 |
| The White Temple of Chiang Rai |
Wat Rong Khun
A trip to the north of Thailand is not complete without the obligatory visit to Wat Rong Khun or The White Temple. Staying in Chiang Rai makes it easy to visit this modern temple, this is just about a few kilometers to the south of Chiang Rai city, and near Bus Terminal 2.
The temple is the work of a Thai national artist. He disdained the gold colour which typifies practically all Therevadin temples, not just in Thailand but also in Myanmar and Laos. So he used the colour white/silver.
 |
| Viewed from a slightly different angle |
 |
| A pillar on the temple grounds |
 |
| Two minor chapels at the back of the main hall. |
 |
| Silver details of the Main Hall |
 |
| Ornate Arch on one of the sides of the temple |
 |
| The two minor halls viewed directly form the main hall |
He further emphasised his disdain for the colour gold by using it as the colour of the temple's toilet hall!
 |
| Gold was used as the colour for the toilet because the artist did not like this colour |
Typically a Therevadin wat will have murals with imagery either form the life of the Buddha or from the Ramayana or from some important national historical event. Wat Rong Khun's wall paintings depict a more modern take on human life even depicting space exploration and Hollywood film characters!
 |
| The artist's depiction of the Buddhist hell in sculpture |
The wat is home also to some exquisite but grotesque sculptures depicting scenes from the Buddhist hell, as well severed heads of some infamous characters as guess who on the photo below!
Overall visiting this wat will remind everyone that world religions, no matter how ancient are constantly seeking to update themselves, to make them more relevant to present human life and remain an integral part of the culture to which they belong.
Attraction Fee - 50B for foreigners
Time allotment - 45-min to 1-hr
Best time to go - before 9AM
Singha Park
 |
| The Singha signature lion logo at the entrance of the Singha Park |
A few minutes from Wat Rong Khun is a not very popular park, for foreign tourists at least, called
Singha Park. Singha is Thailand's beer brand much like San Miguel is to the Philippines. Singha Co., the manufacturer of the brand bought this 3,000 acre land and developed it into an attraction which also is a facility to grow their own teas and other products. It has its own golf course, restaurant, zip line, tea plantation, flower garden etc. This attraction though is better known by the locals still as Bood Rawm Park, its former name prior to its development by Singha Co.
 |
 |
| Tea plantation at the Singha Park |
 |
| Singha Park flower garden |
Attraction Fee - Free
Time Allotment - 1.5-hrs or more
Best time to go - before 10AM
The attraction offers an open-air lorry that tours people around the 3,000 acre property for 100B. Unfortunately this is scheduled on an hourly basis and easily fills up. They only have 1 lorry, and so this is on a first come first served basis. An alternative for the more fit tourist is to rent a bicycle which one can use to go around the property.
No comments:
Post a Comment