Chiang Rai

Looking to experience a different side of Thailand, we took a trip to the more mountainous Northern region for our final few days in the country. Since we had opted for visa free tourist entry, we were limited to 15 days in Thailand, meaning we could only spare a day and a half to see Chiang Rai. Absolutely worth the trip, but we sorely wished we had more time…

Night Market

Arriving by bus early evening, our first experience of Chiang Rai was the Night Bazaar, located right next to the bus station. This wasn’t just your typical market either: on top of a plethora of stalls (with what seemed like better quality, more interesting stock than most of the other Thai markets we had seen) there was live music, dancing and a fantastic ambiance that made us want to sit and watch all night. The people we encountered were also the friendliest we’d met in the country. Talk about a good first impression!

We knew what we wanted to see in Chiang Rai, but we hadn’t planned anything in advance. As we were learning though, most hotels in this part of the world are happy to help arrange tours at a moment’s notice and thankfully the guest house we picked in Chiang Rai was no exception. In fact, the receptionist on duty went above and beyond to sort out some ‘express tours’ for us, despite us rocking up after 9pm.

White Temple

So, at 8am the following morning, our driver arrived to pick us up. First we wanted to see the famous Wat Rong Khun (White Temple). We had read that it gets busy by mid morning so we wanted to get there early, which turned out to be a good move.

Having only been built 24 years ago, this temple was much more modern than all the others we’d seen so far. It was incredibly beautiful; once again gleaming in the sunlight thanks to the caretakers who manage to keep it absolutely spotless.

Among the shrines, we were surprised to see various comic book heroes dotted around the grounds. For example there were the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles guarding a man made cave, some Marvel superheroes subtly placed within otherwise religious murals (a bit like Where’s Wally – but no photos allowed sadly) and the heads of various other fictional characters (including Iron Man, Batman and Smeagol) bizarrely hanging from a tree. Interesting, if a little odd. The temple was still absolutely stunning but we felt these gave the site a more laid back, less religious feel – and perhaps that was the intention, not to be compared with the older temples found in other parts of the country.

Choui Fong Tea Plantation

Our next stop was Choui Fong Tea Plantation, Mariya’s sacred home. Located in Mae Chan just north of Chiang Rai, the plantation was very peaceful, with rows of picturesque tea bushes lining every hill.

Blue Temple

Back in the city, the even more modern Wat Rong Suea Ten (Blue Temple) was next on the agenda. This one was only 3 years old, built by someone who had worked at the White Temple and used that as inspiration. Though the grounds were much smaller, it definitely had a similar architectural style, but less of a comic book vibe.

Although it was just a flying visit, James felt at peace, being surrounded by his favourite colour.

Elephant Valley Sanctuary

We spent the afternoon at Elephant Valley, a sanctuary where elephants are rehabilitated in order to be reintroduced into the wild following a working life, usually either logging or being ridden by tourists. Elephant Valley is split into two sections; a 40 acre ‘primary school’ section for new elephants where they typically spend around a year, and a much larger ‘secondary school’ where elephants who will soon be released back into the wild can roam free and source all of their own food. In the primary school section, the elephants are tended to regularly (nails trimmed for example) and hand fed a portion of their food each day (elephants need around 300kg of grass per day but they don’t usually know how to forage when they’ve been hand fed for years). At present, there are 4 elephants in the primary school: the oldest being 60 years old and the youngest (named Bang) being 20.

During the dry season the elephants are showered daily, an activity they enjoy greatly (as you can tell from the way their ears flap). The only thing elephants like more than shower time, is the feeding time which follows.

In general the sanctuary has a rule that visitors should maintain a 25m distance from the elephants to give them their space. However at feeding time, this rule is relaxed so the visitors can feed them. This isn’t just a tourist attraction, but the way it has to be done so the elephants don’t recognise who is feeding them. Otherwise each time they see a staff member they would come asking for food. 

We were starting to learn just how intelligent elephants really are, and how happy they are to be set free. Our trip to the sanctuary was a bit of an eye opener. They only have a total of 6 elephants at present due to the cost of caring for them. The elephants are certainly in good hands though, with many of the staff dedicating their lives to helping them recover (some even doing so as volunteers). It was good to see that the cost of visiting the sanctuary will be put to good use.

Saturday Night Market

After our visit to the sanctuary we returned to the city, only to discover that a Weekend Market was taking place that evening in addition to the regular Night Bazaar. This was truly the largest market we’d ever seen – each weekend many of the streets close to cars to accommodate and even though we spent an hour walking through the market, we did not manage to see all of the stalls.

There were also three separate stages (that we came across – there may have been more) for live singing / dancing. Once again the atmosphere was wonderful, it was a joy to walk around.

After a full on day of being a tourist, we were knackered. We wished we had more time but were happy that we’d managed to see all of the sights we wanted to in Chiang Rai. A little out of the way and less touristy than other parts of Thailand, but well worth making the effort to visit.