Chiang Rai

We had 2 nights in Chiang Rai, 1.5 hours north of Bangkok by plane. This is a smallish city of just over 1 million people, and we stayed outside the city center, beside the river Kok, at a very lovely and modern hotel.

We arrived mid day and had a few hours before our group outing that evening. I chose to walk over to the blue temple, which was quite striking. As you could guess from the name, its blue! Very recently built, but in the testimonial, very ornate Thai style.

The details are really amazing.

That evening, we had a walking tour of town, much of which was spent tasting at the local market. Great variety of made to order foods to sample

The cold noodle salad she made us was incredible!

They also had foods unique to the region. They grow very small pineapples that have a tender, edible core. The middle photo is ant eggs, a local delicacy I opted not to try, but was told they are crunchy/spicy. And every part of the chicken - down to the carcass and skin - fried and available to takeaway!

We also had a chance to watch the light show at the clock tower in center of town. It goes on for about 5 minutes each hour, synchronized to music. So cool!

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The next day, I opted for a tour at the white temple, combined with a tour of an organic tea plantation/factory, the regional cultural center, and lunch. The white temple was started in 1997, and is still a work in progress with the artist continuing to add and embellish buildings and the grounds. Because its contemporary, it has many modern references - for example, this robot statue (aka, my new boyfriend) seemed incongruous at first, but less so as I saw the same type of imagery sprinkled throughout.

It’s hard to capture just how huge and crazy this temple complex is. This is the main temple:

Me at the White Temple, wearing a scarf as a skirt to cover my knees

The details are remarkable.

As are the grounds

I had the chance to make a wish at the temple. I filled my small metal hanging charm with wishes for the world, for my family, and for myself.

After the temple, we went to an organic tea plantation to learn about how they grow and make tea and to taste a variety of styles. The smells were fantastic and the tea delicious.

Caught snapping a photo at the tea plantation

Also visited the cultural center, which was a combination of a botanical garden and museum featuring both traditional art from the various hill tribes of northern Thailand, and contemporary art.

It was another lovely day. Off to take a slow boat on the MeKong in Laos tomorrow!