the people we interacted with have at least rudimentary English skills, and many signs/text have both Thai and English, so getting around wasn't much of a problem. We were actually surprised at the number of French and German tourists we encountered.  Ray even walked by a couple speaking Russian.  City public transportation consists mainly of "taxis", which are red, covered pickup trucks with bench seats in back, and "tuk-tuks", covered 3 passenger, 3-wheeled motorcycles.  Prices are negotiated, but reasonable.

Very much a tourist and business destination, there is a lot of industry, crafts, and "tourist traps" in Chiang Mai.  We stayed in the "night market" district of the city, where the sidewalks become filled with street vendors at night.

    This guy is using very fine brushes to paint a village scene on lacquer ware.