Just when I thought I could view no more temples and night markets, Chiang Rai came along, and completely shattered what I thought these sites could be. After spending the afternoon in an upscale, lifestyle mall in Chiang Mai I arrived in Chiang Rai in the early evening. The hostel was a short, easy to find walk from the bus station. The hostel receptionist told me that tonight was Chiang Rai’s Saturday night walking market and it was definitely worth checking out - I had heard that before. Every cities’ markets are “must sees” but they tend to be let downs resembling a closer facsimile to a US style flea market offering cheap knock offs and trinkets then providing insight to the local culture.
Despite my preconceived notions I decided to check out the Saturday night walking market - it was only a slight detour on the way to a restaurant I was planning to eat dinner. As soon as I approached the market I noticed an immediate difference - it was crowded…with Thais. The street food appeared fresher and the knock-offs had been replaced with clothing that locals may actually be interested in purchasing.
After stumbling through the narrow pathway the market opened up onto a stage and a plaza. Up on the stage speakers were being set up and Thais were milling around an open space / dance floor area. The music started playing and all the Thais started dancing around in a huge circle. I was so glad I took the detour to the night market.
Despite my preconceived notions I decided to check out the Saturday night walking market - it was only a slight detour on the way to a restaurant I was planning to eat dinner. As soon as I approached the market I noticed an immediate difference - it was crowded…with Thais. The street food appeared fresher and the knock-offs had been replaced with clothing that locals may actually be interested in purchasing.
After stumbling through the narrow pathway the market opened up onto a stage and a plaza. Up on the stage speakers were being set up and Thais were milling around an open space / dance floor area. The music started playing and all the Thais started dancing around in a huge circle. I was so glad I took the detour to the night market.
|
|
The next morning I woke up and took a tuk tuk to the White Temple. The White Temple reminded me of something out of the Legend of Zelda. The temple is fairly small but there are so many intricate details and the death motif is so unique I spent about an hour walking around and viewing the temple from different angles. The temple seemed to sparkle in the early morning sun.
|
|
|
|
|
The temple was built in 1997, so yeah, it's not old, but it's still pretty awesome.
|
|
Bottom line - I liked Chiang Rai. I wish I had spent another day here. I wish I had taken a few more photos of the city's street scenes. Most backpackers go straight from Chiang Mai to Laos to begin the Mekong River cruise. They skip over Chiang Rai completely. That alone makes this place worthy of spending an extra night.
For additional Chiang Rai photos see FLICKR ALBUM.