Another famous temple in Chiang mai is the Wat Rong Khun(White Temple) here the temple is all painted white. The impressive view of the temple with the nice infrastructure is simply amazing.
Wat Rong Khun (Thai: วัดร่องขุ่น), perhaps better known to foreigners as the White Temple, is a contemporary, unconventional, privately owned, art exhibit in the style of a Buddhist temple in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. It is owned by Chalermchai Kositpipat, who designed, constructed, and opened it to visitors in 1997. It is open all year round and there is no charge for admission. o date, Chalermchai has spent THB40 million of his own money on the project.
The artist intends for the area adjacent to the temple to be a center of learning and meditation and for people to gain benefit from the Buddhist teachings. Kositpipat considers the temple to be an offering to Lord Buddha and believes the project will give him immortal life. Today the works are ongoing, but are not expected to be completed until 2070By the end of the 20th century, the original Wat Rong Khun was in a bad state of repair. Funds were not available for renovation. Chalermchai Kositpipat, a local artist from Chiang Rai, decided to completely rebuild the temple and fund the project with his own money
(from Wikipedia)
It is indeed an amazing experience to look into the arts. The White Temple is located 13km south of Chiang Rai. We stopped off on the way from Chiang Mai, but you can easily take a local bus from Chiang Rai. Entry to the temple is free.
While in Chiang Rai it is also worth visiting the Black House featuring another contemporary Thai artist’s work in a gothic setting – it’s even more astonishing that the White Temple.
Address: Pa O Don Chai Road, A. Muang, Chiang Rai, 57000, Thailand
Phone:+66 53 673 579
Leave a Reply