Chiang Rai is three hours by road from Chiang Mai, which is why the White Temple, Wat Rong Khun, fills from about half past ten and stays full until early afternoon: that is when the day tours arrive. The temple opens at eight, and the first hour and a half is the only time it can be photographed with nobody in the frame and in light it can take. It is white plaster set with mirror glass, and at noon it reflects so much sun that skin goes grey beside it. Inside the main hall photography is not allowed, the bridge across to it runs one way only, and staff keep people moving — so the portraits are made from the pond side and the gardens, not on the bridge. The ticket price for foreign visitors went up in 2026, and the counter closes a little before the gates do.
The rest of the city works the other way round. The Blue Temple, Wat Rong Suea Ten, is free, opens early and is deep blue inside, so it photographs well in any weather; the Black House, Baan Dam, is a ticketed museum of dark teak halls north of town. Then the province opens out: Choui Fong’s terraced tea fields and the hill village of Doi Mae Salong to the north-west, Doi Tung and the Mae Fah Luang gardens, and an hour north at Sop Ruak the Golden Triangle, where the Mekong and Ruak rivers meet between Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. Distances are long, so a full day here is planned as one route rather than a list, and border areas are sensitive for drones — we choose aerial locations accordingly.
