Had a quick stopover in Chiang Rai to visit the White Temple. Originally, I planned on visiting southern Laos after the Gibbon Experience, which has some cool caves and a lot of river islands known for their hammocks and isolation, but decided I needed a bit more action after 2 weeks in slow paced northern Laos. I almost went directly to Chiang Mai because 3 other friends from the Gibbon Experience were headed there, but I decided to take a day in Chiang Rai instead to visit the famous white temple. Both were easy bus rides and Chiang Rai was a good halfway point before Chiang Mai. I got in late at night and my hotel (which was a recommendation from another travelled) was absolutely deserted. It was a 15min ride from the center of town and I was the only person staying there all night. Creepy!

I went out to visit the White Temple the next day, which was way cooler than I expected. I'm starting to get a bit "over" temples and since I have Angor Wat and Bagan still on the horizon, I don't want to end up getting too tired of them too soon. White Temple was completely different though - it was almost like a non-religious temple. Everything was so intricate and almost a little creepy (like the arms reaching up from the ground as your cross the bridge to enter the temple). It's still under construction and isn't expected to be finished until 2070! It's like the Sagrada Familia of Asia...

The bathroom was its own marvel. While everything else was stark white, the bathroom was a golden palace.

After the temple, it was back on another bus to Chiang Mai!