Sun high and hot, powdered faced and charming, this young man cultivates a farm space in preparation for the planting of rice. Chiang Rai is considered lucky by farmers in other regions of Thailand because a rice farmer can turn his crops twice per year (and sometimes three times) while most other regions of Thailand experience a single rice crop per year. This is because water, a key element in rice cultivation, is far more abundant in the northwest of Thailand than it is in other provinces of the country.