Well, we were cookin’ in Chaing Mai, but in Chiang Rai, it was “smokin’”! Literally - the smoke in the air was heavy here, and again evidently this time of year is when the smoke from burning in Myanmar (it’s outlawed to burn fields in Thailand) gets trapped in the inversion layer here. You could smell and see the smoke the entire time we were here (luckily just three days).

I think this could be a beautiful place at the right time of year, with lots of countryside to explore. We weren’t about to let a little smoke stop us. Our hotel was another Le Meridian - a beautiful setting right on the Mae Kok river, which eventually joins the Mekong river. The hotel was great and only $80 a night (so we paid this time). They had a collection of painted elephants which were done to raise money to support local elephant sanctuaries. Beautiful pieces.

Since we were only here a few nights we decided to take a full day tour and cover as much ground as possible. I think it ended up being a 10 hour day, but we did get to see everything possible. Starting with the famous “White Temple”, which is not really a temple but. Is an art exhibit built and owned by a famous artist. It was built in 1997 and continues to be constructed even today. Some of the artists work was a bit on the odd side (for me anyway), with images of Spider-Man and Superman hanging from trees, but the main buildings here were incredible. If only the sky had been blue for a backdrop.

From here we then went and visited the “Blue Temple” or the “Temple of the Dancing Tiger”. I don’t think this is a true temple either as it is being constructed by students of the artist building the White Temple. Some parts were being spray painted blue while we were there. Anyway, it was interesting to see. We also visited another artists compound - this one just his own personal place with many out-buildings and art work he had made and accumulated over the years. And some random water buffalo as well.

After lunch we paid a visit to the Long Neck Karen tribe (Kayin or Kariang is the real name, but it has evolved over time to be Karen). After facing persecution in Myanmar (Burma) in the 1950’s many of the individual tribes fled and ended up in Thailand. The Long-Neck tribe is just one of many tribes, but they are notable for the rings around their neck. There are many theories about why these are worn. One says (way back) these were supposedly used to protect from tigers after some women had been attacked. It was thought the tigers could not get them with this metal around their necks. Regardless of the reason, it is an interesting tradition - one that is fading, but also you could see that some of the younger generation were actually very proud of their heritage.

We then visited the Golden Triangle - where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet on the Mekong River. Famous for opium production in the 60’s and 70’s, this area has been turned into coffee and tea farms now - although Myanmar is said to be producing more opium again. We visited the Museum of Opium, saw a giant golden Buddha, and headed back to the hotel. A lot of check marks after a long day.

We only spent one afternoon visiting the downtown area of Chiang Rai. Found an Irish Pub for a cold one, and a couple of nice places to eat. Walked the market area which was just “ok”, and then took time for a massage, to get ready for our next journey.

On to Phuket!

Visit the rest of the photos in the Chiang Rai photo album.

All the best,

Tim & Eileen