There’s a lot to do & see in Chiang Rai, but since I was short on time, I decided to take *the* day trip from Chiang Mai. This itinerary is typical and includes the famous White Temple, Blue Temple, and Black House – and you’ll probably see it a lot as an organised tour. It’s done in a day so you start early to take the 4 hour drive to Chiang Rai.

Chiang Rai is constantly on lists of the best places in Thailand so going there was a no-brainer. But as the title might suggest, I was a bit disappointed with what we saw.

So here’s what to expect when you take a day trip to Chiang Rai, and what I thought about it.

Wat Rong Khun (White Temple)

The White Temple is actually very modern. It was built in the 1990s by local artist Chalermchai Kositpipat.

And it was by far the worst part of Chiang Rai, so I guess let’s get the negative out first.

A visit to this temple is perfect if you like being yelled at. There’s a line that goes into the temple and a lot of people stand to get their photo on the bridge, or just take photos on the bridge. Stopping in this line is not allowed, and there is a loudspeaker that was constantly telling people to “keep going,” “don’t stop,” etc – in lots of different languages. And of course, people kept ignoring this loudspeaker and I think everybody in the line stopped to take pictures.

It felt like a dystopia having the loudspeaker going off constantly, and then people continuously disobeying what they said. A cycle of annoying things. I guess the rule of not stopping was for crowd control but in my opinion, it would’ve been less painful had people been allowed to stop and take photos.

Note: I visited in the high season (November), so maybe that’s why it was so bad. Hopefully there are times when it is better and more peaceful.

The inside mural, which is not allowed to be photographed, has depictions of modern events and iconography like the Michael Jackson, Freddy Krueger, and Pikachu. Even though it wasn’t my style, I found it interesting to find a wat that has artwork that’s really accessible to my generation and also a more global audience. It’s also not anything to be expected from a Buddhist temple (even if inactive), making it super unique. It was certainly fascinating to see.

I used the word “dystopian” before to define the experience, but a lot of the imagery – such as the 9/11 attacks and hands grasping up from the ground – also pay homage to a type of dystopia that’s in our world. It’s certainly interesting and no doubt a masterpiece of modern art, but if you read my blog, you know I don’t like modern art or dystopian things. Now that would be my fault for not researching the White Temple before visiting, and rather just putting it on my list because it’s popular.

But despite that, the White Temple was way too crowded, too loud, and to be honest not pretty enough to compensate for these shortcomings. Sorry! If you love the photos or if modern dystopia is your aesthetic then perhaps you’ll like the temple more than I did, but I just didn’t see the appeal. I wanted to leave the whole time I was there.

There are many other places to see on the grounds of the White Temple, including a cave with art inside (which involves a separate fee) and a small art museum. But again, nothing really stood out to me or made up for the cringey experience.

Wat Rong Suea Ten (Blue Temple)

Now let’s switch moods and talk about my favorite part of Chiang Rai: the Blue Temple!

The Blue Temple is super new and was completed only in 2016, so this is just a baby temple. It was designed by Putha Kabkaew who actually studied under the architect of the White Temple.

Even though this temple is newer, I found the artwork to be very beautiful. It was clearly a more modern style but had several elements that called back to traditional design. What I also loved about it was that it was extremely colorful. Of course, the temple is very, very blue – a color chosen to pay homage to water. But there was also use of bright colors on the inside and out that just added so much interest. There’s also a ton of carving and every crevice seems to have some type of painting or decoration. There was a lot of visual diversity and it worked really well.

The Blue Temple is just that – the temple – so it makes a much quicker stop than the White Temple. It also doesn’t have people screaming over the loudspeaker, so that was a bonus! The Blue Temple was hands down the best place we got to see in Chiang Rai, and it almost made the trip over worth it.

Baan Dam Museum (Black House)

The Baan Dam Museum, colloquially called the Black House, is small but fairly interesting. It is a compilation of structures that was designed and built by local artist Thawan Duchanee over the course of the 1990s and the early 2000s (Duchanee died in 2014).

The museum is made up of a bunch of different rooms – many of them quite small – that have different architectural inspirations and functions. It reminded me of the studies we’d make in architecture class, but laid out in real life. You can go inside some structures and not in others, and they’re dispersed around a green lot. You’ll notice a lot of the details look quite traditional at a distance but are actually quite modern, with phallic or death symbolism. It’s quite a unique place!

The Black House has a lot of interesting carvings and is quite tranquil. I didn’t particularly like the artist’s work but I liked the different structures, the tranquility, and the animals (even though I think one bull wanted to fight me). Since so much of the design is inspired by nature and animals, it feels like a very harmoised place.

I found the Baan Dam House to be a “worth stopping by if you have the time” type of museum. But I think a lot of people may also appreciate the uniqueness and a bit of darker architecture.

Day Trip to Chiang Rai: the Verdict

Over the course of the day, I couldn’t stand the White Temple, loved the Blue Temple, and thought the Black House was nice but not worth a 4 hour drive. I have to say, I was a bit grumpy at this point to have spent my time on Chiang Rai when there were several other places I gave up to save time.

(And for the record, I’ve travelled 4+ hours for a day trip before to places that I thought were worth it. I’d heard the Chiang Rai trip was worth it, too.)

Obviously, I didn’t vibe with Chiang Rai. It was too modern for my tastes, which I didn’t research before going, so that was my fault. I really loved the Blue Temple and found the Black House to be interesting but that didn’t offset the awful experience that was the White Temple and the super long drive from Chiang Mai.

If I diss a place like I have in this post, I don’t take it lightly. There are very few places I don’t enjoy in this world. But while I started my blog to promote tourism to places that deserved it, I also started it to save people time on places that might not be worth it to them.

Obviously Chiang Rai has a lot of great reviews, and people absolutely love the day trip. I’m just telling you that I did not find the appeal and maybe other old souls such as yourself might not, either. It was four hours to get to Chiang Rai from Chiang Mai – so 8 hours in a van – and to have what I’d consider a mediocre day wasn’t really worth it.

Instead, I wish I’d gone to someplace else like Pai or Lamphun. But Chiang Rai is so popularly written about that it was in my itinerary solid as stone.

That being said…

*the* day trip is not the only way to get to and around Chiang Rai! You can go up by yourself for the day or even stay as long as you want. That way, you’re not stuck to an itinerary and limited to certain places and activities. There are lots of other things to see, including some beautiful wats that we passed. Obviously I can’t speak to those other activities, but particularly if you have more time to spend in Thailand, Chiang Rai is still worth looking into.

Chiang Rai isn’t as condensed as places like Chiang Mai, so you’ll need to tuk tuk around or be really dedicated to walking.

I hope this blog post gave you an idea of what to expect when you do the day trip to Chiang Rai, and helps you make a decision on how to plan your trip in northern Thailand.

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