The White Temple in Chiang Rai.

The White Temple in Chiang Rai, Thailand.

June 2015.

My first few days in the city of Chiang Rai were not what I would call fun. My adventures in Thailand were almost at an end, so I had a whole bunch of stuff to sort out. Thus, for 48 hours, sightseeing went out the window as I arranged my train back down to Bangkok. Then sorted out a hotel there for a few nights. Next, I booked up my flight to London and had a second interview on Skype for an English teaching job in the Spanish town of Castro Urdiales.

There were a dozen other admin tasks on top of all that. To make my chores more enjoyable, I went to a local cafe for coffee and bites. The daily walk took me past the kitschy goldenness of the Chiang Rai Clock Tower. Constructed in 2005, it stands in tribute to Sirikit, The Queen Mother of Thailand. Each evening, at 19:00, 20:00 and 21:00, the tower comes alive with a light and sound show.

Nangnon Coffee definitely made my tasks easier to bear. My cappuccinos were fantastic, while their fruit bowls, pancakes and toasties always hit the spot. I see they’re still going, and that reviews are consistently good.

Eventually, I was done with everything and ready to set off for an afternoon at one of Thailand’s most fascinating and surreal sights. I had seen dozens of temples throughout my Thai travels. However, it’s safe to say that I had never seen a temple even remotely similar to this.

The White Temple in Chiang Rai.

“Oh wow!” I remember saying, out loud to myself, as I cast my eyes across Chiang Rai’s weird and wonderful White Temple. Wow because it’s strangely beautiful. But mostly a “this is nuts” kinda wow, if you know what I mean. Better known among Thais as Wat Rong Khun, this Buddhist temple is one of Asia’s most ambitious and outlandish art projects.

It all sprang from the mind, hand and bank balance of Chalermchai Kositpipat, a famous Thai artist. He made his fortune primarily as a painter, with much of his work featuring Buddhist imagery.

Moreover, his increasingly contemporary approach to Buddhist art soon garnered him a reputation as a bold and controversial artist. How controversial? I’m talking ninja turtles and an image of a punk rocker Ronald Reagan painted into a scene of Buddhist enlightenment. Seriously.

Chalermchai Kositpipat.

As a result, it was perhaps no surprise that the millionaire artist decided to buy an old dilapidated Buddhist temple and transform it into his own artistic vision. That vision, although bonkers, is actually pretty simple. To create a temple complex that combines traditional Thai and Buddhist architecture with uncompromising injections of surrealist art and modern culture. In addition to a few fun cardboard cutouts of himself, of course.

According to Kositpipat, improving and expanding The White Temple has become his life’s work. His offering to Lord Buddha and a project that he believes will grant him immortality.

Furthermore, he has predicted that the temple “should be finished by 2070”. The year, don’t you know, that would see him turn 115 years old. Chuckling to myself as I paid the entrance fee (50 Baht/$1.50), I made my way into the complex to check out his grand masterpiece for myself.    

From a distance the temple looks like an exercise in absolute simplicity. Its singularly white exterior symbolises the purity of Buddha’s teachings and the idea of always being kind to others. Yet it doesn’t take too long to realise that all is not what it seems. Especially when you come face to face with the wholly bizarre Bridge of the Cycle of Rebirth.

The White Temple in Chiang Rai.

The bridge, spanning a small lake, leads visitors deeper into the compound. As you go, it is impossible not to stop in delight/horror/confusion as you absorb the numerous pits of outstretched hands.

They symbolise humanity’s “unrestrained desire”, reaching out for anything they can get their hands on. A fatter bank balance, for example. A better car… a bigger home… more sexual partners. Or maybe they’re just trying to snatch the souls of anyone who dares to cross. Err…

Happily, I made it past the hands and onto the bridge with my soul very much intact.

The bridge railings are lined with sculpted images of Buddhist mythology. Halfway along I stopped for a moment to gaze out across the lake. On the other side, right where the water meets the lawn, stand two elegant kinnaree. Half-human, half-bird, these Buddhist creatures apparently protect humans in times of danger. Who knows, maybe it was these two who granted me safe passage over the bridge.

I’m not sure what I had expected to see on the other side. But it certainly wasn’t this grisly death skull sculpture with a bottle of whisky balanced on his head. There are no explanations to accompany any of the art, hence one is left to draw their own conclusions. Indeed I have read a few things online that suggest this is a statement on excess and the constant consumption of crap that is bad for us. Booze… nicotine… hard drugs and so on.

Wat Rong Khun. 

Equally baffling was this life-size robot-cyborg-king dude chilling out on a bench. Is this a statement about our relentless drive for technological advancement? Or was the artist simply a Terminator fan and having a bit of fun?

Further on, I came upon a tree decorated with sculpted heads. These guys didn’t look too friendly either and appeared to be demons of some kind. Or so I thought, until my friend Wonderboy later pointed out that they are actually famous movie characters. Yup, that’s Hugh Jackman as Wolverine (left), Angelina Jolie as Maleficent (lower)and Andy Serkis’ Golem from Lord of the Rings.

Luckily, there are plenty of good guys around to keep us on the right path. This is one of numerous guardians, seemingly ready to do battle with the forces of darkness. Like many of the temple’s white sculptures, it features tiny mirror fragments that make him twinkle and glitter.

The centrepiece hall is known as Ubosot. Inside, there are several traditional Buddhist murals. In contrast though, and completely stealing the show the moment you see it, is a massive painting depicting the end of the world.

The scene that unfolds, inside a demon’s mouth, is terrifying…. confusing… amusing. It features numerous representations of society’s ills. There are swirling serpents and.. um… Michael Jackson, in addition to Freddy Krueger and a plane about to hit one of the World Trade Center Towers. Also present, much to my bewilderment, are images of Harry Potter, Hello Kitty, Neo from The Matrix and Kung Fu Panda. 

The White Temple in Chiang Rai.

Back outside in a spotless stone courtyard, I was relieved to return to an altogether calmer and more hopeful environment. Because this is where I found the temple’s elegant silver Bodhi prayer trees.

A traditional feature of just about every Buddhist temple I’ve ever seen, visitors purchase a leaf (a silver plate at The White Temple) before scrawling a personal message or wish on it. As always it was touching to browse some of the (one hundred thousand!) messages that sit here across the various trees.

Another jaw-dropping structure is the so-called Golden Building. Ornately sculpted from top to bottom, I had to laugh when I realised that this giant building houses… drum roll.. the toilets.

Despite not needing to go, I knew I had to head inside for a look. Based on the facade, I had high hopes that I was about to experience the fanciest restroom in Thailand. Or at least the swankiest loo I had seen during my two months across the country.

The Golden Building. 

Yes, the interior delivered. The biggest bog I’d seen in the country for sure. Maybe even the cleanest, and most definitely the only one where golden leaves and feathers dripped seductively from the ceiling.

On my way out I was amused to see two female visitors being told they needed to cover up their legs. But they needn’t have worried, white sarongs were available, for a small fee. This reminded me that the place is still a Buddhist temple of sorts, in spite of all the weirdness.

It was only later that I read about how The White Temple had nearly closed down the previous year following an earthquake. Devastated by the damage throughout the complex, Kositpipat swiftly announced that he would abandon the temple and demolish all the buildings.

However, a few weeks later an engineering team carried out an inspection and declared that structurally the compound was in better shape than initially feared. Consequently, repairs took place and, ta-da, The White Temple was back in business.

The White Temple in Chiang Rai.

Eight years on from my visit, I’ve been interested to read how the place has changed and expanded. I see that new depictions of movie and music icons have been added to the mix. There are several new buildings too, one of which is a large meditation hall.

When the temple first opened there was no entry fee, just the possibility to leave a donation. In the years since my visit, the ticket price has gone up to $3 from $1.50.

Several reviews, meanwhile, have spoken of the temple being positively overrun with visitors from opening to closing time. Some people are calling it a “circus”, where large, selfie-stick-wielding tour groups make it difficult for you to line up decent photographs. Looking at what The White Temple has become, others have suggested that Kositpipat should perhaps take a second look at his own preaching.

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