Chiang Rai - Flower Festival

Not to be out done by its bigger neighbor to the south, Chiang Mai, who has a flower festival every February, Chiang Rai has its own flower festival around New Year.

The park area in the city center is not large, but the flowers on display are truly impressive. There are plenty of photo ops.

Chiang Rai - Wat Rong Khun

Wat Rong Khun is actually not a temple. Rather, it is an unconventional and privately owned art-exhibition built in the style of a temple. It is owned by Chalermchai Kositpipat who designed the building details and who has funded most of the construction costs (by now well over USD 1 million).

The bridge of the cycle of rebirth leads to the gate of heaven. On the other side of the gate, you enter the ubosot

The "temple" opened to visitors in 1997, but has only become a major tourist attraction over the past 10 years. It is located around 5 kilometers south of Chiang Rai, so it is within easy reach for any visitor to the city.

Visitors are not allowed to take pictures inside the ubosot, but the entire back wall is taken up by a painting of a red demon with George Bush in one eye, and Osama Bin Laden in the other. Inside the mouth of the demon is a scene depicting the fall of the Twin Towers.
 
Pop culture references are found dotted throughout the demon’s mouth. They include the Kung Fu Panda, Michael Jackson, Neo from The Matrix, Freddie Krueger, Darth Vader, one of the Transformers, Hello Kitty, the Hulk, Batman, the Joker, Jigsaw from The Saw movies, Ultraman, Spiderman, Superman, a couple of Angry Birds, Harry Potter, and Jack Sparrow.

Confused? 
The pamphlet from the gift shop says the painting depicts “the killing of the innocence” by terrorism and fanaticism and that no heroes can save the world.

Chiang Rai - Mae Sai

Just a short note to recommend the Mae Sai Guesthouse if you want to stay really river side. The Mae Sai Guesthouse is a very friendly, family run guest house with a bunch of wooden bungalows set around a small riverside garden and restaurant. The bungalows are cute and comfortable but with very simple amenities. From the small balcony over the river, you stare right across the river and into Burma. 

Mae Sai Guesthouse is right at the end of the riverside road and can be hard to find for a first time visitor. To get there take the laneway that runs behind Mae Sai Riverside Guesthouse - the last few hundred meters only have one lane, so you just have to hope no car is coming from the other direction as otherwise, there will be a discussion to decide who has to reverse.