Chiang Mai + Chiang Rai, Thailand

Arriving in Thailand, we knew we had 2 choices: intense heat (down south), or smoky air (up north). We opted to take our chances on the smoky air, having had our fill of sweltering heat in Kenya and Zimbabwe over the last few weeks. We hopped on an 8-hr bus from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, which was surprisingly comfortable. After a stimulating and satisfying dinner adventure through one of Chiang Mai's buzzing night markets (we kept it simple, in light of the option overwhelm-- $1.50 pad thais), we called it a night to prepare for an early-morning day-trip up to Chiang Rai.

Chiang Rai is most known for its two 21st-century temples known in English as the "Blue Temple" and "White Temple,” and a quirky museum (for lack of a better word) called “Black House.” The temples were truly spectacular as architectural and artistic feats, showing virtuosic skill and unbridled vision. But something felt a bit superficial to us, especially in the White Temple. It seems that these buildings, both built in the 21st-century and funded by a combination of the artists' own funds and government money, were conceived less as places of worship and more as displays of the artists' extravagant skill and as money-making tourist attractions. They certainly succeeded at both of those. Lines at 10AM wrapped all the way around the massive (and stunning) White Temple, and employees on megaphones hurried people through the main passages of the complex. Between the two temples, we did prefer Blue Temple by far. The White Temple does not allow photography inside, but the walls in the main temple are covered in murals that populate somewhat traditional-looking religious landscapes/scenarios with famous characters from Western (and probably Eastern) pop culture-- think Batman, Darth Vader, Elvis, various Pokémon, etc. This could totally be a well-thought out spiritual commentary that's over my head, but I mostly experienced that imagery (which was EVERYWHERE inside) as a distraction from the stillness and contemplation that many other Buddhist temples (in my very limited experience) seek to inspire.

The Blue Temple was slightly smaller, slightly less busy (though certainly still humming with activity) and while extremely bright, extravagant, and colorful, was more traditional on the inside. The walls depicted scenes from the earthly life of the Buddha. It's also centered, like most Buddhist temples, around a shrine featuring a huge, elegant Buddha statue. Here we saw some non-Western folks reverencing the shrine/statue with bows, incense, and gifts. Thinking back, I don't recall a central statue or shrine in the White Temple at all. But then again, I was distracted by the Joker and Charizard being dragged to hell.

Black House was the legacy of a famous Thai painter who also designed houses and collected all kinds of animal remains (bones, horns, skins/hides, etc.) and built very uncomfortable-looking furniture with them. Since we did all three of these sites as part of a paid day-trip tour and this was our last stop, it felt kind of rushed. There were several buildings with incredible architecture, but not much guidance about what was where, so I went away wishing I'd spent MORE time at the first building, which featured most of the artist's painting, and less at the others, which were mostly just more skull and horn chairs and alligator-skin tables.

Chiang MAI, where we decided to spend another night, was a place we left wishing we had more time. We had some of the best food from our whole Thailand trip there- Khao Soi is my new favorite Thai food, as it's basically a chicken curry with NOODLES instead of rice. Yum. We also found a stellar speakeasy-- the White Rabbit-- where they constructed delicious cocktails riffing on classic recipes using local ingredients like Keffir Lime and Pandan Leaf. Bonus points for the location, hidden away such that we had to literally "follow the white rabbit" down an alley, through an antechamber, up some creepy stairs and through another few creaky, barely-lit, abandoned-looking rooms into this sleek, intimate bar.Read more