touchdown in chiang rai
Taking a cab to the airport, we found ourselves eating brunch while waiting for our flight to Chiang Rai. My last meal in Bangkok once again green curry, perhaps I was eating too much of this even though the airport’s curry was the least delicious and most expensive one so far.
The flight was pretty relaxed and Chiang Rai was much more laid back than Bangkok, it gave off that provincial vibe and what was great is that Grab was still quite viable here. We got on a cab that took us to Pimaninn, a four-star hotel that still had an awesome pool.
On the way, I spied with my eye more cannabis shops. Thailand was definitely going in the right location. We checked in at the empty hotel and left our things before booking another cab to Wat Rong Kun, also known as the White Temple.
the white temple
On the way, the rain started to pour hard, like the heaviest rain we’ve seen so far throughout our whole trip. The sky turned dark and the surroundings fogged up. The heavy clouds were following our cab as we went closer to our destination. I was hoping for the rain to stop but when we arrived at the temple and it was dumping even harder.
We sat by the benches outside, watching the downpour and water creep up to us as it started to overflow the streets. The flooding was pretty insane, were we back in Amphawa again? It was somehow still quite a zen moment as we sat by wondering what we were doing all the way out here in the middle of this storm, without wi-fi to go back.
I felt that it wouldn’t last long though as I reassured Jasper. It would be gone in a few more minutes and just like that, the rain dissipated to just a light drizzle. We went inside to check out the temple but we couldn’t enter yet because of the rain so we went around the perimeter taking whatever photos we could.
The pictures definitely do give this temple justice as it was truly a work of art and a very modern take on Theravada Buddhism, very different from the temples of Bangkok. As the name suggests, the whole temple complex was coated in white, a lot of its design resembled white fire with a lot of sharp points to it.
There were several art installations all around but the most popular one was the Bridge of Samsara, surrounding it were hundreds of hands that were supposed to symbolize the earthly desires. We were soon allowed to enter the temple and I had definitely wanted to get some photos taken with the bridge. Luckily enough, there wasn’t anyone at all so I was able to get a lot of cool shots. We continued our tour around the temple, stopping by the main hall where the Buddha was enshrined.
Proceeding out back and stopping by a cafe that had wi-fi, we plotted our next move while Jasper bought some refreshments. Soon, the sun finally came out to play and bedazzled everyone by showing just how beautiful the White Temple could be with proper lighting. I didn’t want to pass this opportunity up so I pestered Jasper to go in for another round with me to take a photo at the bridge for good lighting after I took some of his photos too, of course.
Back at the cafe, we managed to find a cab after waiting for a while and were soon ready to be picked up but I realized that I had somehow lost my umbrella. This was crucial for me as I still had the whole trip ahead and I can’t afford to lose it since it was given to me by my mom too and it had some pretty cool anti-UV tech. I urged Jasper to go on without me as I went back in to try and find it. Jasper begrudgingly cancelled the booking.
Luckily, the ladies manning the counter had my umbrella with me so I was very relieved and ready to leave but we couldn’t find another cab and had to wait for much longer.
the stairs with twin dragons
Our next stop was Wat Huay Pla Kang. The main features of this temple was that it had a giant Guan Yin at the top as well as giant white dragons adorning the stairs leading up to it. We took our time going up and taking photos as we admired the sheer beauty emanating from the statue.
The top provided us a mountain view of Chiang Rai while temple music played at the background. I really enjoyed just sitting there and taking in the atmosphere, best of all it was all free! I was down to go to the next temple but Jasper didn’t want to risk it anymore and decided to just go back to the hotel.
I was fine with it but we still had to find a way back, Jasper asked one of the vendors for the wi-fi and he graciously agreed to share his hotspot. Jasper bought something as thanks even though the vendor told him it wasn’t needed. I got the password from him and we both made bookings but it was hard to find any nearby drivers as we were in the middle of nowhere. I managed to snag a cab after a while on my phone and as we were on our way down, I lost the signal and forgot the plate number as I had closed the app accidentally.
It was so funny, I ended up laughing pretty hard, I told Jasper it was fine and that we can find it by using our intuition and reverse-engineering the location from the photo the driver sent us. In the parking lot, it was pretty hard to see which cab was ours but one of the cars started to move and ended up bumping into the fence which was another funny surprise.
Turns out, it was our ride.
a thai massage
At the hotel, I happily got ready to try out the pool which was even larger than the one we had in Bangkok. Swimming always made the fatigue go away, the realization that Jasper was leaving the next day also made me a bit sad as it was actually really fun to travel with a friend.
I still had one more thing to check off in bucket list for Thailand and that’s to get an authentic Thai massage as a means of getting in touch with Thai culture. There was one near our place so after eating dinner, I made my way there. I passed by an abandoned airplane landing zone which at late afternoon turned into a sports park for the locals.
I found the place based on Google Maps and booked a 2-hour session to get the most out of every single Baht I had left. The whole session was overall pretty good, it wasn’t the first time I had a Thai massage but it was still up to par with the one I had in Tokyo. After the massage, I had tea with my masseuse. Back at the room, I took a shower and had some final conversations with Jasper before getting a very rejuvenating sleep.
farewell jasper
Jasper left around 5AM-ish and I gave him a sheepish sleepy good bye as I tried to get some more sleep. I remember waking up and feeling this sort of emptiness as my travel buddy for the past 2 weeks or so was now gone and I’m left all alone.
It definitely does take time to adjust and get used to not having anyone to talk to so I decided to go out for a morning swim to go into a bit of a meditative state. As I floated and stared at the passing clouds, I reflected on the journey so far and what was still coming. I had traveled with Frida (my friend from Mexico who Couchsurfed with me in Japan. We went to the Philippines, Bali, and Gili T together!) before but it was my first time really sticking with someone for so long and I realized just how fun it was compared to going solo.
I prayed to the Universe with the hopes that I may meet good people along the way. Either way, the show must go on and after much introspection, I went back to the room to fix my things and take a shower after ordering some food from Grab. I was contemplating whether it was still worth it to go out or not as I might miss my flight back to Bangkok since I didn’t have any wi-fi but I still had the whole day ahead of me and I decided to at least try going to the Wat Rong Suea Ten, the Blue Temple.
the blue temple's blessings
Quite similar to the White Temple, this one was coated in blue and also functioned as an exemplary artistic temple. I once again used Grab after checking out and got to the Blue Temple.
This time around, I had to carry all my stuff with me so after making the rounds around the temple exterior, I made my way inside to just sit in the presence of Buddha. I meditated and prayed and let the time pass by.
People were coming and going and at one point, I had the whole temple to myself which was always a blessing for me. I decided to get rid of my coins by putting them all in the donation box and decided that it was time to go out and try to find a place with wi-fi.
On the way out of the temple grounds, a girl who I recognized from the temple approached me with a question asking if I was a solo traveler. I told her I wasn’t until recently but I am now, and she asked if I was interested in splitting a cab going to the Black Houses of Baan Dam which was actually also on my list.
I was a bit worried about missing my flight but what the heck, I just went with the flow as spontaneity was one of the best traits I can attribute to being a solo traveler. It was a good opportunity to make a new friend as well.
new friends, new adventure
Inside the car, we started to introduce ourselves. Her name was Lina from Lithuania but now living in Germany. She was surprised that I knew about her country. I counted my lucky stars as I wasn’t expecting to get to explore the Black Houses as well.
The ticket pretty much cost everything I had and Lina even had to lend me 1 baht just so I can purchase one. There was also this random dude who was trying to ask some donations from us but he also ended up singing some random Japanese song when I told him I came from Tokyo and he added us both on Instagram.
Lina and I exchanged a lot of jokes as the Baan Dam museum was definitely not a place for the faint-hearted. It seemed to have an obsession with phallic artwork and didn’t hold back in putting it on pretty much everything from the toilet signs to these impish looking creatures.
The overall vibe of the place was macabre but the music in the main house tried to portray itself as some spiritual place. Truly one of the stranger places in Chiang Rai.
Lina and I sat down and really started to get to know each other some more, sharing bits and pieces about our lives and our beliefs, sharing information about scams and cultures of other countries. I also found out that she was a spiritual person and a spiritual traveler, so I was pretty sure this was the Universe at work with my manifestations this morning. I told her about my thoughts on our serendipitous meeting to which she made comments that she practices manifestating as well.
Our vibes were definitely on point. I soon decided that it was really time to go and she helped me by sharing her hotspot so I could call a Grab scooter to the airport. In the end, everything turned out perfectly on a supposedly otherwise mopey day. I said good bye and left in high spirits as I cruised across Chiang Rai and taking one last look at it before getting dropped at the airport with plenty of time to spare before my flight to Sri Lanka.
