There are two main reasons to continue your trip to Chiang Rai. You either want to see the Blue and the White Temple or you want to continue your trip to Laos. Both reasons are absolutely legitimate and if you can combine them, it’s even better. In addition, there are a few other things that make this place fantastic:
Learn to prepare Thai dishes
If you are interested in the Thai culture, a cooking class is a perfect way to deepen your understanding and to enjoy almost an entire day of eating. We booked our class with Akha Kitchen as the reviews were fantastic and we could also learn about the Akha tribe. And to take it up front, we loved every second of it.
After choosing the menu we went to the local market to purchase the ingredients and enjoyed some local snacks. During the class we prepared the following meals and enjoyed each of them right after preparing: Akha Dip, Pad Thai, Tom Yum Soup, Green Curry Paste, Green Curry and Mango w. Sticky rice for dessert. The teaching was excellent and the food so good, that we couldn’t eat it all and despite skipping dinner that day we went to bed with a smile.
Stare at the details of the White Temple (Wat Rong Kun)
Some people only travel to Chiang Rai because of this temple and even we wouldn’t do that we can understand it. This temple is not a classical Buddhist temple as it is created by a local artist. It consists of several buildings and it will not be finished before 2070.
The temple is almost entirely white to represent the purity of Buddha and to reach the main building you have to cross the sea of suffering. This sea but also the entire temple is created with such a love for details and fantasy that it feels like being on the set of a fantasy movie.
Challenge the dragons at the Blue Temple (Wat Rong Seur Ten)
Blue is an important color in Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity as it is associated with wisdom, the infinite, purity and healing. The buddha inside is white with a blue glow and the entire interior is painted with a lot of love for details.
But our favorite were the dragons on the outside. There are several gigantic dragons protecting the entrance to the temple and posing with them for photos was probably the most fun we had there.
Eat Hot Pot at the Night Bazar
The night bazar is on every night and sells all sorts of souvenirs. But the actual highlight is the hot pot. There are two main eateries both with a stage where local singers and dancers perform. One place is a bit nicer but also more expensive and filled with tourists, while the other one is full with locals eating hot pot and drinking beer. The hot pot is a clay pot filled with a spicy soup boiling on glowing coal. You put in noodles, vegetables and an egg and add meat to your liking and let it boil for a while. And when fishing it out it tastes absolutely fantastic.
Watch the light show at the Golden Clock Tower
It is basically a roundabout but a pretty one. As its name indicates it is completely covered in gold which looks fantastic at night. And to top it there is a light show at 7, 8 and 9pm when all the street lamps are darkened and the clock tower is changing to all sorts of colors.
The black house, the night market and Tea plantations
The black house must be another highlight around Chiang Rai. But as we are not that much into occult art, we skipped it.
The Saturday Night market must be quite good, but the night bazaar was sufficient for us.
The Choui Fong Tea Plantations are about an hour drive outside of Chiang Rai and must be worth the trip, but we didn’t want to squeeze too much into our stay.
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