Day 2 Chiang Rai Thailand

29/09/2023

Rainy morning, day trip to Chiang Rai bought from Klook total S$83.78 for the 2 of us.

Took some pics around the hotel while waiting for the pick up.

It was so rainy, we didn't use the pool throughout our stay.

Buffet dinning area. 

Darren didn't get to use their gym also cos we always came back late and it's closed at night.

Cool weather.

We were picked up by a mini bus with a few other tourists, one chinese + ang mo couple and 2 korean couples.  It's a small group.

The seats wasn't the most comfortable.

Had sandwich and milk for breakfast bought the night before from 7-eleven.

Toilet break at Mae Kachang Hot Spring.

Me holding a egg holder for photo only.  We were looking for egg seller but she appeared only when we were about to leave.

Resident ginger.

Souvenir shops selling silver accessories.

Clothes that I regretted not buying cos couldn't find in Chiang Mai.

Toilet with one thousand cubicles, forgotten how many cents we paid.  Quite clean.

Tried to have a foot soak but the spring water was way too hot.

After close to 3hrs' drive, we finally reached the White Temple (Wat Rong Khun).  And the rain stopped in our favor.

Cut and paste information from Wikipedia:

The White temple was created by master Chalermchai Kositpipat, the national artist who designed, constructed, and opened it to visitors in 1997.
The primary structure of the temple is made of a basic concrete frame and a wooden roof. And while, when viewed from afar, it appears to be crafted from sparkling porcelain, upon closer inspection, it becomes evident that the dazzling effect is achieved through a blend of whitewash and transparent mirrored chips. The outer surfaces are adorned with white plaster and incorporated glass inserts.

There's no historical value but the temples are very very beautiful, totally worth the butt ache road trip.

Behind the main temple there's a garden to relax and stroll.

Buffet lunch included in the tour package (which I rather them not).

Nothing was nice but we were too hungry to be choosy.

10mins drive to the next stop, Blue Temple (Wat Rong Suea Ten)

Like the White Temple, it's very new, main temple build and "completed" in 2016.  But seemed that they are expanding the compound building more art work and facilities.

Absolutely a MUST VISIT together with the White Temple.

Could see Thais are very artistic and extremely detail.

Clear sign board but there were illiterates.

Resident ginger.

Paid our respect and wished for 平安 (safety).

There's row of stalls selling souvenirs, ice cream and refreshments, and this was a donation booth.

"Make A Wish" lotus floats.

Next, Black Museum/Baandam Museum.

This is a private art museum comprising a mixture of traditional northern Thai buildings with unconventional architecture, designed by Thawan Duchanee.

Other than the well maintained main temple, the other areas were shabby with cobwebs.

I appreciate some of the art work, such as wood carvings but that's about it.

The place felt eerie with an evil ambience which I didn't feel too comfortable.

Bought medical patches, not too bad but they stained the bed sheets >.<

Row of stalls but not too interesting.

Darren was so worried that the ox might charged at me lolxx...

This would be the fate of the ox a few years later.

Saw denim elephants in a souvenir shop, it's so creative.

The guide gave us sweet and juicy mini pineapples, too cute.

With that our tour was supposed to end but we were "forced" to go to the Long Neck Karen Village.  We were given a choice to wait in the bus or pay about S$16 to go in.  Urrrrgggg.... went in.

The older ladies had longer necks.

The younger ones, just had a few rings.

Young preggy lady, hope she didn't feel too uncomfortable, would these rings harm the body?

I found my long lost neck after putting on the neck rings (fake half rings for photo taking only).

Bought a fridge magnet to support the village a bit.

While this tribal tradition was amazing looking and unbelievable, I hoped it will soon be history.  These women should not be bounded and be freed, most importantly to have education.

The so called village was merely a U-shape stretch of shops selling repetitive items.

Bought a small tub of mud mask, forgotten the price.

It was about 8pm when we came back to Chiang Mai.

 The guide recommended us this local buffet mookata.  We were the only tourists, it's about S$8 inclusive of drinks and ice cream.  However we felt that the taste was average, so wouldn't really recommend this.

There was a small food street nearby, while we were full already, it was an eye opening to look around especially for Darren.

Chanced upon famous Cowboy Hat trotter rice, so sad that we didn't get to eat it.

We called a Grab and was back to our hotel safely within 10mins.

The next day was quite an adventure outside Chiang Mai old town.  Thank you for reading and come back for the next post.

Christmas is getting close, I am starting to pack the luggage for Turkiye, not sure if I can get all the posts done, heehee...  Meanwhile, after Turkiye, I am looking at Maldives...