Adventures with Jack and Julia

Following an amazing week in Chiang Mai, we boarded a bus to travel even further north to visit Chiang Rai. We arrived in the early afternoon and settled into our hotel. There are 3 main sites that everyone visits in Chiang Rai: Blue Temple (Wat Rong Suea Ten), White Temple (Wat Rong Khun) and Black House (Baan Dam Museum). These temples are much newer and more modern than the traditional ones we had previously visited. We unfortunately didn’t make it to the Black House on this trip as without a car, it’s more difficult to get around. Instead, we opted to take some Grab rides to see some of the sites our hotel was better positioned for in the city.

After dropping off our stuff, we visited the Wat Rong Suea Ten, which was designed by Phuttha Kabkaew. He began constructing it in 2005 and it was finished in 2016. The temple’s dominant feature came as no surprise; it was a big blue building filled with blue religious symbols. We arrived just as a massive rainstorm came out of nowhere but while we waited for it to pass, we marvelled at the exterior of the temple which was absolutely stunning. Once the rain subsided, we made our way to the front of the temple where a large crowd of people came pouring out. Now that the rain was gone, they were free to leave and we had the temple mostly to ourselves after. If you find yourself in Chiang Rai, it’s worth checking out. However, we found ourselves much more impressed by the temples in other cities as this one was dominated by tourists taking selfies and buying the same souvenirs sold all throughout the country.

Wanting to escape this massive tourist destination, we decided to head to a nearby tea house down by the river called Chivit Thamma Da Coffee House. Something we learned on the way to Chiang Rai is that it’s known for producing some amazing tea and coffee on local plantations, and we’d seen what a cute little building it was so we happily made our way there. This tea house is actually two separate buildings – one more of a restaurant and one more of a cafe. We opted for the latter, and spent a couple of hours marvelling at the wide variety of floral mugs and saucers. They also had a huge selection of teas that you could smell and choose for a pot, as well as some truly mouth-watering desserts to pair with them. Following a relaxing afternoon of cards and tea, we had a chill night at our hotel and dinner at a local nearby restaurant.

On our first full day, we woke up really early with the idea of being the first people at the White Temple. The temple is known for its intricate, all-white exterior that symbolizes the purity of the Buddha. It was designed by the artist Chalermchai Kositpipat and opened to the public in 1997. Unfortunately, our plan was foiled as it took a while to get a Grab so we arrived at 8:20 and it was already packed. You could tell right from the beginning that there were a lot of people due to the log jam created at the entrance where everyone was waiting for their Instagram photo on the bridge out front. It was totally worth the wait however, and the temple was very beautiful and unique. It was a cloudy day, but on sunny days, it supposedly sparkles magnificently. Something that we didn’t expect but thoroughly enjoyed was the artist’s self-built cave at the back of the compound. Inside, Kositpipat has let his creativity flow with no bounds as he sculpts sea creatures, golden treasures, dragons, demons, and a sacred Buddha in the back. It was certainly worth the small additional cost to check out.

In the afternoon, we visited another tea house. This one was called Sawanbondin Tea House & Experience and it was a serene oasis in the countryside of Chiang Rai. We got to sample many of their award winning teas and the staff were super knowledgeable. A highlight for us was getting to spend some time meeting and chatting with the owner who’s very passionate about getting her tea recognized on a global scale. The tea house was so charming and the vibes inside were calming and relaxing with the floor to ceiling windows letting in lots of natural light. Julia had an amazing homemade yuzu ice cream topped with wild honey while Jack had some delicious vegan biscuits. We shared the “flower garden” special blend tea with notes of jasmine, rose, orange, mulberry, chamomile and oolong while we waited out some afternoon rain. The owner told us that someone came in looking to bring their tea to Vancouver, so be on the lookout at any new shops that open up – it’s delicious! We had another chill night after dinner at the same local spot as the night before. We have been loving the fresh fruit smoothies that are available all over Thailand for around $1-2 CAD, so we each had one for dessert.

Our third and final day was spent doing some trip planning, working out at a new gym and checking out a market for some local bites to eat. We have enjoyed exploring Northern Thailand so far but we can’t wait to travel down south to the Thai islands! Up next, we will be visiting Koh Phangan, so stay tuned!

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