Before this trip I was not fully aware of the richness of Thai culture. You get the most when you least expect, which is perfectly matched with all the humility and goodness of the people I met here. The northern province of Thailand near the border with Burma and Laos has brought the most exquisite experience and the greatest wealth to our trip. I realized that the u come to north cause of nature, history, temples, elephants, and tigers.
Why North Thailand?
I must admit that North Thailand was not in the plan of our adventure. We have standard ideas to visit Bangkok and go to the south by the sea.
But one of my friends who lives in Chiang Mai(the most famous digital nomad city in Thailand) asked me one simple question "Why Do You Avoid Northern Thailand"?
I didn't have answer on that one...in two sentences I was persuaded that there was something to see in the north too.
However, our flexible schedule allowed us to include 5 days of the north. In addition to Chiang Mai, the main bait for this was the famous "Beli Temple", an impressive attraction I have seen in brochures. Since this temple is in Chiang Rai, which is about 4 hours drive from Chiang Mai, I decided to leave Bangkok from Chiang Rai for 2 days, and then continue on a Chiang Mai bus. This was one of the smartest decisions on a whole trip!
How to get to the city of Chiang Rai?
Thailand is phenomenally linked to airline lines, where AirAsia has a leading role. Air ticket prices from Bangkok to Chiang Raia were in the one direction from 30 to 50 euros, which was an easy one-hour travel time with an hourly flight time.
First impressions: beautiful nature, greenery, forests, a small airport and perfekt air. Chiang Rai after the capital of Thailand looked like an air bath.
We had a taxi for around 7 euros and 20 minutes drive already in the city center. Humanity and the honesty of Thrace of Thailand have already been felt at this first step. There is no way taxi drivers cheat you because all the rides go over the central counter.
Chiang Rai!
History of Chiang Rai is least tied to Thailand. The city that emerged in the 11th century is quickly captured by Burma, today's Myanmar. The vicinity of the Mekong River, an important trade route from the direction of China, meant for the whole of this region frequent migration. It is precisely the Sever of Thailand that is particularly characteristic of the large number of tribes and ethnic groups that settle here, and they least call the Thai people themselves. Akha, Kariang, Lana .. are just some of the tribes that still live there. It is all the soul of the North.
At the end of the 19th century, Chiang Rai succeeded in separating itself from Burma and, together with Chiang Mai, became a new entity, to be included in the Kingdom of Thailand in 1933.
Today, about 70,000 people live in Chiang Rai. It is an extremely distinctive city and it is hard for me to describe it, but there are photos and videos.The city does not have a high building and dominates older architecture, aged over 50 (free estimates). Januar is the coolest month with temperatures ranging from 12 to 28 degrees, while the period is April to June in the range of 20 to 35.
The biggest attraction and the main gathering place is definitely the night market, a large number of shops selling odes, souvenirs, cashmere scarves, unique handbags. Particularly interesting are the large plateaus where food can be purchased on the side, while the tables are in the central part. There are also two large halls where the cultural and artistic program takes place in the evenings.
All this is a never-ending experience that is really hard to describe. Subjectively speaking, I had the feeling that I was far from the civilization we know, somewhere in the Asian mountains. For two days we have made a great number of fantastic photos, and most of them can be seen on my Instagram.
Chiang Rai I will remember especially as a place where we did not see a single cigarette, both domestic and tourists, in 2 days.
I will put more info in the next blog..i hope u like it :)