6 things to do when Visiting Chiang Rai

Compared with Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai has much smaller night markets. However, people still like to stroll through the small night markets in Chiang Rai after dinner and it is also a very good place to eat snacks and drink beer.

There is not a vast selection in terms of goods. But you can buy items made by the mountain people, as well as pirated DVDs, T-Shirts, etc.

In the night market area, you can enjoy the corteous customer service of waiters wearing traditional North Thailand ethnic costumes, and can also taste unique snacks sold from trolleys by local children.

There are two grand stages at the night market on which Thai songs and dances are performed. At 20:00 o'clock in Chiang Rai, there is the light show next to the downtown bell tower which lasts for one hour. You can watch the light show on the way to the night market.

Wat Phra Singh is located to the north of the street and is close to the Kok River. The temple was built in the 14th century and thus has a very long history. It's said that the temple was built as an imitation of the Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai.

At Phra Singh, a Buddha statue can be found in the courtyard, and there are murals inside the palace. The murals focus on the ancient local fashion and customs, and are regarded as representative works of traditional art from the north of Thailand.

Wat Rong Khun was designed by the famous artist Chaloemchai Khositphiphat in Thailand and was constructed in 1998. The whole temple is white and is carved into countless dragon shapes, which are themselves coated with silver metal strips. The exterior wall of the Buddha hall is also inlaid with mirrored glass.

From a suitable perspective, Wat Rong Khun emits an amazing magic light. Many modern elements are also integrated into the murals inside the temple.

In this white fairytale-esque land, a group photo or landscape photo is necessary to commemorate the moment.

Tourists say that pictures of Wat Rong Khun at sunrise are even more beautiful. Many photography enthusiasts go to Wat Rong Khun in Chiang Rai especially to take photos. Due to the ambient light, the best time to photograph Wat Rong Khun is at sunrise as opposed to sunset.

If you can get up early enough, you have to enjoy the beautiful scenery that the sunlight illuminates around Wat Rong Khun during sunrise. Tourists who hate getting out of bed should not worry. Another wonderful time for photography at Wat Rong Khun is about 4:30pm. You can appreciate the changing colors of Wat Rong Khun at sunset and can also experience a different kind of beauty at night.

The Temple of the Emerald Buddha is a gorgeous and exquisite temple and one of the most famous royal temples in Thailand. According to legend, light hit one of the pagodas in this temple in 1434, causing the jade Buddha statue hidden inside the pagoda to become exposed after the pagoda collapsed. Later, the jade Buddha statue was transported to Bangkok and was consecrated in Bangkok's Wat Phra Kaew. The temple was later named the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

There is a giant Buddha carved out of jade in the Buddha temple which was later obtained by Buddhist believers later on through fund-raising. It stands at 65m tall. The Buddha's body is a translucent emerald green color, and is embedded with gold color around the edges which makes it look even more glorious. Wat Phrachao Lan Thong, built with Indian Bara Art, has a 700-year history and is 3.8m in height and 2m in width. It was commissioned by the Thai royal family to celebrate the birthday of the queen's mother. It has a jade Buddha statue inside which has a Canadian sapphire that was carved in Beijing.

Baan Si Dam is also known as the Black House Museum. It isn't actually a temple, but the home of the genius artist - Thawan Duchanee. The creator, Mr. Thawan, set hell and death as the theme of the exhibition.

Hence, there are many exhibits related to this theme in Baan Si Dam, such as Buffalo skulls arranged in a line on the ground, animal furs and large shells placed on a table. There is also a giant seat composed of buffalo horns in the hall, and the hunting tools gathered from primitive tribe, etc.

In addition, there are many modern art works related to the death theme, such as a sacrifice totem from a primitive tribe set with stones on the grass in front of the temple, and a "death" world built out of many large white animal furs inside the small temple.

Oub Kham Museum is a private museum built in a Lanna architectural style. It exhibits royal items from the Lanna period which have been collected by the museum's owner over many years. Items include an imperial robe, antiques, ceramics, Buddha statues, and crowns, etc.

The design of the museum embodies the museum owner's passion and is very eye-catching in the way that the exhibits are arranged. The man-made cave, artificial hill and water fountain are particularly nice.

In addition, you can see lots of bright, antique jewelry when pushing open the door, which is incredible to look at and well worth visiting the museum for.