Temples & Markets in Chiang Rai

We caught a bus from Chiang Mai and were provided with a bottle of water and a snack - off to a good start!

We grabbed a quick lunch and I had the most delicious matcha latte (I discovered these in Japan and they’re big in Thailand too - winning!).

We had a spare afternoon up our sleeves and jumped in a Grab (the Asian version of Uber) to Wat Rong Suea Ten (The Blue Temple). 

The amazing blue colour of the temple represents the heavenly heavens of Buddhism. The intricate designs in the temple also symbolize the culture and history of the Lanna (Northern Thai) people.

This was designed by an apprentice of the designer who created The White Temple (more on this later). 

It was absolutely stunning - and free to visit! 

This was a small complex with only the main temple and one other chedi. 

We only really had one full day in Chiang Rai and rented a car so we could explore the area more easily. Well, we managed to pack a lot into our road trip! 

Stop #1: Wat Rong Khun (The White Temple) 

This is the most famous tourist attraction in Chiang Rai. Although it’s called a temple, it’s technically not - it’s an ‘art object in the style of a temple.’ 

It was artist who designed this whose protégée went on to design The Blue Temple.

The brilliant white of this temple was chosen to represent purity and the mirrors aim to shine or reflect the teachings of Buddha out into the world.

The photos don’t really do it justice - it’s a huge structure and looks absolutely incredible in person.

Stop #2: Ma Family Coffee Farm

This was a little ‘off the beaten track’ - we love all things coffee and decided to head to a coffee farm in the mountains. The road got increasingly dicey and we contemplated turning back several times - but we made it and were rewarded with beautiful views! 

This would’ve been an amazing place to stay the night. 

Stop #3: Khun Korn Waterfall

Back down the winding mountain roads, we arrived at the start of the Khun Korn Waterfall trail.

It’s beautiful, but I’ll admit, the ‘beware of snakes’ sign had me unnerved. Pleasingly, there were enough people on the trail to scare off the snakes, but not so many that this wasn’t a peaceful visit. 

The waterfall itself was unexpectedly impressive! 

Stop #4: Wat Huay Pla Kang

This complex had three structures:

1. A giant Guan Yin ‘Goddess of Mercy’ statue 
2. A Wat (temple) with a beautiful white interior
3. A 9 tiered pagoda (with Chinese dragons)

Apparently this site is a fusion of Lanna (Northern Thai) and Chinese design. 

Stop #5: Lalitta Cafe

I’ll admit, I got influenced. This cafe is ‘TikTok famous’ and all over the internet. It was pretty, and very unique but did feel a little a little overhyped and gimmicky. 

Stop #6: Baan Dam Museum

This was certainly one of the more bizarre places I’ve visited. Also known as the Black House Museum, this was a museum size across multiple black buildings. Each featured different ‘art’ (I’d guess you’d call it that), but there was a lot of animal antlers and skins - it was rather bizarre and not really our style. The actual black buildings themselves were pretty cool, but the art was fairly unconventional and quite unnerving. 

Stop #7: The Flower Festival

This was a completely random pitstop - the annual Chiang Rai Flower Festival happened to be on so we decided to swing by.

It was actually a pretty amazing free festival - all the locals seemed to be here! There were beautiful flower planted everywhere, as well as a whole night market.

We were already planning to go to the Saturday Night Market in the centre of Chiang Rai, or else we would’ve spent more time here. 

We capped off a very busy day with a stop at the Saturday Night Market, we didn’t really have any expectations going it but it was really impressive - and huge! It was also the first Thai market that I’d seen selling bugs! 

We had heard that the clock tower in the centre of Chiang Rai lit up and played music on the hour in the evenings. Whilst we weren’t planning on making a special trip, we happened to be heading home at 10 mins to the hour, so thought why not!? It was kind of cool but also kind of strange that a central roundabout had this display! 



Our time in Chiang Rai was short lived but we really enjoyed it! It’s not a big city, but there are many lovely little cafes and markets, and it’s not super touristy, so it was pretty quiet and easy to get around. We are really enjoying Northern Thailand so far - I would absolutely return!