Chiang Rai is a city in the North of Thailand and also the name of the northernmost province, which borders Laos and Myanmar.
Chiang Rai is much smaller and receives a lot less tourism than it’s cousin Chiang Mai, making it a great place to chill out for a few days away from the elephant pants and banana pancakes. In between the many temples are bustling local markets as well as a pretty night bazaar where you can have dinner and buy local crafts. One of the my favourite things about Chiang Rai were the abundance of coffee shops serving local produce.
The White Temple
I’ve wanted to visited the famous White Temple (Wat Rong Khun) ever since I saw our friends photos from their visit. The monument is a work in-progress designed by the famous Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat and it will not be completed until after his death. So we rocked up at the central bus station and were bundled onto a local bus by a friendly Thai lady who we paid 15 baht each.
We could see the temple glistening in the sun from the main road. It’s a very striking sight and I enjoyed walking around the grounds, taking in the intricate details and obscure cultural references. It would be a very peaceful place if it wasn’t for the hundreds of jostling visitors and the voice blaring out through a tannoy.
You cannot take pictures inside the temple and I was surprised by how small it is in there. Unfortunately the 2014 earthquake caused quite a bit of damage to the wall painting but there’s a miniature version of the painting for you to see the missing parts. The miniature also helped us to appreciate the piece as a whole and I was fascinated by the detail and colours of the paintings.
The Black House
Back in Chiang Rai and full of Khao Soi, our next stop was the Black House or Baan Dam, an architectural project by national artist Thawan Duchanee. The bus dropped us off on the side of Highway 1 and the locals gestured for us to follow a small dirt footpath through a field. Hot and sticky from the crowded bus, we tentatively followed their instructions and soon came to what we presumed was our destination.
It’s not just a black house, but numerous buildings – most of which are made of black wood – housing an array of Buddha statues, animal skins, furniture made from skulls, bones and horns and other bizarre artefacts. It was a surreal place. It reminded me of a medieval recreation and I half expected someone to offer to teach me how to make candles or shoot a bow and arrow.
Sadly, there were some enormous pythons and an owl caged in spaces far too small, which put a bit of a downer on the visit. It really was a strange place but for 20 baht on the bus and free admission it’s certainly something you should do if you’re in and around Chiang Rai.
Chiang Rai felt like a neat, industrious place. After Chiang Mai, It felt as though we’d gone back to a more typical Thai town. Make no mistake; it’s busy with tourists of all shapes and sizes but it feels less as though the tourists have made it their own the way they have in some areas of Chiang Mai.
