You might not think that the Land of Smiles (Thailand) is very lovely during winter, as beaches are a bit cold to visit. I hope my experience and my photos convince you otherwise!

My parents and I decided to explore the northern part of Thailand last winter because we are really fond of cold weather (Thailand doesn’t get much of a cold breeze). Our first stop was Phitsanulok province, where we paid a visit to Rattanamahatat Temple (วัดพระศรีรัตนมหาธาตุ). We had a chance to see Buddha Chinnaraj (พระพุทธชินราช) which is known to be the most gorgeous statue of Buddha in Thailand.

Our next stop was Phu Chee Fah. We hired a truck driver for 100 or 200 baht to take us all the way up there. If you don’t own a car that’s manufactured to withstand steep and rocky hills, we don’t recommend driving yourself here because the hill is quite steep.

This place is known for the most beautiful sunrise scenery, and in order to see it you have to reach the top of the mountain around 5 or 5.30 am. Just a tip, there is no cell phone reception at the top of the mountain. I captured lots of beautiful moments.

If you think that all temples are the same, you thought very wrong!

This temple is called Rong Khun White Temple located in Chiang Rai. This place is privately owned by the famous artist, Chalermchai Kositpipat, and was built in 1997. The temple is pretty much an exhibition to cherish the beauty of Thai arts, that was built by Chalermchai himself and his students. They don’t allow phones inside the architecture so you can really savour the amazing artistic work.

Another location you must visit is Choui Fong tea house and plantation. The field is enormous; it covers 86,111-square-foot worth of land!

You can’t leave a tea house without tasting their tea, so we went for it! The cake and frappuccino were the best! Starbucks is amazing but theirs can’t compete with these awesome drinks (sorry Startbucks!) From the cafe, you will be able to see endless rows of tea everywhere you look.

Thailand’s definition of big might be very different from others because Singha Park is even bigger than Choui Fong. I kid you not, this this place is massive because it covers over 130 million square foot of land. WOW! Each square of this land is dedicated to agriculture.

The place is so gigantic that it even has a mini zoo full of bulls, giraffes and zebras that you won’t find in other parts of Thailand. It also has relaxing places that are perfect for an Instagram break or just chilling (my dad would agree but that latter statement).

Next stop is the well-known Chiang Mai province where flowers bloom so beautifully. Like the gorgeous cherry blossom, you will get lost in the beauty of Chiang Mai.

A road trip through any country can be exhausting! We took a break at the lovely Phu Rua Rounmai resort where you can taste the organic and exclusive rice the resort grow themselves. It’s quite a long trip to Petchabun province so we decided to take another break at another resort called Phu Fa Sai Resort.

Lastly, we visited temples! Trust me, all temples in Thailand will take your breath away, and this Pha Sorn Kaew Temple is no exception. It was absolutely breathtaking and you will have to visit Thailand to see it’s beauty!