Chiang Rai is Thailand’s most northern province and is frequented mostly by tourists and shoppers. Attractions include the famous Golden Triangle and the mighty Mekong River. A wealth of cultural diversity awaits those who take the time to explore the region.
We started our journey at the Cabbages & Condoms Inn and Restaurant
Rong Khun Temple AKA The White Temple
Rong Khun village where is about 10 km south of Chiangrai city and only slightly off the super highway. The main temple building or Ubosot is a distinctive white color and decorated with fragments of reflective glass and can be seen from afar. Painting and murals inside the temple are also very beautiful.
It was designed and built by Thailand’s premier artist Chalermchai Kositpipat.
The attention to detail is remarkable and you do need to spend some time here studying the beautiful artwork. To reach the temple you have to cross a bridge over a pit of hell. Down below there are sculptures of people who are presumably trying to escape from hell.
The Golden Triangle
This is one of Asia’s two main illicit opium-producing areas. It is an area of around 350,000 square kilometres that overlaps the mountains of three countries of Southeast Asia: Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and Thailand. From a viewpoint set high on the hillside, there are magnificent views over the Mae Khong River to the physical triangle made by the countries at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong River.
A Budha statue on a ship on the Thai border
We also enjoyed a boat ride to view the splendor of mighty Mae Khong River
Getting comfy in the sampan and ready to explore the Mae Khong – Myanmar in the background
Here’s where we crossed into Laos for some shopping… Items for sale in Laos include snake or scorpion wines and duty free cigarettes
we had a little walk around the town…
and found this dog and hen living is perfect harmony :)
children asking for change while we were leaving the jetty…
Less than two hundred kilometres away from the northern capital of Chiang Mai lies the sister Lanna province of Chiang Rai – the northern most of Thailand with borders to both the Union of Myanmar and Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
In the bustling street in Maesai… Bridge connecting Thailand and Myanmar.
