After spending time in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai was in our sights. We had seen pictures of some of the most beautiful temples in the world and felt like we needed to see them for ourselves. Then after Whitney had come across an ad in a magazine on our flight from Kathmandu to Bangkok, we wanted to take a trip to Phu Chi Fa for what should be the most beautiful sunrise in the region.
It began as we stepped off the local bus into the Chiang Rai station, aka the tiny dirt parking lot, and walked to Baan Rub Aroon, our B&B for a couple nights.
It was a little after lunchtime when we arrived; so we checked in early, then left for the street market hoping to find something to eat. The market only had a few items as it was already after the lunch rush, so we continued walking and ended up at a small restaurant where zero English was written or spoken. Our only option was to point to different items and hope it came out good. Luckily it turned out to be noodle soup with pork, which is a staple in this part of the world. We grabbed a pork bun on the way out and then wanted to see about going to the Blue Temple.
Wat Rong Sue Ten, known as the Blue Temple, is one of the newest temples in the region built only a few years ago. It’s not as well-known as others and was a little harder to find online aside from a couple TripAdvisor posts. It is located a few kilometers from the city and with little to read about it, we weren’t exactly sure how to get there. Thinking we would catch a local bus to a nearby station we headed that way. I wasn’t convinced we’d get there quickly enough as it was late afternoon so I flagged down a tuk-tuk and made our request. After a little back and forth with broken English, we came up with a plan to actually venture to the White Temple first then the Blue Temple afterward. It would only be 400 baht total ($12 US) for the two of us.
First, he drove us south to Wat Rong Khun known as the White Temple where we were immediately taken aback by the beauty. It’s really impossible to describe the beauty and intricacies of this work of art by Chalermchai Kositpipat. So here are a handful of pictures to provide a glimpse. Having arrived just before 4:30pm the sun was beginning to set and the officials were closing the gate to visitors. We just happened to walk in minutes before they closed. The dwindling crowd and the sun setting behind the temple grounds made for the perfect scenario.
We were ushered out of the temple area at 5pm to meet our tuk-tuk driver to cross town and visit the Blue Temple. We pulled up to the temple during the twilight hours of the day with maybe 3-4 visitors still wandering around. I’ll say we timed it perfectly for both temples. This temple had the characteristics of most of the other temples of Northern Thailand, but the colors really stood out making it feel like a brand new masterpiece. Then as you enter, the artwork and murals that fill the assembly hall are absolutely incredible. Yes, the White Temple is amazing, but I actually liked the Blue Temple more.
Leaving the Blue Temple we decided to have our driver drop us off at the night market. We have seen so many markets in Thailand, but this one was probably one of the best. The mix of food vendors with shops was perfect. We passed through the shops first until we arrived in the huge courtyard of tables bordered by the innumerable food vendors. Surrounded by Thai food, I was in heaven and of course we both left stuffed.
The next morning we took our time to get moving since we had already seen the main attractions. Then, we made our way to the bus station to take a trip to the Baan Dam Museum known as the Black House. Previously, I thought it was the Black Temple and expected to see more of what resembled the Buddhist Temples we have visited already. However, as soon as I arrived I easily saw it was something different. The Black House is actually a large art gallery of one of Thailand’s well-known artists, Thawan Duchanee. Within the main building and surrounding structures he has created some interesting pieces of art, many of which are made from animal parts. It was very interesting to say the least and a bit of a change from all the temples we had been seeing.
The rest of our afternoon was free so we spent it in a café in the city to catch up on things like this blog and prepare for a visit to Phu Chi Fa.
Early the next morning we caught a minibus/van to Phu Chi Fa hoping for that beautiful sunrise we read about. The drive was a few hours that included a couple stops at other stations, the driver’s home (apparently he needed to pick up his laundry), and the gorgeous Phu Sang Waterfall (I think our driver took us here so we wouldn’t be bothered about going to his house).
It was a pleasant drive which ended for us as he pulled over at GoodView Campground. As the van stopped, the owner of the campground slides the door open and asks, “do you want to camp?” Whitney had previously mentioned this as an option and for a cost of 500 baht for the two of us ($15 US), I took him up on the offer and unloaded our bags into our tent for the night.
So there we were sitting on the top of the ridge looking out at the evening sunset with our bags resting in our tent a few meters away. Aside from a walk down toward the entrance of the park, we just took it easy at the campsite splitting a local Pad Thai for dinner. Not long after eating, a local gentleman strolled by selling a small cord of firewood for 50 baht ($1.50 US), so I quickly took him up on the offer. I spent about 15minutes trying to light the wet wood and grass, but eventually another camper shared some coals to get the fire started. Then a small group joined Whitney and I around the flames until we all eventually crawled into our tents for the night.
4:30am came quickly and we were dressed and out the door, or should I say tent, on our way to the top. We heard of the immense crowds of tourists, most of which were local/domestic tourists that crowd the area and we had every intention of getting to the top to guard the best viewing point. As we walked down the road toward the entrance a Songthaew came by and we hopped in for the ride to the top. The heavy fog and drizzly mist were covering us for the entire 15 minute ride as we zigzagged up the road. We jumped out of the truck at the end of the road and began the hike to the top of the ridge with our headlamps on bright.
People were everywhere, but we were on a quick pace passing them whenever we could. Eventually we arrived to the edge of the cliff overlook. From this vantage point we were supposed to see out over the valley and into the beautiful greenery of Laos. Instead, we were covered in a thick wet cloud with a cold drizzle and wind in our faces. We waited quite a while hoping for that break in the clouds, but it never came. Slowly we watched as the crowds dissipated, leaving the viewpoint with a look of defeat. Aside from the local children dressed in a festival type attire dancing and singing for money, the energy was low. Whitney and I shrugged our shoulders (we are too often caught in unwelcome weather) and headed back to the campsite.
The drive back to Chiang Rai was a bit shorter as we made no stops along the way. We arrived back to Chiang Rai late in the afternoon and checked into our hostel for the night. Making our evening rounds to the night market for dinner and of course splurging for our favorite mango and passion fruit shakes we came to the end of our time in Chiang Rai.
I enjoyed Chiang Rai much more than Chiang Mai, the smaller town felt more welcoming for us and had some of the most beautiful sites we have seen in Northern Thailand. We would have loved to spend a few more days relaxing at some of the cafes and of course digging into more in the night market, but our time in Northern Thailand came to an end.
Follow along as our next adventure takes us across the border into Laos for a two day slow boat ride down the Mekong River.
-Jeremy
