Chiang Rai (with Soraya!): 4/6-4/9

This time, I'm coming to you from the Chiang Rai airport, waiting for our flights to Siem Reap, Cambodia.

My friend Soraya, who I mentioned in my last post, joined us for this part of the trip. Truthfully, we probably wouldn't have gone to Chiang Rai without her, simply because it wouldn't have been on our radar. But we are very glad we did. 

One thing that might turn people off of a visit to Chiang Rai is how spread out it is. It's definitely not the walkable place that Chiang Mai was, or at least about half of the cool stuff isn't. We got to see the temples downtown, wander the Night Bazaar, and even experience their Saturday Walking Street. But the best places required at least a short drive, if not a dedicated day trip. Our solution was to hire the driver that Soraya's cousin used on his visit, getting us our own mini-bus, air conditioning, and a cooler to store water in. It wasn't cheap, but if you're going to experience Chiang Rai I think you've got to choose a method of transportation besides your own feet. We got the benefit of having a local drive us around and point out interesting sites, recommend places to eat, and navigate the winding streets and backroads. 

The White Temple - High on Soraya's list, this was the first stop. It is a beautiful temple designed by a well known architect. They even have an art museum of his other work, and if you walk a bit you can peek in the sculpting studio. It's definitely a different aesthetic, given that most temples here are brightly colored. 

 

Black House (Baan Dam) - A stark contrast to the temple above, this museum is by another architect/artist, who has collected skins, bones, and other animal products and displayed them in his unique buildings. The 80 baht price tag was a little steap, but it is almost 40 buildings so there's a lot of weird to see.

 

Other Wats - We also visited some of the other temples in the area. My favorite was Wat Rong Suea Ten, a relatively new temple with a beautiful blue themed decor. We also visited Doi In See, a mountain-top monastery that is in the process of building their main wat, hidden in a valley next to a lake. They care for the animals of the area and support the reforestation efforts. Others that we checked out were The Buddha Cave Temple, Wat Ming Muang (the oldest temple in Chiang Rai),  Wat Jedyod, Wat Phra Singh, Wat Phra Kaew, The Pagoda Temple, and Wat Doi Tung (more on that in my Doi Tung post to follow). I could probably write a whole post on each of these, because they were all very unique. And having Soraya with us, we could ask questions to fill in our knowledge gaps about the traditions and architecture.

 

Choui Fong Tea Plantation - This was another fun trip that wouldn't have been possible without transportation. Their website was useless, so we weren't exactly sure what we would see besides rows of tea leaves. But we were actually able to try three of their Oolong tea varieties, and get some drinks from the cafe. We even got to watch workers move through the rows to pick tea near the restaurant. It was fun to see where/how tea is made, and take fun pictures of the landscape.

 

Khon Kun Waterfall - the blogosphere is not as helpful as I would've hoped with regards to this waterfall, but it was definitely worth it. Even though it is the dry season, it was still incredibly impressive and refreshing to stand in the mist. You can easily find that the walk is 1400 km one way, mostly shaded, and free (aka no park entrance). However, no one warned that with the terrain and necessity of stream crossings, the "walk" would probably be a medium hike in the US. I was very glad I used my inhaler and wore my sneakers, because otherwise I would've been miserable. In addition, there was a much easier path the started near the restrooms that we took on the way back, saving us multiple difficult stream crossings almost resulting in sandal losses for Kerry and Soraya. I also wish I'd had a bathing suit or at least shorts on, so that I could've waded farther into the water. But overall, it was definitely worth the trip, and an amazing site to see. I'd be curious to see what it looks like during or after the rainy season, although I imagine the hike would become more treacherous.

 

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Overall, I was suprised at how much there was  to do in and around Chiang Rai, and grateful that we had Soraya and our driver. It's definitely one of my favorite places in terms of what we got to see, and how many new temple styles we encountered. Plus, the food continued to be delicious and we tried two typical northern dishes, khao soi and nam ngew. 

And, I've got to include a shout-out to our guesthouse, Baan Malai. They were perfectly located near the Night Bazaar and many of the downtown temples. The breakfast was delicious and provided us with bananas to carry as snacks and extra water to fill up our bottles for the road. They were also very helpful in getting our drain fixed, helping us do our laundry, and ordering an airport taxi. Overall a great place to stay!!