Undoubtedly the most unique temple found in Thailand, The White Temple, Wat Rong Khun was definitely on my list of must-see places once I reached Chiang Rai. I combined it with a trip to the Black House and hired a tuk-tuk for the day for 400 baht. The two sites are on opposite sides of the city, so expect a long bumpy ride if you do opt for a tuk-tuk, but there’s plenty of daily life to witness along the journey that keeps things interesting. If you prefer, you can save some money by taking the public bus or a songthaew, but give yourself plenty of time to get around.
I arrived at the White Temple during its midday closing hours. There are no problems touring the grounds, only the entrance to the temple is closed at this time. The problem lies in the mad rush to get to the temple once the gate does open at 1:00. I was near the front of the line, but didn’t anticipate just how crazy it would get. It was like Black Friday at Walmart. I snapped a couple quick shots, but then was ushered along by completely unnecessary temple guards. I didn’t figure it was a big issue, that I would just go back when I was done touring the temple interior, but it’s a one-way deal. No turning back. Keep moving, please. Not my ideal temple experience and certainly not conducive to photo taking. I was quite disappointed, as the sculptures of the hands reaching up from hell were what intrigued me the most and I only had a short moment to take it all in.
Oh, well. On to the temple interior. All I can say is wacky. Miss Kitty, Sailor Moon, Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Keanu Reeves as Neo, Michael Jackson, a Star Wars spaceship, Elvis, Ben 10, a Minion, Yoda, an Angry Bird, one of the creatures from Avatar, Freddy Krueger, the Twin Towers’ bombing, and others I can’t remember, all painted into one big, crazy collage on the back wall of the temple. It was like that game where you look at a picture for a minute then have to recall what you saw. Except I couldn’t do my recall for 20 mins. I’m sure I missed a few. No photography is allowed inside the temple, so you’ll have to take my word on this one, but how this fits into Buddhism is a bit of a stretch for me. Breaking from the traditional murals depicting Buddhist stories, this peculiar mural is a modern representation of good and evil, from the creator, Chalermchai Kositpipat’s perspective.
As I left the ubisot, the denin-clad artist himself was sitting outside, watching tourists as they studied his work. I had a few quick words with him and he graciously posed for a photo.
The Meaning of the Temple
The White Temple isn’t just a crazy, beautiful work of art, it is a working temple and every aspect of it carries deep meaning, granted some of that meaning might be lost on the casual observer. The main theme is the divide between worldly temptations like desire, greed and passion how one moves towards heaven through Buddhist teachings. The white colour represents the purity of the Lord Buddha, and the thousands of tiny mirrors embedded in the structures reflect light, representing Buddha’s wisdom shining out to the Universe. It’s a beautiful message.
The Cycle of Rebirth
Leading up to the ubosot, the main building, is a bridge over a pond. At the beginning of the bridge is a pit with hundreds of hands reaching skyward. This area represents human suffering and hell. The bridge towards the ubosot is called The Cycle of Rebirth and signifies crossing from the cycle of death and rebirth. It symbolizes the path to heaven by overcoming worldly temptations, greed and desire.
Gate of Heaven
After crossing the bridge is the Gate of Heaven, guarded by two enormous creatures from Buddhist mythology, Death and Rahu. These creatures decide over man’s fate. Past them are the benevolent kinnairi, and in front of the ubosot, are several meditating Buddha images.
The Ubosot
The most important building of Wat Rong Khun is the ubosot. This temple building symbolizes the realm of the Buddha, and rising to a state of nirvana. There may be some non-traditional murals on the back wall of the ubosot, but the remainder of the temple is more of what you’d expect a Thai Buddhist temple to look like.
The Grounds
The grounds are expansive and a work in progress. There is an area where visitors can write their prayer on a pretty metallic chime, which will then be built into one of the structures of the temple grounds. A covered walkway beautifully incorporates thousands of these chimes in its roof. There is also a tree made of several more thousand gleaming chimes.
Sculpted heads dripping with moss decorate trees before the temple. They are truly frightening. I recognized characters from Hellraiser, as well as Hellboy, Golem and Batman.The Predator beast emerges from the ground nearby. A red and gold statue featuring a bottle of whiskey denounces the evils of alcohol.
A small onsite museum features many of Chalermchai’s works and is worth a visit. Several paintings and sculptures can be found there, showing his development as an artist.
The elaborate golden structure is a public washroom. It is ornately decorated to represents the body, whereas the white ubosot represents the mind. The gold colour symbolizes a focus on worldly desires rather than spiritual enlightenment. There were more people posing in front of the washroom than the temple. A lot more. Weird.
The Artist
Wat Rong Khun was designed by Chalermchai Kositpipat, a famous Thai visual artist born in 1955 in Chiang Rai. Construction of the temple began in 1997, but major restoration work was needed after a 2014 earthquake. The temple is a work in progress, not expected to be finished for decades. Chalermchai has funded the entire project himself, and even limits the amount of a single donation to 10,000 Baht. The final plan will include a hall for Buddhist relics, a meditation hall, monks’ living quarters and an art gallery.
If you’ve been in the centre of Chiang Rai, you may have noticed the elaborate clocktower on a roundabout. This is also one of Chalermchai’s creations, a dedication to the King. Every night there is a lightshow at 7:00, 8:00 and 9:00 p.m.
White Temple Information:
Address: Baan Rong Khun, Pa O Don Chai, Mueang Chiang Rai District, 57000
13 km south of Chiang Rai
Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., closed for an hour midday
Admission: free
Have you visited the White Temple. Did you catch any characters on the wall that I missed? If so, please leave a comment and let us know which ones!
Truly amazing honey. I love the pics.
Thanks, Mom!