Day 209 - Chaing Rai to Chiang Mai

This was an easy day in terms of driving, The road from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai was easy and should not take longer than 3h. I still got up early, mainly to see the White Temple in the morning since I was passing by anyway.

You can compare the photos but I think the best time to visit is in the afternoon before sunset, light is better in my opinion and there are less people but your preference might vary.

The rest of the road was pretty uneventful, aside from me filling up my memory cards after not being able to offload my photos to my Surface for the past days.

Once I got to Chiang Mai, I met up with an old friend and we spent the afternoon and evening catching up and having beers.

Day 208 - Chiang Rai and the Black House

The morning was spent walking around Chiang Rai and visiting some of the temples in the area. While walking past the clock tower I happened upon a parade or similar so stayed to take some photos.

The temples in Chiang Rai are all very nice but in a way also quite similar and by now I have seen quite a few temples in Thailand.

Still, I quite like Chiang Rai as it's a bit quieter and less touristy than Chiang Mai so it makes for a nicer walk around.

I really liked the White Temple and when I heard of the Black House, I had to go and see it for myself, again opting for later in the day to get the sunset but also less visitors in the afternoon.

I almost arrived too late since they close a bit earlier but still managed to see everything that was open and it was again worth the trip.

As the name suggests everything is dark and black, with animal bones and skins used for decorations in a quite impressive way. While it's called the Black House, it's actually one main house but also lots of smaller houses dotted around the gardens.

Some houses are similar in style and built with dark wood but some stand out by being very different and looking quite futuristic.

While the White Temple could have come out of a Tim Burton movie, so could this although some of the houses could fit well in Game of thrones, while others would not look out of place in a Sci-Fi movie.

Overall it's a pretty cool place and very interesting for a visit, together with the White Temple this was the highlight of my Chiang Rai visit.

Tomorrow, I'll be heading back to Chiang Mai.

Day 207 - Chiang Rai and the White Temple

Before heading on to Chiang Rai, I figured it would be good to drive around Chiang Saen to do some sightseeing and then check out one of the Opium museums at the Golden Triangle.

Chiang Saen reminded me a lot of Ayutthaya and the old temples dotted around the city there, some not more than ruins or a pile of bricks. It is a nice city though and pretty quiet so made for a nice stay.

There are two museums dedicated to Opium at the Golden Triangle, the bigger and more expensive one is the Golden Triangle Park Hall of Opium and the cheaper and smaller one is the 212 House of Opium. Since I didn't want to become and expert in Opium but was just generally interested, I figured the 212 House of Opium museum would be enough and indeed it was interesting and provided the kind of information I was looking for.

Once I set off to Chiang Rai, I had three route options and since even with the longest option I would easily make it there before lunch, I took the longest option. It appeared more scenic and fun, indeed it was scenic but not so much fun as the road was in very bad condition and it was a very dusty and bumpy ride. Along the way I also took the wrong turn and ended up doing a very long loop just to get back where I was an hour ago.

Needless to say, I didn't quite make it to Chiang Rai by lunchtime but it was still early afternoon and after finding a hotel there was still enough of the day left.

While looking online at things to do in Chiang Rai, I came across the White temple and figured it would be great to take photos there during sunset. Indeed it proved to be the right time and the temple itself is very impressive making the 12km drive out there well worth.

For everybody who has seen too many samey kind of temples in Thailand and really needs a change, this is a must visit. It looks like something out of a Tim Burton movie or like an ice palace in some fairy tale adaptation. When you first see it, you would almost not think it's an actual temple but something completely different, even the traffic cones around the temple are very cool with skulls on them.

After watching the sunset at the temple, I headed back to Chiang Rai to go for a walk around the city and explore some of it. The first thing I came across was the clock tower just when they had the light and music show on so this was great timing.

A few streets up, there was a street market with everything from clothes, souvenirs to food and drinks. I always love these as they provide good photo opportunities and also allow me to sample some of the different street food and fruit juices.
One thing that's never missing in Asia is a square with music where people of all ages dance together and have fun. Every time I see this it's great and has a great relaxed and friendly atmosphere where people are happy and having a good time together.

Tomorrow, will be a full day of exploring Chiang Rai and visiting the Black House after the White Temple today.