One Day in Chiang Rai, Thailand

After crossing the border from Laos into Thailand, my first stop was the city of Chiang Rai. Located in the northern part of the country, Chiang Rai is known for its beautiful temples.

Day 0 – Arrival

I had an adventurous time crossing from Laos into Thailand as I opted to take the 2-day slow boat along the Mekong River. The journey starts in Luang Prabang, Laos and has an overnight stop in the small town of Pak Beng. From there, it’s another full-day ride on the boat to the border town of Huay Xai. Upon arrival in Huay Xai, it was a short tuk-tuk ride to the Thai border crossing. After that adventure, I opted to share a van to Chiang Rai with some fellow travelers from my boat.

Our slow boat from Laos to Thailand

On board the slow boat

It had been a long travel day, and we were starving when we finally arrived in the city. Me and two other travelers settled on some 7/11 toasties (a Thai classic) and then went to Bed Friends Poshtel to see if we could get a room. Luckily they had plenty of space available, and we were able to share a room together. I was thankful to have made it into Thailand!

Day 1 – Temples & Thai Food

The three of us had agreed to sleep in until 10 AM which was much needed. We had free breakfast at the hostel which had really good toast and an actual coffee machine; this was a real luxury that we hadn’t seen in quite some time! After a slow morning, we rented motorbikes through our hostel to explore the city.

Riding our motorbikes through Chiang Rai

Our first stop was the famous White Temple. It was a thousand times more beautiful than I had expected, and it made the trip to Chiang Rai worth it! This is the most beautiful temple I’ve seen on all of my travels so far. After spending some time exploring and admiring the temple, we stopped for lunch at a small restaurant where I had an amazing noodle dish that was recommended by the owner.

The beautiful White Temple

The most amazing temple I’ve ever seen!

Every surface glimmers in the sunlight

Next we drove to the Blue Temple, which was underwhelming compared to the White Temple but still really beautiful. We headed to a sunset viewpoint next, but unfortunately it was closed so we headed back to the hostel to park our bikes for the night. We then walked through the nearby Night Bazaar which had lots of clothes and other souvenirs. For dinner I had pad thai at a restaurant near the marketplace, which was a fitting first dinner in Thailand.

The Blue Temple

Elephants at the Blue Temple

We spent the rest of the evening at a few bars near the market and then hung out on our hostel’s rooftop which was a really cool spot. I was leaving early the next morning, so I said my goodbyes to my new friends and headed to bed. I was really glad I had taken the detour into Chiang Rai and spent a bit of time exploring the city!