The city itself has nothing particularly out of the ordinary to offer. It spreads out around a main central artery along which a number of shops, restaurants and bars are to be found. Not far from the bus station lies the central square where the Night Bazaar is held. Here you can enjoy delicious rotis (a kind of pancake), kebabs, Thai-style fondues or even crispy crickets. The choice is yours.
If you like visiting unusual places, an essential thing to do if you go to Chiang Rai, in my opinion, is to visit and explore the Wat Rong Khun, or "White Temple" as it's also known, 13 kilometers south of the city. Created by a Thai artist who wanted to pay homage to the king, this religious building, which looks unlike any other, is meant to represent the Buddhist paradise. I don't know whether it does resemble that or not, but I can confirm that this extraordinary temple will not leave you indifferent!
After staying several days in Chiang Mai, which is a very nice town, Chiang Rai was the next step. From there, had to go trekking in the mountains for 2 days, spending a night in a traditional village.
The guide came to pick us up in the morning in Chiang Rai and after a short drive dropped us off at the foot of a little trail. It started to rain while we were walking in the middle of the forest, and we spent 4 hours in the rain before reaching the village. Fortunately, the rain is warm there! This trek was a great experience on the human level. We took a little more time to meet the locals by spending the evening in their village.
There are also some very beautiful temples to see, as in all the rest of Thailand, and the most impressive one was the white temple of Wat Rong Khun.