Things to do in Chiang Rai, Thailand

We only spent two nights in Chiang Rai so we had a jam packed day. I would suggest that three nights would be better but two nights is doable if you don’t have enough time.

Here is what we got up to whilst in Chiang Rai…

Cat n A Cup Cafe-

This was a lovely cat cafe where I had the best (and my first) Thai tea. You pay for a drink and then get entry into the cat cafe. The drinks were very reasonably priced.

The cats appeared well looked after and happy. The room could have been a bit bigger but there weren’t too many cats so they did have plenty of space. There were lots of toys for the cats and places for them to rest.

Goddess of Mercy (Wat Huay Pla Kang)-

The Goddess of Mercy was one of our favourite temples that we visited in Thailand. It towers above the trees at 90 meters tall so you can see it as you’re driving around.

There is a lift inside the temple that you can take to get up to the 25th floor and then take a flight of stairs up to the 26th floor. Here you can look out of the small windows to see the views. There is a small cost to use the lift but apart from this it is free to visit.

There is also a pagoda just a short walk from the Goddess of Mercy. This has 9 floors that you can walk up. The pagoda is in the shape of a pyramid, and has a pair of Chinese dragons guarding the stairs that lead inside.

The Blue Temple (Rong Suea Ten)-

The Blue Temple is unsurprisingly bright blue! The colour blue is apparently symbolic of purity, wisdom and lack of materialism which is what Buddhists aspire to.

There are several different parts of the temple, and you can go inside the main part. Make sure you take off your shoes before entering, and that you are dressed respectfully. The interior of the temple is stunning and the detail is so intricate.

The White Temple (Wat Rong Khun)-

The White Temple is one of the most popular temples for people to visit so expect it to be very busy. You can walk around the grounds for free but there is a small cost to enter the temple.

The grounds are lovely and you can get a good enough view of the White Temple from simply walking around.

As the name suggests the White Temple is completely white and the attention to detail in its features are stunning.

Amaz Cat & Board Game-

This is a board game cafe and a cat cafe combined. It sounds unusual and it was quite unusual, but we did have a good time here.

You have to pay extra to see the cats who were in a separate room so we didn’t do this. Instead we got a delicious smoothie and played the board game, Century. It was the first time we ever played this game so it took us a while to get our heads around it but it was a lot of fun.

Omlamai ice cream-

This is a cute little ice cream shop that is the perfect place to stop after visiting all of the temples. There are loads of different flavours to choose from. I went for rocky road with a toasted marshmallow on top!

Heaven Burger-

This is a great place to come if you’re craving some good western food. I had a veggie burger and Jake had a chicken burger, and both were delicious.

We actually came back here both nights to eat because it was just that good. Definitely pay Heaven Burger a visit if you’re in Chiang Rai.