Founded in 1296 as the seat of the Lanna empire , which stretched into Thailand from southern China through Burma and Laos , Chiang Mai has for the last few decades been a hippie hideaway , a place where those who could n't take the hustle-and-bustle of Bangkok or the sex-soaked southern beach scene came to chill out , study Buddhism in the local temples , or wats , and head into the surrounding wilderness in search of elephant camps , hill tribes and a more '' authentic '' Thai experience .