We spent 3 enjoyable nights in Chiang Rai in December 2024. We flew there from Bangkok at the start of our trip - a quick flight of just 1½ hours. There is a taxi desk at Chiang Rai airport where they ask where you are going and give you a price. We were a bit suspicious at first but it proved to be excellent value at just 160 baht (€4.40 at the time) for a journey of around 20-25 minutes.

We stayed at Sann Hotel (not to be confused with Sann Boutique Hotel, also in Chiang Rai!) and were happy with it. Our room was very comfortable and the location was great, less than 10 mins walk from the clock tower. There's a nice large swimming pool which we had to ourselves the day we went for a swim! The reception staff weren't the friendliest (unusual for Thailand), and the breakfasts weren't great but it was a nice hotel.

The main attractions to Chiang Rai are the amazing temples, White Temple (Wat Rong Khun) and Blue Temple (Wat Rong Suea Ten) Many people visit them on a day trip from Chiang Mai, but at over 4 hours journey each way this didn't appeal to us. Also, doing it as part of a tour means that you're restricted to the time allocated by the guide for each location too, which often means not having enough time at places you want to explore more. Anyway, we loved both temples and took so many photos! As with all temples in Thailand, it’s important to dress respectfully when visiting them, which means covering your shoulders and knees. 

The White Temple was built in 1997 by local artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, who also designed the famous Chiang Rai Clock Tower, and is a symbol of art and creativity with the white colour of the temple representing the purity of Buddhism. It is quite beautiful, unlike any other temple we have seen (and we have seen quite a few!), some of it is a bit harrowing including the hands reaching out symbolising desire. This area is meant to represent human suffering and hell. The grounds are really interesting to walk around and the toilets in a separate gold building have to be seen to be believed!.

The entry fee is 100 THB for foreign visitors, which helps maintain the temple and fund its ongoing construction and it is open daily from 8am to 5pm, It is located about 20 minutes south west of Chiang Rai city and we took a Bolt there which cost 150 baht one way. There is a cafe and some shops just outside the temple but they weren't overpriced as can be the case near popular tourist attractions. It is a must to visit if you are in Chiang Rai.

The Blue Temple is closer to Chiang Rai, just north of the river, and is another unusual and beautiful temple, well worth a visit. It is open every day from 7am - 8pm and entry is free. Another modern temple, it was just completed in 2016 and is painted in a gorgeous blue colour with gold embellishments. The centerpiece is a huge statue of a White Buddha surrounded by contemporary Buddhist art in a modern style. It is very unique and, like the White Temple, is great for photos.

Chiang Rai Clock Tower, an ornate structure by Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat who also designed the White Temple, was built in 2008 to honour the late Thai King Bhumibhol Adulyadej and to celebrate the 60th birthday of the Queen of Thailand. Time your visit to see the music and light show every night at 7pm, 8pm and 9pm.

Restaurants in Chiang Rai

We had a couple of excellent meals in Chiang Rai and a couple of disappointing ones. The first place we ate at was Awe's Cafe which got great reviews on Trip Advisor with many saying it was the best place in Chiang Rai for Khao Soi. It proved to be a bit of a disappointment and we definitely had much better Khao Soi's on our trip. There's not actually a kitchen at Awe's Cafe, so food is made at O’Kanes Irish Pub a minute’s walk away with same owner, and delivered there. The red curry was tasty enough, but the portion was tiny and it wasn't particulary spicy (maybe they toned it down for us, even though we told them we liked it spicy). O'Kanes itself was a nice place to have a drink and people watch - look out for their Happy Hour with drinks offers.

A lovely little restaurant/bakery next to the Clock Tower was Papaunos. It was located on the road back to our hotel so we stopped off for a coffee/beer a couple of times and decided to eat there one evening. The Khao Soi was delicious (much nicer than the one at Awe's) and the spicy pork stir fry was also very tasty. We also had breakfast here on our last morning when we decided to pass on the hotel breakfast to have something better before our bus journey to Chiang Mai. We had eggs benedict with bacon and a croissant sandwich with bacon. Both were very tasty and we were glad to have found this place, with nice food and friendly service.

We had a really delicious lunch at Homchan Restaurant next to Sann Hotel. The Khao Soi with beef was really tasty with tender meat and lovely flavours, as was the Northern Thai sausage with spaghetti and basil (see left). It was a bit pricier than some, but still great value for money. It's a nice place too, with a lovely garden area, and feels a bit more upmarket.

Another lovely place where we stopped for a drink after visiting the Blue Temple (it's just 5 mins walk from there) was Chivit Thamma Da. It's a beautiful colonial style building with lovely garden setting overlooking the river. We just had an iced Thai coffee and an Affogato and both were delicious and served with a large jug of iced water with lemon. It was too early for us to have a meal, but the food we saw being served to other people looked very nice.

Chiang Rai Walking Street Market - We found this market a huge disappointment. We'd read a lot saying what a great market it was, but it was the worst market we visited our trip, possibly the worst we've ever been to full stop!! The clothes all looked like poor quality second-hand stuff and we found no stalls of interest anywhere!