In the Land of a Thousand Temples, this glittering swirl of meringue generously sprinkled with tiny diamonds is a visual feast.
More like a Disney fantasy than a place of Buddhist worship. Made more unusual because it’s new. Known as the White Temple, Wat Rong Khun, located in Chiang Rai is the project of well-known Thai artist Chalermchai Kosipipat and was funded by the sale of Kosipipat’s paintings.
Construction began in 1997 and was completed in 2008, although new elements are still being added. It’s creator dedicated it as a symbol of Buddhist purity and it is startlingly contemporary. Focusing on elements of our materialistic culture, the bridge over the entrance offers a sea of grasping hands struggling to free themselves from the earth.
Walls are covered with elaborate and hyper-real scenes of swirling orange flames and the faces of demons.
Neo from The Matrix, Superman, an angry bird flying towards the World Trade Center Towers along with western pop cultural figures like Michael Jackson, Freddy Krueger, and a T-800 series Terminator.
Pure white and embedded with glass and mirrors , it sparkles brilliantly in the summer sunlight but Kosipipat says it was built to reflect moonlight when it appears particularly ghostly and otherworldly.
There are several structures on the grounds including a beautiful golden Ganesha shrine in the garden. An ornately decorated gold building to the left of the temple houses a public restroom, which is often humorously referred to as “the most beautiful restroom in Thailand.”
From my travel experiences, I’d rank it as world class.
Visit the White Temple at Pa O Don Chai Mueang Chiang Rai Chiang Rai 57000. Click here for details.