Chiang Rai

Our plane brought us from Bangkok to Chiang Rai, where we spent four nights. Our base was the One Budget Hotel at Stadium, about 15 minutes outside the city center. The rooms were surprisingly spacious, simple, but modern and the price was almost unbelievable: just 12 CHF per night! With Grab, it only cost a few francs to get into town, and from there we rented a scooter at PP MotorBike for two days. Their bikes were in good condition and only 7 CHF for a day. We highly recommend this place for renting a bike.

Chiang Rai itself is a lovely place. We wandered through the city to see the famous Clock Tower and to discover several temples both in the center and around it before renting a scooter to also explore the further vicinity. The highlights for us were definitely the White Temple named Wat Ron Khun and the Blue Temple named Wat Rong Suea Ten, which are absolutely stunning and a must-see for anyone visiting. The White Temple is a breathtaking work of art by Chalermchai Kositpipat. Especially the shimmering white exterior, with glass mirrors, is truly beautiful. Right after visiting the White Temple, we went to Singha Park. It is a park known for its tea plantations and flower fields. They also offer outdoor activities and have a small zoo. However, we just drove by with our scooter to get an impression, which we thought was enough for us.
Another unforgettable stop was Wat Huay Pla Kang with its 80m tall Guan Yin statue. We could even take an elevator up into the head of the statue for a stunning panoramic view over the area. Inside, tiny Buddha statues and sparkling decorations add a magical touch. And outside, two huge dragon sculptures make the whole place even more special. Definitely worth a photo! Another picture worthy place close to the Guan Yin statue is the Lalitta café. It’s a café where you have a fairytale atmosphere with its mistfilled environment of waterfalls and beautiful plants. However, we only had a look from the outside and decided to head back instead of paying to go in.

We ended our first scooter day with a sunset on a hill at the Wat Phratat Doi Khao Kwai temple. This temple is another hidden gem from which we enjoyed amazing views over Chiang Rai and nature and only surprisingly few people to share it with. On our way back to the city, we drove by a festival which took place on a decommissioned airfield and spontaneously decided to check it out. It was a huge fair featuring a lot of food and clothes stalls. Matthias tried his luck at a shooting gallery and won a little soft toy (turtle). Luckily, we were smart enough to try and remember where we parked our scooter because when we returned to the parking area, it was completely dark and hundreds of scooters came after us, which changed how the parking area looked completely and made it hard to find ours.

Chiang Rai features many markets. Foodwise we were impressed by the Chiang Rai Night Bazaar/Market where we went twice, as it is open every night. Besides the normal market stands, they have a food court with numerous stalls offering plenty of very good and delicious food options. From Curries, Padthai, Pad Kra Pao, Roti, up to Mango Sticky Rice they had it all.

After four days, we left Chiang Rai with full hearts, grateful for its dazzling temples, friendly vibe, and colorful memories. We boarded a bus to bring us to our next destination. Despite not being the newest, this bus offered wide reclining seats and complementary hand sanitizer, water, and snacks, which made for a really comfortable ride.

Restaurants we can recommend:
- Breakfast factory (extremely delicious breakfast)
- The Hungry Nest (breakfast place)
- Snack & Fika Cafe (Try their smoothie bowls and drinks. Just yummy)
- Kalae Cafe / Nangnon Coffee (breakfast spot)
- Papa Pineapple (Cute place is outside of Chiang Rai. It’s a pineapple plantation with a little café. There they have a small menu with drinks and food all made of pineapple.)
- Lalitta Café (fairytale café)
- The Winds Chiang Rai Thai Restaurant (great Thai food and big portions)
- Chiang Rai Night Bazaar/Market (typical and freshly made Thai food)Læs mere