Chiang Rai the sleepy provincial town

Our wedding was in April 2019, our honeymoon was postponed until November 2019. I had business commitments and we preferred to wait to get the right time and travel. Besides being our honeymoon I traveled to meet the owner of the pageant Millennium Universe. We did research to see what places we wanted to visit and Chiang Rai came up as one that should be visited in Thailand. Chiang Rai the sleepy provincial town is the total description with a pleasant atmosphere.  Compared to the sister town of Chiang Mai is a more quiet, down to earth and relaxed area that still have a lot of places to visit as historical and cultural attractions of its own. Founded in 1262 as the capital of the Mengrai Dynasty, after Chiang Saen, today the city retains a strong Lanna identity, mostly through its impressive collection of temples, art, language, cuisine, and music. But unlike Chiang Mai, the city offers little diversity when it comes to nightlife, entertainment, and shopping, and most of these are concentrated in the area around the Clock Tower.

We search for two temples we wanted to visit: the White Temple and the Blue Temple. After 6 hrs travel from Japan and 14 hrs before from New York to Japan a total of almost 24 hrs plus delays we decided to stay at Bangkok one night. We stayed in a hotel close to the airport so we can get the next day’s flight to Chian Rai. The hotel is called Miracle Suvarnabhumi Hotel, it is a 3-star hotel in a quiet area, just what we needed to get some rest and head back the next day to the airport fast. The next morning was a great feeling, waking up in another country and we couldn’t wait to get photos of a temple they had at the front of the hotel.

 

That next morning was the beginning of our adventure in Asia, it was our first time traveling to this part of the world. We were excited so we head back to the airport that was only 10 minutes from the hotel to get again on another flight to our first destination: Chiang Rai. Check out the video!!!

 

We arrived kind of late to Chiang Rai, getting a taxi from the airport was a mission but we got there approximately at 6 pm. Our stay was at The Heritage Chiang Rai. The Heritage Chiang Rai crowned as “The Biggest Hotel in Thailand’s Northernmost – Chiang Rai”, they offer 321 guest rooms including suites and also having its largest meeting facilities. It is a 5-star Hotel that ideally combines Local Arts with Contemporary Luxury into the Hotel Design, presenting the prestige cultures of the old Lanna Kingdom and bringing the guests to have the stay-cation with Heritage experiences. The Heritage Chiang Rai is now ready to “warmly welcome” you and the guests to our passions of hospitality journey. It was a great hotel accommodation and the best part was not that crowded with the guest so the pool and other facilities were kind of VIP for us. They have all-day dining, library lounge and pool bar with VIP treatment.

The library is decorated by the concept of Chiang Rai’s Arts-Wall Paintings, reflecting a story of the Lanna Kingdom and the folk’s lifestyles in the past. Overall décor is Thai contemporary with a local touch. Enjoy live music every night. This is one of the premium venues to arrange all social gatherings or private parties. We took some relaxing time at the Library Lounge and the pool before heading the next day to The Blue temple and White temple the main places we wanted to visit at Chiang Rai. Definitely Chiang Rai the sleepy provincial town with a lot to offer for tourists as a city of past and modern styles infused in one culture. All the details, photos and videos of these two great temples will be posted on the next blog post. Subscribe to my blog so you can see my next articles on my trip to Thailand and Malaysia!!!