Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai day trip, it is recommended that you report the group in Ctrip, 188 yuan/person, including tickets + lunch buffet, and is the Chinese guide to communicate and explain, think it is more cost-effective, very easy. The means of transportation is the common minibus mini van in Thailand, which has twelve seats and is slightly crowded.

The whole day goes like this:

🌞 The tour guide will pick us up at the gate of the hotel at 7am (the ancient city and the nearby hotel of 2 kilometers, other distant hotels need to go to the meeting point by themselves). We did not live in the ancient city, but the customer service said that we can also pick us up, very good! May have to go to the hotel that day more, so delayed to 8:00 to pick us up. (It was painful to get up early, and I was tired after waiting in the lobby for an hour).

1. Natural hot springs

The most beloved here is the Hot Spring National Park, the natural hot spring streams flow into the mountain streams, the locals are in the water to bubble feet, chat, a few meters away is the cold mountain spring stream, the rapid stream attracts people to play in the water ice and hot two springs are a stone apart.

The spring is in the middle of the park, the heat is very high, you can cook hot spring eggs 🥚. 20-50 baht eggs, as you choose, into the spring, 20 minutes can be eaten, there is a local family picnic on the green grass next to, hot spring eggs are definitely the protagonist of today's lunch.

This national park, with few people, is a place for locals to relax, and the temperature of the hot spring where they soak their feet is very comfortable. I am willing to waste a whole day here. There is no time to rush, to experience the comfort of the locals, to discover more free scenery, to get a free heart, this is the meaning of travel.
Chiang Rai Hot Spring is an hour's drive from Chiang Mai, and the roadside can see the hot spring spray out, a bit of the momentum of the old version of the journey to the West little White Dragon sea. There's a charge for showers, free foot baths. It's pretty big, and there's a hot spring cabin next to it. The feature is hot spring boiled eggs, 20 baht three eggs, there are also quail eggs can choose. It's a good place to soak your feet and take home a load of hot spring eggs.

2. White Temple

Address: ต ำ บ ล ป ่ า อ ้ อ ด อ น ช ั ย อ ำ เ ภ อ เ ม ื อ ง เ ช ี ย ง ร า ย เ ช ี ย ง ร า ย 57000

📎Tips: It is recommended to go early, because there may be a lot of people on the day, the earlier the fewer people, the better to take photos.
Opening hours: 08:00-17:00
tickets are 100 baht 🎫
Photo advice 📷 : White is always out of the picture, a white is more suitable
Photo tip 🔝 : There are many tourists inside, try to go early or late, not at noon
It is recommended to shoot outside, there is no way to shoot the panorama, on the other side to go inside there are many white buildings are very beautiful, not necessarily only grasp the main temple to shoot the tour time of one hour. The White Temple is really beautiful, not to cheat! Even the toilets were decorated with gold. There is also an exhibition of designers opposite the White Temple, free, you can also go in if you have enough time to visit.

Almost every tourist to Chiang Rai must punch the scenic spot. The most shocking scene is the helpless bridge leading to the Buddhist hall, full of gray struggling hands outstretched, a ferocious image, like a soul in hell, crying, repentance, longing for liberation.

The beautiful extreme white, shocking, people feel like being in the secret paradise, the entrance needs to pass the helpless bridge, under the bridge is the hand from hell and twisted face, the magic is solemn! (PS: there is no way to go back) The temple is pure white, the temple pillars, walls are inlaid with silver mirrors, so that it shines in the sun, very dreamy; The elaborate murals in the main hall include scenes from Buddhist mythology, history and popular culture.
The white temple describes reincarnation, and its white and flashing lights symbolize the purity and wisdom of the Buddha, respectively, that shine across the universe.

3, have lunch opposite the White Temple

Fifty minutes. One group after another into the group, a lot of people need to find their own location, the food taste is ok.

4. Blue Temple

Departure to the Blue Temple, relatively small, tour time 35 minutes.

At the entrance of the Blue Temple, there are two huge blue Bodhisattva statues, dignified and solemn. Enter the temple, stupa, Bodhisattvas, Vajra, auspicious beasts, decorative patterns... All the buildings and decorations, all the body is painted lake blue, eye-catching.

High saturation blue is the main character of the temple, with a strong contrast of gold, more brilliant. The exquisite carving details are complex and regular, whether at first glance or close look, it is like a divine stroke, coupled with the whole body of the lake blue atmosphere style, making the Buddha more extraordinary.

Into the hall, the center is a huge, white Buddha, the background is still faint blues, walking it as if there is a kind of underwater dragon palace illusion. The designer of the Blue Temple is Phutta Karbkaew, a student of Xu Longcai, the designer of the White Temple. It is a true master who not only creates a quiet Buddhist world, but also presents strange and exquisite artworks such as the zodiac.

The Blue Temple was built by Phutta Karbkaew, the apprentice of the designer of the White Temple. The Blue Temple is much smaller than the White Temple, but it does not affect its beauty. The Blue Temple is about half an hour's drive from the white Temple, and there is a black temple not far away. The black, white and blue Temple time allows you to go there. The recommended dish at the Blue Temple is coconut ice cream, available at the shop on the right. There is also an art exhibition to see behind the Blue Temple.

5. Black Temple Museum

The last stop is the Black Temple Museum, which is relatively large and takes 50 minutes to visit.
Designed and built over a period of 36 years by the late Thawan Duchanee (Master Xu Longcai), the Black Temple complex consists of 36 houses, each with its own art exhibits, a museum, or an artist's castle paradise.

The building is mainly black, the exhibits are mostly black and red, and the white Temple forms a stark contrast between white and black, life and death, so it is commonly known as the black Temple.

The artist has collected a large number of exhibits about death and hell. Animal bones from ancient times, hunting tools of primitive nationalities, antiques and specimens, etc., are integrated into various artworks with modern artistic techniques and displayed in the cabin.

In the Black Temple, you can see many complete crocodile skins, animal skulls, and the guide said there were elephant skeletons, but we did not see them. The rest of the artwork is a little less suitable for children.
When I went in, I just met a friend of the designer of the black temple playing guitar and singing inside. There is a small lake on the right hand side of the door is very beautiful, and the guide gave us a small pineapple (it is said that the small pineapple near the Black Temple is very famous throughout the country, the smaller the better), it is really delicious, very sweet and not astringent, you can try it.

Return: Gather at 4:10 to return to Chiang Mai, stop at the gas station once in the middle, and arrive at Chiang Mai at 7:00. When returning in the evening, it can be delivered to the hotel /MAYA Shopping Center/night market.

The round trip takes about six hours, a long time by car is really a little tired, but I think it is still worth it, to Chiang Mai, or reserve a day for Chiang Rai, the white Temple will not let you down.

📖 A little knowledge gained today: the designer of the black temple is the teacher of the designer of the white Temple, and the white temple is the teacher of the designer of the blue temple.

⚠️ A note of caution:
Enter the white Temple Blue temple dress to be decent, girls skirt needs to be over the knee, male and female students can not bare shoulder and back.
To enter the temple, you need to take off your shoes and hats.
White Temple don't go back, go straight ahead!