Cultural Experiences in Chiang Rai
When we went to Chiang Rai we stayed at The Riverie, a beautiful hotel close to the centre of Chiang Rai. The hotel has a great pool, including a children's area, so is perfect for couple and families too. It is surrounded by lush greenery and next to the river which makes it really peaceful, the perfect place to unwind.
On our first night we took a stroll into town to find the night market, on the way we passed the golden clocktower, a beautiful gold clock in the middle of the city. We had a shop at the night market, I treated myself to some new trousers and a top (I wore them the next day, see my outfit in the photos!). We then found Khao Soi Restaurant, which was my favourite dinner the entire time we were in Thailand, this is where I discovered the dish Khao Soi! Khao Soi is a coconut curry noodle soup, it is usually served with a chicken leg and crunchy fried noodles on top, it is absolutely delicious and can only be found in Northern Thailand and Myanmar. Shawn had the Pad Thai, it was also really good!
We then got to see some traditional Thai dancing on the stage at the market, the dancers wore beautiful outfits and it was lovely to see their elegant dancing.
On our full day in Chiang Rai we had a private tour to the Golden Triangle, where Thailand, Myanmar and Lao meet, with the Mekong River in the centre of them. We headed out nice and early to stop off at Mae Sot, where border crossing is which connects Thailand and Myanmar. We had a stroll through the shops, tried some local food before continuing our journey. When we arrived at the Golden Triangle we headed up the hill to get a photo of the view from the top (see first photo!) before going to the Opium Museum which was really interesting. We then had a fun speedboat ride on the Mekong River between all three countries, it was really fun! We stopped for lunch and saw another temple before heading back...
On the way back we mentioned how we were going to visit Wat Rong Suea Ten (the Blue Temple) so our amazing guide asked our driver to drop us off there instead of our hotel which was super helpful and kind of him, he also arranged a tuk tuk to wait for us, take us to see Wat Huay Pla Kang and then return us safely to the hotel, we were really grateful for his help and our tuk tuk driver was great too.
The Blue Temple is definitely worth visiting, it is really beautiful with such intricate details and was designed by the same artist who created the well-known White Temple, which I'll talk a little bit more about soon. We then went to Wat Huay Pla Kang, we could see the beautiful Goddess from our hotel and she looked tiny, but up close she was huge (see photo)! After admiring her and the dragons at the bottom of the steps from the outside we made our way up to buy tickets to go up to the top floor. We went up in an elevator and we were not expecting the gorgeous white interior, there were statues everywhere and it was really impressive. I won't share any photos as you really do need to see it for yourself.
That night we ate at The Riverie, at their rooftop restaurant, The Peak Bar and Grill. We headed up early so we could watch the sunset over the landscape and Wat Huay Pla Kang with a cocktail, before settling in for dinner on the roof.
The next day we checked out and headed towards Chiang Rai which is about a 3 hour drive away. On the way we stopped off at Wat Rong Khun, also known as the White Temple. The White Temple was created by a great artist, Chalermchai Kositpipat. Before you enter the temple I really recommend heading to the museum to learn about Chalermchai Kositpipat and to see his artwork, as you can really see his art reflected in the temple itself. It's also a good idea to use the toilets here, because they're also beautiful, in a gold building.
On the way to Chiang Mai we also stopped at Doi Chaang Caffe for locally grown coffee and some yummy cake, it was wonderful.
Top tip for visiting temples; always make sure you're dressed appropriately (shoulders covered), and be aware you will need to remove your shoes before you enter.
If you'd like to know more about my visit to Chiang Rai just drop me a message.
