Local buses were heading to Wat Rong Khun (Thai: วัดร่องขุ่น), also known as the White Temple. We climbed on a bus for a 20-minutes ride to the artistic, contemporary, and peculiar temple. The holy site is privately owned by the local artist Chaloemchai Kositpipat and is unlike any other religious structure in Thailand.
The white and silver exterior of the central temple with its glistening and mirrored fragments was stunning. We entered the template by crossing a pearly white bridge build over a sea of monsters, skulls and grasping hands trying to reach our ankles. The unconventional masterpiece is like no other religious structure in Thailand and we could understand why it divided the opinions.
The interior walls of the temple were painted with the life of Buddha and some truly bizarre and out of place superhero, sci-fi and pop star figures. We spotted Superman, Star Wars characters, Disney characters, a crotch-grabbing Michael Jackson, Terminator, Harry Potter, a minion, Pikachu, Billy the Puppet from the Saw franchise, Elvis Presley, transformers, angry birds, hulk, Freddy Krueger, Batman, Avatar, Spiderman, Son Goku, pirates of Caraibes heroes. We wandered around the spectacular temple as its surroundings were also photo-worthy.
After a light lunch, we hopped onboard a songthaew which is basically a truck with a pair of bench seats in the back, one on either side. The truck followed the same road as the buses but run more often at the same price as the bus.
Wat Phra Kaew (Thai: วัดพระแก้ว) was next on our list. The temple is one of the oldest temples in Chiang Rai and used to hold the Emerald Buddha, the most highly revered Buddha image in the Thailand. We admire the copy as the original has been relocated to Wat Phra Kaeo in Bangkok.
Wat Phra Kaew
We finished the day by a visit to the Blue Temple or, to use its correct name Rong Sear Tean Temple (Thai: วัดร่องเสือเต้น). The newest temple in Chiang Rai was still under construction but was already worth seeing and there were quite a few visitors, both local and overseas. Artisans were completing the fountain by the entrance. It was funny to see the different steps used to create those massive sculptures.
