Chiang Rai
If you are staying in Chiang Mai, taking a short trip to Chiang Rai is definitely worthwhile. The city might seem like Chiang Mai’s little brother, mostly known for its two spectacular buddhist temples. In reality, Chiang Rai has a lot to offer, if you dig a bit deeper!
Getting there
The bus journey from Chiang Mai takes around 3 hours and 20 minutes, and costs €10 / $11. You can find many options on 12go.asia. Many people book a day trip package that covers some of the main attractions. We do think it is a little too far for a day trip and would recommend staying at least one night.
We stayed for 2 days and enjoyed it a lot! Out of all the places we visited in Thailand during our 6 weeks, this was the least touristy city, which was a nice change of scenery. The city felt more calm and we got a good glimpse of true Thai day-to-day life. We also got the impression that people and the region in general are wealthier.
Things to do
Wat Rong Khun – The White Temple
While this buddhist temple was rebuilt and opened to the public about 30 years ago and is by no means ancient, it does look spectacular and is definitely worth a visit. You will cross a bridge to the main temple and see hundreds of hands reaching out, looking like an art piece. The dramatic decorations and intricate carvings on the structure make for great photos as well! Many people arrive here on tour buses from Chiang Mai, so we would recommend getting there early. The entry is around €3 / $3,50 and tickets can be purchased on-site, no need to book in advance.
Location: Google Maps
Rong Suea Ten – The Blue Temple
The second famous buddhist temple of the city opened in 2016 and is therefore features a very modern take on traditional Thai religious architecture. It is free to visit. Although it is interesting due to its artistic style, we think this can be skipped if you are short on time. We found the White Temple much more spectacular, in the end.
Location: Google Maps
Dress code
Remember that most temples in Thailand require a strict temple attire. Both women and men are expected to cover shoulders and knees. We actually saw a woman get out of a tour bus wearing a see-through scarf covering her shoulders, and she got denied entry to the White Temple. It must be a bummer to drive almost 4 hours from Chiang Mai and not be able to see any of the temples.
Visit a Tea Plantation
Chiang Rai is famous for tea and has a couple of tea plantations that can be visited. They lie in the mountains, a little bit further away from the town centre. You can sample different types of tea and creative drinks while enjoying the view over the plantations. Some sites even offer tea picking activities!
Check out some of the most popular choices, if you are interested:
Sawanbondin Tea House & Experience
If the tea plantations are too far for you, you can also visit a tea house that is closer to the city centre, just like we did. We visited Sawanbondin Tea House & Experience and tried their chamomile tea and roasted green tea acompanied by their layered crêpe cake. They were all fantastic and we learned that this tea house also won several awards for their tea creations. The surrounding cottage is also a very nice place to idle for a while. All in all, this was a great experience and we definitely recommend visiting!
Location: Google Maps
Clock Tower & Walking Street
In the heart of the city, you can marvel at the intricate carvings of the golden Chiang Rai Clock Tower, seated in the middle of the probably busiest roundabouts in Chiang Rai. Not too far from there, you can pay a visit at the Chiang Rai Walking Street, a bustling night market offering a mix of street food, clothing and souvenirs.
Baan Dam Museum
Also known as the Black House Museum, this is another popular place to visit. The open air style museum showcases the work of Achan Thawan Duchanee, a renowed artist. You will find 25 buildings in traditional Thai architecture and collections of local folk art. We did not have a chance to visit this time around, but would definitely allocate some time to do so next time.
Location: Google Maps & more information here.
Wat Huay Pla Kang
A very interesting 9-story pagoda with a huge Buddha statue that can be seen from a great distance.
Location: Google Maps & more information on the site’s Facebook page.
Controversial Destinations: Long Neck Karen Villages
We decided not to visit any of the long neck Karen villages, as we did not want to support this kind of tourism. We recommend to read reviews carefully before you decide to visit attractions in Thailand, especially ones involving ethnic communities, tribal villages or animals.
Food & Restaurants
There were way fewer tourists in Chiang Rai compared to other Thai cities we visited, so restaurants further away from the main sights often did not have menus in English. Not necessarily a bad thing, just be prepared that you might have to use translation apps. Here are some restaurants that we enjoyed:
- Sala Yadong Restaurant: The perfect spot to grab a bite before your bus ride back to Chiang Mai. We saw no tourists here, but the the restaurant seemed to be popular with locals. Location
- Jan’UR Cafe Chiang Rai: A cute café near the White Temple, definitely worth a visit if you are nearby. They created a fun interior and a tiny jungle-themed garden with a waterfall and a small pond. Location
- Nuea Pla Daak, Ban Mai Branch: Such an amazing simple roadside eatery we stumbled across on our way back to our hotel! We had corn salad with salted egg, glass noodle soup and fried pork belly – all of them were super delicious! Location
- Tamarind: we had a hearty breakfast here and were stuffed. The restaurant has nice outdoor seating and even a small room for live music in the evening. Location
Culture
Compared to the other more popular destinations in Thailand, Chiang Rai seemed to receive way fewer visitors. It was less common to find English menus and English-speaking staff. We still managed to communicate pretty well using Google Translate when we needed. We perceived people to be genuinely friendly here and loved the general vibe of the city. Especially the tea houses and calm natural areas in the outskirts stole our heart. We didn’t spend too much time in the city centre, and mainly wandered around the Clock Tower and the Walking Street before we took our bus back to Chiang Mai.
Accommodation
As most attractions we planned to visit were outside the city center anyway, we stayed in a residential area away from the crowds. We booked the TANYA Baan Bon Doi ($) – they have smaller villas in a unique hillside arrangement and a little pool to relax. We absolutely enjoyed our time here! As there were no other guests, we even had the entire pool to ourselves. The place was great for watching sunsets too. Hard to believe that this stay only cost us €14 / $16 per person per night.
If you want to stay in a more central area, there are plenty of accommodations in the city center as well. Some popular ones we were also considering include:
- Laluna Hotel and Resort ($)
- Le Patta Hotel ($$)
- Mora Boutique Hotel ($$)
Transportation
The city is much more spread out than Chiang Mai, which makes logistics a little more tricky to organise. Surely, the most convenient way is getting around by car or motorbike, but Grab is also available in the region. Luckily, we never had any difficulties finding a driver, even at our accommodation in the ourskirts. Waiting times as well as prices can be a bit higher due to greater distances. Tuk-tuks are also available, just make sure to bargain a bit and agree on a price upfront.
Also keep in mind that if you are staying in the city center, you can walk around easily, however, you are limited to only a couple of places of interest.
