CHIANG RAI - Ultimate THAILAND Travel Guide to ALL Sights, Temples & Waterall in 4K

Welcome to Wild of the World and in this episode I will take you to the north of Thailand. You already saw the start of our trip over here in Chiang Mai and we moved up north to Chiang Dao and we are now in Chiang Rai, one of the old capitals with a lot to see. Let's go! It's been a month already since we left Australia behind us. We flew to Thailand, did some relaxing and prepared for the most awesome trip through the north. And mom is coming along for the ride. We first fell in love with Chiang Mai and we showed you the city but also the mystical mountain land full of treasures. Up next was Chiang Dao, where we explored the most sacred cave temple in the middle of lush cloud forest. We saved the best for last and in this video you'll see why. Chiang Rai is the capital of the province that's also named Chiang Rai in the north of Thailand. Back in 1262 the city was founded and it briefly became the capital of the entire country, which was then named the Lanna Thai Kingdom. Later it lost the title to the other city of the north, Chiang Mai, but you can imagine there's still a lot of history and beautiful places here. So the coming days in this video we'll be exploring all the sights in and around Chiang Rai. We just arrived in Chiang Rai and we can already see that this city breathes some history and culture all around, because just across from our hotel is this little monastery. So I'm going to check that out first. This is what I love about Thailand. A small complex like this rarely sees any tourists. Yet I am welcome to wander around and meet the monks that live here. Try not to get zen here, and I promise you you'll fail. With the drone we can see that our hotel and the temple of Wat San Pako are on the edge of the town. There used to be an airport and a landing strip that you can now walk across. And I see Wat Doi Prabat, with the large standing Buddha. Chiang Rai has a population of 200,000 and it's a modern city. It's only 50 kilometers from here to both Myanmar and Laos. It's a good city to explore by bike, as Suzy is happy to show you. To get everything we need, like beers, a sim card and some baby stuff, we always succeed at our local friend's off. And though this street food looked and smelled fantastic, we made a promise to my boy Jens. Due to our remote travels lately, it has been half a year since we last bought him a happy meal. Well, Chiang Rai has a state-of-the-art shopping mall, so we can surprise him. See here the happiest boy in the world, with some french fries and a toy. So on to the major sights of Chiang Rai, as we start with the number one architectural masterpiece in all of Thailand. Chiang Rai is best known for the white temple named Wat Rong Kung. It was designed back in 1997 by Chalamchai Kozitpipat, if I say it right. But even though the construction started very early, it's still unfinished today, 30 years later. Because there's always a new part of the temple that needs renovation. So coming closer to the temple, I do understand that some parts need renovation and very often, because even though it just has one color, it's so super complex. All these little things everywhere. And it's also a bit with silver and mirrors and a lot of detail. It's fascinating. You don't know where to look walking through this stunning piece of art. The white color symbolizes purity and the path to enlightenment. The surrounding gardens are full of artwork too. With statues of mythical creatures and... Ninja turtles? Alien and predator too? Okay, that settles it. Most awesome temple ever! And the renovation works continue. We drive on to the next stop, Singa Park. Singa Park was once a family-run farm owned by the Boon Rot Brewery. And the founding family created the famous Singa Beer. Back in 1929, this was the first brewery in all of Thailand. And Singa means lion, so you'll see the giant statue behind me, which is also the logo of the Singa Beer. Nowadays you can easily spend a day here. There's a restaurant, a shop and many activities outside as well. You can even hop on a guided tour and explore the farm. With tea plantations, lakes and even a small zoo. Maybe next time, because we have better plans. We drove for half an hour and just outside of Chiang Rai we find the Lam Bam National Park. And inside there we will find a famous waterfall called the Koon Korn Waterfall. It's 70 meters high and I will make a short hike of about 30 minutes to get there. Deep inside the jungle. My walk to the waterfall is already fulfilling, as the rainforest is dense and quite beautiful. Well, it's quite a rough hike. Very steep, so half an hour, but still very exhausting. So, 30 minutes sharp and we arrive at this huge waterfall. Let's see how well we can view it from up there. Koon Korn is one of the prettiest waterfalls in all of Thailand. And it's perfect for swimming too. The hike was just a bit too challenging for the kids, but otherwise this is really a phenomenal place that you cannot skip. So I was walking back along the river and suddenly I see this giant spider. It's like the size of my fist. I will show it to you with my other camera. It's right over here. On the way back to Chiang Rai we visit another famous temple of the area. The actual name is Wat Rong Sua Theng, but you might know it under another name, which is the Blue Temple. And it's not just the temple, guys. Everything in the street here is blue. And I love it. The Blue Temple Where white was the color for purity, all this blue stands for wisdom and the lack of materialism that Buddhists commit to. The Blue Temple I bet if we go to the local hardware store in Chiang Rai, the blue paint is sold out permanently. That's my most logical explanation for this guy being the only one painted green. After we check out the incredible inside too, we head back to the car for another literal highlight of Chiang Rai. At last we visit the Temple of Mercy. And this temple is in Chinese style. And the main attraction is the Big Buddha. They call it that, but the name is actually wrong, because it's not Buddha, it's Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. The Thai name of the temple is Wat Huai Pla Khang. To get up here at the Big Buddha, which we've learned is actually Guan Yin, you can take the stairs or the pink shuttle bus that drives you up there. Which I did, so I'm going to take the stairs back. But up here it's so pretty. Apart from the giant statue, both the stairs and the views are just as breathtaking. Up in the air. With the drone, the view of Guan Yin overlooking the valley and the mountains on the background make for a perfect postcard picture. We end the day at a truly bizarre place. It's called Lalita Cafe. And it's no ordinary cafe, although you can buy some coffee here. But it's right in the jungle. It's all man-made, it has beautiful flowers, and it even has some smoke for the most perfect Instagram shots. This small place is gorgeous and at the same time truly over the top. We feel like Alice in Wonderland. And we seem to be very lucky with the pictures too, because it can get really crowded in here. Now back to the hotel, where Jens had a fun day with grandma. Who pulled out all the stops cooking us a festive meal. Okay, pizza is fine too. Speaking of festivities, it's almost Christmas. And Chiang Rai is actually the place to be. In Chiang Rai you will find this huge mall called Central Chiang Rai. It's really modern, you can find a lot of stores in there. And right now it's almost Christmas. So we'll find this Christmas market outside and inside, and a big Christmas tree, it's really nice for the kids. Who expected Christmas to be this big in Thailand? A Christmas village, a food market and some beers. The evening couldn't be more jolly. Or maybe with some live music? That's it unfortunately for this episode in Chiang Rai and the north of Thailand. Because we're going to leave Thailand, not for good, but for now. We're going to cross the border into Laos. It's just a couple of hours from here. And then over there we're going to do the Mekong river cruise. So more adventure coming up soon. See you then. Be sure to watch our adventure in Chiang Rai. And our adventure in Laos soon. Subscribe and always travel with us. Ciao!