I had been looking forward to visiting this city for months! Chiang Rai is the northernmost major city in Thailand, bordering Laos and Myanmar, and is full of beautiful temples, gorgeous mountains, and stunning waterfalls. A week after my birthday we had decided to take a quick trip up to the city and hit up our most desired sites with a day tour. We took a bus we arranged through 12Go and it was a smooth 4 hour journey up into the mountains up to about a 580 meter elevation.
We stayed at a hostel on the cheap called Tanya House for around $10.00 USD a night. The hostel was really cute, homey, and very clean. It was an incredible value for money and provided everything we needed for a short stay. In my travels I have found that the best, cleanest, and homiest places are typically hostels. They also have the most gracious and kind hosts! It has given me a new perspective on choosing where we stay when traveling.
After settling in, the sun was beginning to set and it was time for dinner! We stopped by the famous clock tower to admire it in all its golden glory. We had some delicious and elaborate burgers at Heaven Burger, a top rated restaurant in Chiang Rai, and it did not disappoint. I had my first ever version of my favorite, macaroni and cheese, with a coconut milk base. For this mac and coconut lover it really was heaven!
We decided to walk around and check everything out before calling it an early night to rest up for our big day of adventure. The food market was quiet and burning at a low flame. We even walked by a few women cooking by candle light in their food stalls, unsure of the reason why but assuming it was due to financial constraints. It was still early for dinner by Southeast Asian standards but there were a few diners around the beautiful yellow tables and chairs in the courtyard. A handful of small vendors were set up on the outside of the market selling the usual items you can see in any Thai street market. We walked past the bus station we had arrived at to see the beautiful murals representing the town’s culture, hilltribes, and monuments painted on the side. It was a very cute and small town and we had a nice night after a day of travel. Just a couple of cuddles and snuggles from street dogs and cats and we were back home to our hostel.
The next morning we grabbed some ice coffee from a cute shop/art gallery just a couple doors down and met up with our tour guide. Sammy worked for the company we booked our tour through, Bamboo Tours, and we were the 2nd tour he was able to guide since the lockdowns. He was thrilled to show us his beautiful city and it was tangible. The tour company let us tailor our tour to the places we wanted to see which was wonderful. As with a lot of tours in this part of the world, there were some things we didn’t want to support like elephant camps or tiger kingdoms. I was grateful for the ability to create a custom day and see everything I had dreamed of seeing in Chiang Rai.
Our first stop was the Blue Temple or Wat Rong Suea Ten, which means “Temple of the Dancing Tiger.” It ended up being both our favorite of the temples. It is built on the grounds of another ancient temple where tigers had roamed before it was abandoned nearly a century ago. The Blue temple is modern and fairly new though, and still a work in progress. At first glance it is a deep royal blue with accents of glittering gold. Up close you can see the gorgeous blending of different hues of blues, greens, and even pinks. Everything had a little sparkle to it.
Inside the temple features a pure white Buddha sitting in meditation and the columns and walls are covered in ornate paintings. We were greeted by a sweet temple cat and took out time to love on her and admire the beauty of the temple. We donated to the temple and signed our names on a gold leaflet that will be molded into a part of the temple forever as it continues construction. It is a common tradition among temples I have noticed and I wanted to be a part of something that beautiful.
Walking around to the back there was a large chedi that houses holy relics and there was a giant white Buddha standing across from it. Out past the chedi as you exit the temple grounds, statue posts on each side were being painted and constructed. It was a privilege to see the process. The posts at the exit represent hell and had amazing and striking skulls all around the bases of the guardians. It will look pretty incredible once it is finished!
Next up was Baan Dam, or The Black House. I was told by a friend that she really couldn’t explain it and that it was very odd. I tend to like odd things so it was on my list for stops. Turns out she was underselling it! Baan Dam was built and created by a Thai artist, Thawan Duchanee. He is internationally famous and considered one of the foremost Asian painters. While I quite enjoyed his paintings, his house was unconventional and a little disturbing, especially for an animal lover like me. I have never appreciated taxidermy or the urge to mount animal parts on walls for show. In fact, I despise it in most cases.
The Black House has many small and uniquely different black buildings lined with delicately carved teakwood around the grounds. The courtyards and gardens are just beautiful. It was incredibly peaceful walking around to each building surrounded by trees and butterflies fluttering around. There were even some unique dome shaped buildings. Strange rock formations were scattered here and there giving off a Stonehenge vibe. Wooden statues of men with outlandish faces and abnormally large erect penises guarded a few doorways. It really was a beautiful and serene place, glittered with the bizarre, the strange, and the dead.
Inside, these traditional Thai buildings were skeletons, skins, and accessories made of hides. Hooves and horns. Jaw bones of sharks, heads of crocodiles, giant sea shells, and even stingray skins. I lost my composure passing a once gorgeous living wolf which was now just a stuffed head and skin laying out on a gorgeous hand carved wooden table with pearl inlay. I felt a lump in my throat and stomach. Baan Dam made me feel strange but enamored, which might be a point of the place. I’m sure the artist saw the beauty in death and the fine line between life and death, as all Buddhists do.
Death is different in Asian culture and I understood that. I could see it too, but I was devastated by the fact that these animals were likely hunted and slaughtered for one reason or another by humans. I learned that most of what is on display was donated to the artist and he did not obtain his entire collection completely on his own. That did not settle me. All in all I loved his paintings and sculptures, was fascinated by his talented wood carving and architecture, and I appreciated the beauty he saw in death. I appreciated the beauty he saw in structures and even the structures of once living creatures. After a lot of processing and contemplation, I understood his house. But I never wanted to see it again.
Our next stop was only recently added to my list as a must see recommendation from the tour company and we loved it! Wat Huay Pla Kang is often referred to as the Chiang Rai Big Buddha but the statue is actually of Guanyin, the Chinese goddess of mercy. Guanyin, gleaming in pure white with red lipstick and gold jewelry, sits on a pedestal of a lotus flower at a glorious 90 meters high. In Chinese culture she is often depicted as having a thousand arms and eyes so that she can help more people at the same time. To honor her, Sammy told us that much of the proceeds from tickets and donations go to the current construction of a hospital which she overlooks just a few miles away. The hospital intends to provide medical care for free for those who cannot afford it.
Beautiful Chinese dragons line the many steps up to the goddess and once inside you can take an elevator all the way up to her 3rd eye. Inside Guanyin everything is pure white and diamond studded. Intricate carvings of trees, dragons, animals, and versions of the goddess adorn the walls. It was a delight to walk around inside. Once you climb up a few more steps you reach the window of her 3rd eye. The views are spectacular! On either side of her head there are windows as well so you are able to get almost a complete panoramic view of her surroundings, like the pagoda and the Buddhist temple that neighbor her.
It was lunch time and Sammy had told us that Pad Thai is cooked and served at the temple for 20 Baht, or about $0.60 a plate. It was by far the best Pad Thai we had ever had! We walked around the grounds a bit more after filling up and were enchanted by several white confucius statues and an ode to The Great Wall. It was such a neat place and I was so thankful that this was a last minute addition to our list of Chiang Rai’s ‘must see’ because the entire experience was delightful.
Wat Rong Khun, or The White Temple, is one of the most iconic temples in Thailand. I was really looking forward to visiting this temple which is privately owned and also considered an art exhibit. The temple is full of symbolism with a lake of hell that represents human desire, temptation, and greed at the base of the bridge that represents transition from death to rebirth leading to the house of the temple. The color white is meant to represent the Buddha’s purity with the mirrors representing and reflecting his teachings and kindness to others.
At the entrance there are trees with hanging heads of different styles, all gorey and grotesque. There’s even a giant Predator statue coming out of the ground, a classic alien character from a 1987 Sci-Fi film. Everything is incredibly elaborate and flashy. Walking over the bridge, it was stiflingly hot. The sun reflected off of the white plaster and mirrors creating a calefaction. As you walk into the hall of the temple no photography is allowed.
Every inch is covered in gorgeous murals of some very strange images. The body of a sick monk with a respirator on his face, a globe with an atom bomb explosion on top, a giant erupting volcano over ancient pyramids, and the American Twin Towers being attacked by a plane and ensnared by a giant serpent made out of a gasoline pump hose with a freakish double human head. There’s incredible symbolism of the poisons and corruption of the world. It was disturbing for me. The image of the Twin Towers shook me most. I remember that day vividly, and I’ll never forget it. I felt a lot of feelings staring at that section of the wall. Randomly scattered around the disturbing apocalyptic scenes and devastating events are familiar characters we all know and love, hence the reason for no photography being allowed. It is a copyright issue. There were Minions, Kung Fu Panda, Freddy Kruger, Stitch, Captain Jack Sparrow, several superheros, and even Michael Jackson. It was very odd but beautifully executed. I understood that the murals were supposed to represent evil in the world but…I thought the addition of the famous cartoon and television characters made it silly and insensitive. I think maybe that part went over my head. It all came off very kitschy.
Anyone could spend a lot of time at this temple interpreting and contemplating. We continued to walk around and there were some beautiful fountains and water features which made us yearn for a dip in the water. Towards the back there is a giant golden temple where the restrooms are. I had read that the toilets were some of the nicest in the area, and they really were! I made a wish at the wishing well just before the exit and finally we were both ready to leave, dripping in sweat.
Khun Korn Waterfall was the next stop and arguably one of Thailand’s most impressive waterfalls. To get to the waterfall you have to hike up 2 kilometers through a gorgeous jungle of bamboo, fig, and banana trees crossing over small streams and flowing water. I was completely unprepared in my slides and sarong but thankfully I had quite a bit of experience hiking through the jungle at this point in my life. The trail was easy in comparison to some others I have trekked, but it was definitely a challenge with my attire. The higher we got, the louder the rushing water was around us. As we approached the falls we were covered in cool mist.
It was cold and refreshing. The 70 meter waterfall created its own wind and it roared with majesty. I put my feet in the freezing cold water at the rocky shoreline and threw my arms towards the sky. I laughed with wonder at the chilly water and wind swirling my hair around my face. It was exhilarating.
Bradley and I sat on a log in wonder for a good long while and I made a small stone cairn before we decided to hike back down. We took a different fork in the path on the way and ended up crossing some really neat bamboo bridges over the small river flowing down the mountain. I was on a complete nature high inspecting every tree, taking pictures of flowers, and touching all the moss. It had been another unexpected and lovely surprise to the day.
Our final stop on the tour was at Singha Park. Even though we were quite tired by this time, it was starting to cool down and I took a quick power nap in the car. We stopped at the tea fields and I learned how tea is harvested by hand. The views were lovely and I didn’t realize that the park was so huge. There are lots of activities you can do at the park like riding ATV’s, ziplining, paddle boarding, and more. We settled for enjoying a Singha beer, people watching, and taking in the scenery. The beer was delicious as always but definitely tasted better coming from the draft. Before heading home we stopped for a photo op at the Singha lion statue. On our way back to the car, I tripped and fell in front of everyone and pulled a muscle that ached for days after.
Sammy dropped us off at the start of the walking street night market since we were right on time and I knew if we went to our place I wouldn’t be able to get back up again. The market is put on every Saturday and a couple streets are closed off so vendors can set up to sell goods and food. Even though Chiang Rai had been quiet the night before, it was a bustling city on a Saturday night. At points we were shoulder to shoulder with people buying and scouting for delicious food. There was a giant stage and a band performing with an audience of dancers moving to traditional songs with traditional dances. The walking street was a huge event and everyone was out and about! It was a great time checking out all the art, clothes, handmade crafts, and foods on display. We filled up our arms with bags of different delicious treats and made our way back to our place. Street food for dinner is always a favorite for us.
Once morning came it was time to leave Chiang Rai and I was more than pleased with our short time there. It was such an incredible and surprising city with so much beauty. It was one of the most delightfully exhausting days I had ever had and a wonderful way to kick start my thirties.