One pleasant day trip we took was to Chiang Rai. It is a neighboring city to Chiang Mai with a population of around 70,000. What we primarily wanted to see were the magnificent temples that we had seen adorning tourist brochures and websites. Sabina booked a taxi to drive us there and back and show us around the specific sites we wanted to visit. Thanks to Sabina’s tough negotiating skills, they agreed on a price of 3,000฿ for the full day and a vehicle with at least seven seats.

The driver picked us up at 7:30 a.m. It takes three to four hours to reach Chiang Rai one way, so it made sense to get an early start. When we opened the door, we were greeted by a big smile, a laugh, and the words: ”White Temple, Gold Temple, Blue Temple, Black Temple—YES, YES.” Andreas looked at him and politely replied with the same ”YES, YES,” and—in mutual agreement—we all hopped into the car and set off.

The driver had a few spots he wanted to show us along the way; he first stopped at a hot spring where we could look at the water and use the restroom. The springs looked like two pools of hot, bubbling water. There was a strong smell of eggs in the area. The driver explained—in somewhat broken English—that you could buy eggs at a nearby stall and boil them in the springs (or at least, that’s how we understood him).

A little further on, the driver stopped again at a village where he wanted to show us a tribe of ”long-neck” women. We didn’t quite realize what the place was until we arrived. We really can’t recommend this place. There was an entrance fee of 300 ฿ per person, and once inside, we found a tiny market and very high prices. We were also a bit unsure about the whole concept of walking around and paying just to look at the people there; it felt a bit like a zoo, only with humans. They seemed happy enough, though—they were probably making good money off foolish tourists paying the admission fee to enter their market.

Upon arriving in Chiang Rai, we were greeted by the most magnificent temples we’ve seen in Thailand so far. Our driver said, ”White Temple, yes yes, good toilet.” And the White Temple was truly magnificent (and yes, the restrooms were nice 😅)! It’s hard to describe the craftsmanship and the surrounding environment, so we’ll let the photos speak for themselves—though even they don’t quite do it justice.

After visiting the White and Gold temples (which were located at the same site), we grabbed a bite to eat before heading to the Blue Temple, followed by the Black Temple. The Black Temple is made of wood rather than concrete and is actually a museum. The museum’s theme seems to be darkness, death, and suffering. Skeletons and animal hides lie scattered throughout the large halls, creating an almost eerie atmosphere—as if a kind of darkness surrounds us. It stands in stark contrast to the temples we visited earlier.

On the way back, we stopped at a gigantic statue of the goddess Guan Yin—known as ”Big Buddha,” even though it isn’t actually Buddha. You can get all the way to the top inside the statue. We thought walking up would make for a good workout, but the staff turned us down, explaining that walking isn’t allowed—you have to pay to take the elevator up. Somewhat reluctantly, we handed over 200฿ and stepped into the elevator; after all, we do have legs for walking. Regardless, the view was magical!

Fact box:
The entrance fees for the various temples were:
– The Long neck market 300฿/ per person
– White temple 200฿/per person.
– Gold temple free.
– Blue temple free.
– Black temple 80฿/ per person.

Now, only the three-and-a-half-hour journey home remains. A huge thank you to our driver, who was incredibly service-minded and cheerful the whole time. Thanks for a great excursion!

//Sabdreasworld