Chiang Rai, Thailand

Before I really get into the meat and potatoes of this incredible city in Northern Thailand, I want to give a GIANT shout out to Liesl. 

Liesl and I have known each other for about 15 years.

We started off in a children’s choir back in Longmont, CO, then went to the same high school! We were a few years apart though, so our friendship was pretty surface level. 

Little did I know that she was working as a music teacher at a global school in Chiang Rai, Thailand! 

She saw a Facebook post I had shared, and asked if I wanted to visit Chiang Rai and that she would be my tour guide.

Long story short, it was definitely my most treasured time in Thailand. She made the small city so incredibly unique and fun. She helped me get even further out of my comfort zone.

So THANK YOU LIESL!

Also… apologies for the picture spam… but PLEASE enjoy! I loved this city so much that I had to share with you!

Chiang Rai is a small city about as far north as you can go in Thailand. Many travelers go here only as a pit stop on their way to Myanmar or Laos. 

It is often overlooked as a city that doesn’t have much to do or see besides the White Temple (I’ll get to this later). 

But they are far from correct. 

Chiang Rai has such a rich culture and beautiful landscape. It is filled with unique temples, delicious food, and extraordinary experiences. 

To get to Chiang Rai, I took many buses (reminder: I went from Pai to Chiang Rai. There is not a direct bus over the mountains, so you have to go down to Chiang Mai first, and then catch another bus to Chiang Rai. It was an all-day affair.)

The ride to Chiang Rai was a bumpy one on a large, stick-shift bus, with the road constantly lined with construction. Even so, it was much more comfortable than the winding roads to Pai. 

I got to Chiang Rai and weaved my way through the buses and busy streets to my hostel: Mercy Hostel.

This was by far the cleanest hostel I had been in! And for a whopping $1.55 a night! 

I relaxed here for a bit, walked around the town to stretch my legs, and then Liesl came to get me for dinner. 

We went to a small Thai place that was her favorite, Barrab. I was introduced (finally) to Khao Soi, a traditional Northern Thai meal with noodles, a curry-type base, and lots of veggies. 

After dinner, we rode to Wat Huay Pla Kang (often referred to as the Big Buddha, or the White Lady). 

This temple was absolutely breathtaking! 

One, it is a woman- massively under-represented in Thailand.

Two, we went at sunset, so the colors off of the pristine white was just remarkable.

Three, it is massive! It sits at 90 meters, or 295 feet tall.

Four, she sits on a giant lotus, the Buddhist symbol of purity of the body and mind.

I learned recently, that this temple is actually a representation of Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy.

During her life, she attained enlightenment and continued to help others, gaining her this title. 

The monk who takes care of the temple grounds- enjoying the evening.

We walked around this temple for a while, before we headed our separate ways for the night. 

The next day, I woke up and decided to sight see the White Temple (Wat Rong Khun).

This temple was hands-down the most fascinating, culturally inclusive, mentally stimulating, shockingly beautiful places that I have ever been. 

Not a single picture does it justice. 

The entirety of the temple is pristine white, and covered in mirrors so as to catch off the light. This is to symbolize the purity of the ultimate goal of Buddhist teachings, and is unique as other, traditional temples are gold. 

Designed by artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, this work of art is intended to be ongoing until 2070 at a minimum! He wanted to modernize traditional Thai art and architecture, leading him to this temple design. 

Along the entrance to the temple are hands stretched out as if begging. 

This startling image symbolizes overcoming desire and trials to achieve enlightenment. This journey is represented by a long bridge over the hands and into the temple. 

It is quite the experience making the walk over the hands and across the bridge.

He uses pop culture references such as Harry Potter, DeadPool, Star Wars, and Pirates of the Caribbean incorporated into the murals and grounds sculptures. 

He also incorporates current political news into his artwork. The back wall of most temples depicts a mural of one of the stories of Buddha’s enlightenment. This particular mural showed the Buddha overcoming a large demon. Imbedded in the demon were paintings of the pop culture references, and in the eyes of the demon were the faces of George W. Bush and Osama Bin Laden. 

In an interview with Kositpipat, he stated, “No person could be holy or pure if they purposefully build weapons to kill others.”

Let that sink in.

The grounds of the temple are quite extensive. 

One area has thousands of trees with metal plates and beads hanging down. This is where travelers and locals alike can write down their prayers and have them answered in the gardens. 

Another area has a beautiful garden with a water feature. Sculptures of the Buddha and other Buddhist gods and goddesses fill the garden, surrounded by trees and plants.

A temple in a farther back area serves as a shrine to Ganesh, the four-armed man with the head of an elephant. This symbolizes protection and power, the removal of obstacles, and the god of beginnings.

Finally, I snuck over to the building where much of the sculpting takes place. It was incredible to see all of the artists hard at work on the sculptures- either sculpting, or placing the delicate mirrors on the sculptures.

I took a jam-packed bus back to the city, and walked for (what seemed like) hours to a small cafe in the jungle called The Wanderer.

I got a tasty yellow curry and a latte, and hopped on their WiFi to book a different return flight through Singapore. 

COVID-19 was running rampant in China at the time, and my airport stop in China was closest to Wuhan. 

I decided to play it safe and reroute through Singapore (will post on Singapore in the future).

After food, I went to the Blue Temple (Wat Rong Seur Ten).

This temple is entirely blue, and it was recently redesigned by a student of Chalermchai Kositpipat.

To end this busy day, I met up with Liesl for a long boat tour up the river!

It was stunning, and we got to see the scenery during the beginning of sunset. 

The man driving the long boat did not speak any English (luckily Liesl speaks some Thai), and is a true local of the area. 

Watching him maneuver the boat through the river was fascinating. 

Some of the pictures I got on this ride were my favorite through the trip, take a look!

For dinner, we took a Grab (Thai Uber) to a shrimp fishing restaurant. 

We sat around a huge pool, were given a fishing pole and some raw chicken hearts to cut up, and were told to fish for our dinner!

None of the waitresses or other fishermen spoke any English- it was a true Thai experience!

We caught our shrimp, then the waitress took them and weighed them on a scale. Whoever got the heaviest weight, won a prize- an egg! 

Liesl won a few eggs and was largely successful in her fishing experience.

I caught two! 

They then took the shrimp you caught and cooked them into meals you wanted, such as fried rice, papaya salad, and noodles. 

The final day of my stay in Chiang Rai, I decided to see elephants. 

This activity is widely known in Thailand- all travelers want to play with the elephants. However, it just didn’t sit right with me. 

Elephants are wild animals. Their natural instincts are not to eat only bananas, be ridden,  and juggle, they are to roam the jungle, eat leaves, and play with other elephants. 

I have a lot of mistrust that the elephants in the high-tourism areas are being taken care of correctly. Now, there is a lot of light on the abuse of elephants, making sanctuaries more popular, but they’re so popular that everybody now calls any elephant area a sanctuary. This does not mean that it is safe or natural for elephants to live here, it is purely a marketing statement. 

After discussing this with Liesl, she gave me the name of a place that rescued elephants from these “sanctuaries,” logging, homes, and circuses, rehabilitated them, and then set them back into the wild. 

It’s called: Elephant Valley. 

“The only normal people are the ones you haven’t met yet. Everyone else is weird.” -Alfred Adler

The really fascinating part of this company was the rehabilitation that goes into rescuing the elephants.

They basically have to train them how to be wild again. 

This has proven more difficult than they anticipated.

Rehabilitation includes free space to roam and make their own decisions, feeding less sugary foods, creating a routine similar to that found in the wild, and helping them get accustomed to not being around humans.

One bull elephant was having a very hard time with the transition. He was rescued from a circus, where he had been ridden every day. 

When he came to the Elephant Valley, he was let loose in the open area. This set him off to where he knocked down trees, ran at people, and couldn’t be consoled. 

Now, he has formed a bond with two humans. They take turns riding him all day long because that is his comfort. He is tied up at night for comfort as well. In slow strides, they will ride him for less and less time until he is more comfortable making his own decisions instead of listening to the rider all the time.

There were a total of four elephants in the Valley at the time I visited. 

One from the circus, one from the logging industry, and two from the tourism industry.

When they “graduate” from that facility, they move them to an even more remote area where the training continues. 

In the end, they will be released into the wild.

Interestingly, it has not been entirely successful.

Some of the elephants that have been released, ended up finding a human town and wreaking havoc on it. This is because they are so familiar with humans (raised in captivity) and it might just take longer to break that habit. 

During my visit, we walked around the area while staying a large distance from the elephants. 

We talked in a mostly question/answer type format about the facility and what they do. 

We watched them bathe themselves in a mud pond.

And at the end, we got to feed them some banana tree leaves. These are much more nutritious than bananas- less sugar and more fiber. 

I am still conflicted by the elephant tourism industry in Thailand. 

I do think that Elephant Valley did an excellent job of educating us about the industries, and about what they specifically do to rehab them. 

There is a fine balance of that company also being part of the tourism industry and just wanting to educate the public about their efforts. 

They currently do an excellent job at this, and I hope that they continue to be that positive presence in Northern Thailand.

At the end of this day, Liesl and I met up for some Indian cuisine.

It was exquisite. 

I think that my time in Chiang Rai really brought me to the core of why I wanted to go to Thailand in the first place: CULTURE.

Chiang Rai (with the help of Liesl) allowed me to dive deeper into many aspects of Thai culture.

Religion, art, politics, culture, elephants, and day to day life. 

Being farther away from travelers and tourists was such a fulfilling experience, and it left me with many new thoughts and perspectives that I didn’t have when I came.

Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Rach