Chiang Rai
Northern City Founded By King Mengrai In 1262; Wat Rong Khun, The White Temple, Created By The Artist Chalermchai Kositpipat From 1997; Gateway To The Golden Triangle · Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai
Chiang Rai is Thailand's northernmost major city, a relaxed provincial capital on the Kok River founded by King Mengrai in 1262, a generation before he built Chiang Mai. Most visitors come for its modern temples: Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple, a dazzling white and mirrored fantasy that the artist Chalermchai Kositpipat began rebuilding in 1997, with a bridge over a pit of reaching hands and murals where superheroes and film characters share the walls with the Buddha; Wat Rong Suea Ten, the Blue Temple, in deep sapphire and gold; and Baan Dam, the Black House, the dark compound of teak halls, horns and skins left by the artist Thawan Duchanee. The city itself has a golden clock tower that glows with a light show each evening, a night bazaar and a Saturday walking street. Beyond lie the hills of the far north: the Golden Triangle where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet on the Mekong, the tea village of Doi Mae Salong, Doi Tung's royal garden and the old walled town of Chiang Saen. Visit in the cool season; February to April brings haze from crop burning.
Wat Rong Khun, Pa O Don Chai, Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai, 57000, Thailand
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: Wat Rong Khun has opened daily from about 8 am to 5 pm, with the ordination hall sometimes closed around lunchtime and last entry before 5 pm; the Blue Temple from about 7 am to 8 pm; Baan Dam from about 9 am to 5 pm with a lunch break reported at times; the Hall of Opium from about 8:30 am to 4 pm with a closing day that should be checked, as Monday closures are common for Thai museums. The clock tower show runs at about 7, 8 and 9 pm; the night bazaar every evening; the walking streets on Saturday and Sunday evenings. The traps that ruin a day are reaching the White Temple at 10:30 am with the tour buses, a museum's weekly closing day, the smoky season's haze hiding the hills, and an unplanned Mae Sai border crossing that turns out to be closed. Confirm current times before relying on them.