Going on holiday outside of Thailand wasn't really possible this summer. Well, it was possible to get out and go just about anywhere, but getting back would then be nigh on impossible. I can confirm that you don't get much sympathy when you moan about HAVING to go on holiday in Thailand. However; I don't hugely like beaches.... Great for a morning but after that, I'm bored and we've been to most of the other major sites. This is might well end up being the first time in 20 years we spend a whole year in one country! We might get away in October but I wouldn't bet money on it.
One of the places we'd been planning on going to this year anyway was Chang Rai but up until now that's not been do-able. So here we are. The place was pretty much deserted! We didn't literally have the hotel to ourselves but pretty much did. Walking around, we rarely saw another pedestrian, tourist sites were deserted, so all-in-all that worked out OK for me. We did notice that apart from restaurant and hotel staff very few people wore masks (although we didn't see many people out and about either!). In central Bangkok pretty much everyone does. Another difference was the lack of motorbike helmets: Virtually nobody wore them either. It's been a discussion point here: The Government has stopped Covid but done nothing about road deaths which daily claim the same as the total number of Covid deaths in the country and they are usually motorbike riders. The big tourist draws to Chang Rai are all colour related. There's the Blue temple, the Black House and the big daddy of them all; the White Temple. All are cool in their own way, but we'll start with the White Temple... Which for some reason they weren't charging even foreigners for when we there.... Usually its free for Thais and foreigners pay 100 baht.
It's fair to say its very, erm, well, white!
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The White temple, properly known as Wat Rong Khun ( วัดร่องขุ่น in Thai) is not actually a temple at all. It is a privately owned art exhibition in the style of a temple, designed and built by the artist Chalermchai Kositpipat. He also did the clock tower in the centre of the city and the Black House. Once you know its not actually a temple it makes a lot more sense and much of the madness, whimsy and all round oddness of the place comes into focus. It is not finished yet and the works are expected to go on until 2070. In a Sacred familia kind of way, he won't accept donations over 10,000 baht (about 250 quid) as he doesn't want to be influenced by financial backers.
It is not completely non-religious though. Kositpapat sees the temple as an offering to Buddha and it is built on the site of an old temple that was destroyed. It also makes use of a lot of Buddhist symbolism and mythology. The bridge of "the cycle of rebirth": the main building at the white temple, the ubosot, is reached by crossing a bridge over a small lake. In front of and around the bridge are hundreds of outreaching hands that symbolise unrestrained desire. The bridge proclaims that the way to happiness is by foregoing temptation, greed, and desire. Next to the lake stand two very elegant Kinnaree, half-human, half-bird creatures from Buddhist mythology.
Ubosot: The main building of a Thai Buddhist temple is called the ubosot (Didn't know that!). The ubosot is obviously in a non-traditional white but does include many elements from classic Thai architecture such as the three-tiered roof.
However; it is the inside the temple where, the decor swiftly moves from pristine white to bonkers mural. The murals depict swirling orange flames and demon faces, interspersed with Western icons such as Michael Jackson, Freddy Krueger, and a T-800 series Terminator. Images of nuclear warfare, terrorist attacks such as the World Trade Center attack, and oil pumps hammer home the destructive impact that humans have had on earth. The presence of Harry Potter, Superman, and Hello Kitty in the mural confuses things a bit. The overall message is supposed to be people are wicked but I think its more to do with the battle of good Vs evil. You aren't allowed to take photos inside, so you'll either have to take my word for it or go and gawp for yourself! The only non-white building is the toilet block which is in the more traditional gold of other Thai temples. It was felt that gold "was suitable to people who lust for evil deeds." Make of that what you will!
The above are a series of images to give an idea of the detail and the effect that the 'whiteness' has on the observer.
Having wandered through the temple we came to a large man-made rock face with water trickling down it and some really bizarre statues in it. I can't find any mention of this in any of the guides to the temple. I think this might be a new addition as they were still working on it around the far side.
The weirdness doesn't stop there! Oh no, there's more. As you reach the exit/entrance there are a series of tress with heads on them. Some are just heads and some are, again, inspired by popular culture, so you can see Gollum, Batman and various film characters hanging from a tree.
1 Comment
Dad
6/8/2020 08:27:54 am
Loved the dialogue as well as the photos. The temple had a huge effect on us when we visited although the lack of a crowd was really astonishing
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AuthorsWe are teachers and have worked in various schools in Europe & Asia. This is really a chronicle of out travels over the years. It is meant for us to look back on, reflect and remember where we've been, what we've done and all our little adventures. If you like it too, then fab! If you don't, do you think we care? Archives
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