Two temples in Chiang Rai. Wat Huay Pla Kang has no online ticket listed; Wat Rong Khun (White Temple) has 17 tickets and tours to book. The table and the two notes below put them side by side; the full pages have what to see, the ticket and the timing for each.
Wat Huay Pla Kang is free to enter and no ticket for it is sold online. The grounds, the pagoda and the halls are open to anyone; the one thing you pay for is the lift inside the great white statue of Guanyin, where a small fee or donation is collected at the base. Incense, flowers and candles for offerings are sold near the entrance.
The temple lies a few kilometres north-west of central Chiang Rai, so most visitors reach it by songthaew, tuk-tuk, Grab car or hired scooter, often on a half-day loop that also takes in the White Temple, the Blue Temple and the Black House.
Thai visitors enter free, while foreign visitors pay a modest fee at the ticket office; there are no timed slots and nothing to reserve in advance. The White Temple lies beside the main highway about 13 km south of Chiang Rai, and if you are staying in the city you can reach it cheaply by local bus, songthaew or a short taxi or ride-hailing trip.
Most of the tours sold online start in Chiang Mai, about three hours' drive away, and their real value is in the transport. The standard long day trip leaves early, stops at a hot spring on the way, then visits the White Temple, the Blue Temple and Baan Dam, the dark wooden compound known as the Black House, with lunch included and a guide on the bus;
