It’s time for our group holiday and this time we’ve picked Thailand. I’ve been to Bangkok a few times but haven’t explored elsewhere in Thailand so I’m very excited for this trip… also I’m en route to Sydney so that’s always something to look forward to!
I arrive in the afternoon after flying on Emirates through Dubai and I’ve a few hours to hang around until the gang get here. They arrive on time so we find our pick-up and we’re off…
We’re staying for one night at Riva Surya hotel which is on the river and it’s really nice. The rooms are gorgeous. We sit outside and have a cocktail and a small bite to eat before calling it a night.
There was talk of a swim early next morning so off I go… but no one turns up! Still the swim was gorgeous and after breakfast we set off to explore.
We walk though the university and see a giant lizard rambling around outside one of the buildings – that was unexpected!
The Wilsons haven’t been here before and our intention is to visit the palace but we’ve just found out that the King’s mother died on Friday and the palace is closed. Bad luck… we still walk down to take in the surrounding area.
We walk to Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn, and get a great view of it from across the river. It’s a bit cloudy so not as colourful as it generally appears but it is beautiful to see.
From here we take the ferry along the river to our hotel. It’s a busy river with lots of long boats ferrying people around and tugboats dragging huge loads of cargo.
Back at the hotel after a swim to cool down, we have foot massages, which are heavenly (well some of us think so!). Then it’s time to organise ourselves and head to the airport for the hour flight to Chang Rai.
We have an easy pick up at the small Chang Rai airport and get dropped at our Airbnb which is a lovely 4-bedroom house. We chose our rooms (all of which are lovely) and head out to the night market for some food.
There are lots of food stalls and a lot of choice. Shane finds Khao Soi, the signature dish of Northern Thailand which consists of egg noodles with chicken in a creamy coconut soup, topped with crispy noodles, with shallots, lime, and pickles on the side. It’s really good. We also have pad Thai, noodles with pork, roti and morning glory (which is a green veg). Washed down with a Singha beer, we have a look around the market.
We go to a craft beer bar (surprise surprise!) and there’s some live music which we are loving. Hard to tell if the singer is singing in English or Thai but we think he’s doing his own tracks. Our favourite is clearly the break out hit from his album – “Shine time”!!
Next day after finding some coffee (a lemon green iced tea for me!), we take a taxi to see the famous White Temple. It’s famous but it’s a total tourist trap – feels like a Disney Temple!
One of the highlights of the White temple complex are the golden toilets!! Yep the photo below is of the toilet block!!
Built in 1997, the temple sparkles and has intricate carvings at every turn. On the inside it’s full of colour, just like a regular Buddhist temple (no photos allowed inside). Obligatory photos taken, it’s time to move on.
Our grab driver waits for us and is keen to take us to the Long Neck Karen village, where the ladies where the gold to elongate their necks…. We decide not to do that! Apparently it was dying out until they realised they could make money from tourists and it’s become a thing again… 🥲. So instead of that we head for Rong Suea Ten Temple aka the Blue temple.
This is another contemporary Buddhist temple which commenced building in 2005. It’s beautiful and very interesting to walk around the complex but again doesn’t have an authentic feel about it. We’re encouraged to get a photo with the Buddha… unusual but happy to oblige.
We get dropped back to town and go to a local restaurant for lunch. The food is delicious. I have Chinese kale and pork belly and Shane has array of deliciousness too!
We want to visit an old temple and just around the corner is WAT JEDYOD built in 1844
I do love all the lanterns…
We continue walking along the main road and pass the Clock tower – which looks much better at nighttime.
A stop for a wee beverage before heading back to the house for a rest and freshen up before dinner. Dinner is a host of more Thai dishes – I chose dumplings in chilli oil this time and then a cider at SmoBeer before calling it a night.
Tomorrow we leave for the jungle…
odohertyelaine 