In my impression, Thailand is a land of pagodas and Buddha statues bathed in the scorching sun. It is a golden country of pagodas. And there is such a place, which has the white of the white temple, the black of the black house, the emerald green of the jade Buddha and the pale purple of the Summer Palace. The peaceful and simple Chiang Rai seems to be telling passers-by about the colorful Thailand. Let’s put on the “colored glasses” and enjoy the colors of Chiang Rai together.
Almost every tourist who comes to Chiang Rai will not miss the White Temple. From a distance, the pure white temple is covered with elaborate decorations and is inlaid with glittering glass sequins all over. Under the sunlight, the entire building seems to be shining. At the entrance of the temple is a bridge. Walk across it and you’ll reach the place for worship. One end of the bridge symbolizes hell, while the other end represents heaven. The White Temple is divided into three parts: Hell/Purgatory and Heaven. It is a perfect combination of Buddhist faith culture and Thai Lanna culture. The meditation rooms, presented by white sculptures and silver wafers, are beautiful, simple and modern. When you look at the countless struggling hands stretched out by hell, you might think that you must be a good person in this life. The Four-Faced Buddha here is also different from those in Bangkok, which will give you a refreshing feeling. Big S also successfully had a child here. In short, it will be so beautiful here that you resent not having an ultra-wide-angle lens. Warm reminder: You can’t retrace your steps when visiting here.
After the “white” of the White Temple, the next place to visit is the “black” of the Black Temple. Surrounded by a lush green black temple, it is in stark contrast to the heavenly elegance of the white Temple. The black Temple, built of teak, has a gloomy and solemn appearance, and all the exhibits are based on black. Here, a large number of items related to death and hell have been collected, including ancient animal bones, hunting tools, and antique specimens, all of which have been ingeniously designed and transformed into works of art. It creates a very gloomy atmosphere inside the room, giving it a perfect visual impact.
The Buddha statue in the Jade Buddha Temple, which glimmers with charming green light, attracts many tourists every year. Legend has it that a bolt of lightning struck one of the pagodas in the temple, revealing a Jade Buddha hidden inside. The name “Jade Buddha Temple” also originated from the discovery of a jade Buddha in this temple. Inside the temple, there are numerous pagodas and pagodas. The jade Buddha currently enshrined in the temple was carved in China in 1991 following the original style of the jade Buddha. In addition, there is another ancient Buddha in the temple, which is cast from alloy in the style of Indian Balak art and has a history of nearly 700 years. The Empress Dowager’s Summer Palace is entirely constructed of wood, designed and built in the style of traditional northern Thai architecture and European Swiss style. The roof is pyramid-shaped, and the appearance is simple and practical. The light purple tiles and ancient beams and columns give it a strong European flavor. This place is also known as the Switzerland of Thailand. The high-quality teak wood used to build the Summer Palace was all transported from abroad. The interior decoration is extremely exquisite and breathtaking. However, the utensils previously used by the empress Dowager are placed in the middle, which are beautiful but not luxurious, giving an impression of being approachable. The air in Meisile is filled with the aroma of tea. If you want to be close to nature, this is the best choice. When you are on a high mountain, feeling the gentle and moist air, watching the misty clouds, the elegant trees and the blooming mountain flowers, you will surely feel relaxed and happy. Meanwhile, Meisile is an important tea production base and tourist destination in Thailand, and is known as the “Spring City of Thailand” and the “Village of China”. If Sinha Farm is tired of the hustle and bustle of the city, then coming here is definitely a good choice. The farm gives people the impression of the colorful plants. And it also has “multiple identities”. Hundreds of acres of land are planted with oolong tea gardens, strawberry fields, vineyards, endless rice fields, as well as greenhouse tomatoes, green peppers, coriander, cabbage and so on. Secondly, it is also a large park, with lakes, lavender and all kinds of flowers everywhere. Here, you can also see gentle giraffes and zebras, but there is also a huge, golden lion eyeing the grassland greedily. The Golden Triangle area is filled with mystery everywhere, with faint rivers, clear skies and profound historical and cultural heritage. In my impression, this place seems to be full of drug lords. But in fact, due to its location in the mountainous area, unique terrain, lush forests and beautiful scenery, and the fact that Myanmar and Laos are closed to the outside world, this place has become even more mysterious. Since its completion in 2009, the gleaming clock tower has become the most eye-catching and resplendent landmark in Chiang Rai City. The clock tower, entirely crafted in golden yellow, shines like gold under the sunlight during the day. At night, the projection lights shining from bottom to top give the clock tower a serene and solemn atmosphere. Every night from 7 to 9 p.m., with the music background of “Chiang Rai Song”, the clock tower will change into different colors along with the lights. The Dongshan Pagoda is located on the top of a high mountain and is a place where ethnic minorities live. At first, Dongshan was named “Puzhao Mountain” after the Buddha’s passing. Venerable Mahakasyapa planted a seven-colored flag, which is 7,000 meters long and 5,000 meters wide (the word “flag” is pronounced as “dong” in the Lanna language), on Mount Puzhao. Even people from a great distance could see the flag, so the people called this mountain “Dong Mountain”, which means “Flag Mountain”. During the day, the twin towers shine with golden light under the sunlight, as if endowing this place with a spirit.
After enjoying the scenic spots of Chiang Rai, the evening should be a pleasant time for “strolling and eating”. Night markets are a good choice. The variety of goods here is not too wide, but you can buy small items such as handicrafts of mountain ethnic groups, pirated DVDS and T-shirts. In the night market area, you can not only enjoy the attentive service of the waiters dressed in traditional northern Thai ethnic costumes, but also taste the unique snacks sold by the girl in jeans on the trolleys. Enjoying Thai specialties, drinking beer and chatting about the scenery and people during the day’s trip, it was a perfect day’s journey.