Chiang Rai January 5-7

We added Chiang Rai to our itinerary thanks to Phyllis and Jay and were so thrilled that we did.  Firstly, we stayed at one the cutest places so far our our trip: Nak Nakara, which is named for Nag, the serpent.

Second, under the heading of better lucky than good, we picked the dates based on logistics of air travel, availabilities, etc., and lucked in to being in Chiang Rai on the exact 2 days of the annual flower festival!!!  How lucky are we!  There was a smaller festival in town that we ventured out into the first night. The pictures do not even begin to capture the enormity of the event and the beauty of the flowers.

There were 2 stages with live music, one with classic Thai performers, the other with modern artists including hip-hop.

The street food was amazing.  We tried at least 5 things we had never tried before, and all were delicious!

The next day we had so much to pack in.  First we went to Wat Rung Khun – The White Temple.  It is a modern art museum in the style of a Buddhist temple built by artist Chalermchai Kosipipat.  Again, the pictures do not even begin to show how amazing this place is.  Photos are not allowed inside, where the artist really expresses both his sense of humor and his anger at the corruption of and destruction caused by modern life.  Outside is white for purity with glass inlays throughout, shimmering brilliantly in the sun.

The reaching hands in front we are told represent unrestrained desire.  We cross from here to the main temple, passing toward eternal bliss by crossing over a bridge that proclaims the way to happiness by forgoing temptation, greed, and desire.

Inside there are pictures with a mix of classic Buddhist stories and modern ones including super heroes, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, and the twin towers burning, to name a few.  There are several other buildings, again mixing classic and contemporary.

Next we went to Baan Dam – Black House, which is also an art museum in the Buddhist Temple style by a private artist, Thawan Duchanee.  It is actually 40 buildings on a several acre property. Both of theses temples/art museums are both revered and reviled by the Thai, depending on one’s point of view.  As expected, the Black House has a much darker, death related theme.  But it also has functional rooms for living.

 

Then we visited a tea plantation and had a tea tasting.  Yes, believe it or not, I went to a tea tasting.

Then we drove up to the Golden Triangle, which is where Thailand borders both Myanmar and Laos.

The peninsula in the middle is Myanmar; the far coast Laos.

Finally on the day, we made it back to Chiang Rai in time before the sun set to visit the much larger flower festival by the river, again eating our way through the many food stalls surrounding the gardens.

The next morning we found the energy to visit one last temple before leaving Chiang Rai, the Blue Temple.