Day trip to Chiang Rai
Before arriving in Thailand, I had come across pictures of a White Temple that I wanted to visit. Upon further research we found that it would make for a perfect day trip. So we set out the next day to the city of Chiang Rai to see what it had to offer.
We began our day with renting a bike for our trip and then stopped at a local cafe for a coffee and pastry. I am not a coffee connoisseur by any means but the beans they use and the way they prepare the coffee here is exactly to my liking. After Columbia, Thailand probably has the best coffee we have had on our travels so far.
Wat Rong Suea Ten (Blue Temple)
Our first stop was the Blue temple, it is a Buddhist temple also known as the temple of the dancing tiger. Reconstructed in 2016, it is still considered to be a work in progress. The colour blue, in Buddhism, is associated with purity and wisdom. The blue and gold of the temple stood out against the clouds that day, providing a stunning contrast.
Baan Daam (Black House Museum)
We made our way to the Black House Museum next which is a temple styled museum/art gallery by Thai artist Thawan Duchanee. The grounds consist of buildings constructed of wood and metal, painted in black. There are various displays of art inside the buildings as well as installations on the museum grounds. Personally, the art displays themselves were not to our taste but the museum grounds were soothing.
It started raining whilst were there, so we waited it out a bit before heading for lunch at a roadside restaurant. After a satisfying lunch of chicken and fried rice, and khao soi (considered a Chaing Mai speciality, made of egg noodles and chicken in a coconut curry broth) we searched for what other attractions were nearby.
Doy Din Dang Pottery
Our next stop turned out to be somewhat of a hidden gem. We were looking for a place that was a bit off the beaten track and came across Doy Din Dang pottery. It was exactly the peaceful retreat we were seeking after being on the motorcycle for a good part of the day. It is an art gallery and a pottery studio; an impressive collection of pottery is found through out its tranquil grounds. Luckily, we were the only ones there which allowed us to move around at our own pace and experience some quiet and calm. This stop was completely unplanned but turned out to be our favourite of the day. We indulged in some refreshments at the in house cafe before setting off for our final destination of the trip.
Wat Rong Khun (White Temple)
We decided to make this our last stop of the day because it is a popular destination and can get very crowded during day time; visiting nearer to closing time meant we could evade some of the crowds. It took us close to an hour to reach the temple from the pottery studio. When I first set eyes on the temple my jaw dropped in admiration.
It is imagined by the local artist Chalermchai Kositpipat and is truly eccentric in its essence. Made of plaster and mirrored pieces, on a bright day sunglasses are an absolute must. Inside, the temple is quite small and photography is not allowed. I had read you can find murals of the likes of Batman, Harry Potter and other fictional characters, painted inside the walls of the temple, which makes for both an interesting and captivating choice. However, I completely missed them when I was inside. But I hadn't travelled all this way to let this opportunity slide, so after exiting the temple, I circled back to the entrance and asked staff where I could find the painted murals inside the temple. At first, staff did not appear to understand my question, so I rephrased, this time making it more personable, 'where can I find Harry Potter's painting inside the temple?' I inquired, and they understood immediately! 'Oh, of course, Harry Potter', they smiled, nodding their heads, 'as soon as you enter the temple, just turn around and look behind you'.
There were many other equally fascinating artworks and buildings throughout the grounds of the temple that kept us busy until closing time. Had we booked a day tour we might have been able to cover more sites and attractions that Chiang Rai had to offer, but because we always prefer DIY'ing our trips we got to experience each place at our own pace without hordes of tourists and albeit the long hours on the motorbike it still turned out to be a worthwhile day trip and a dazzling exploration of the Thai art scene.
