Weekend in Chiang Rai
We took the van from Mae Sai to Chiang Rai on
Saturday morning. The vans run all day and leave whenever they fill up, which
is about every 20 minutes. It costs 46 baht for the 1 hour, twenty minute drive.
Our friend who lives in Mae Chan hops on when it goes through her town, and it
only costs her 30 baht.
We had wanted to see the White Temple; Wat Rong Khun since we had been in the north of Thailand, as
its one of the most famous temples due to its stunning white sparkling
appearance. The temple was built in 1996 due to the original Wat Rong Khun
being in a bad state. We hired a taxi driver to take us to see the White Temple
and The Black House, another tourist attraction in Chiang Rai.
We arrived at the White Temple
during the Lunch hour when it was closed, so managed to get some photos of it
without any people in front of it. Us girls were given sarongs to wear as we
weren’t allowed to go inside it wearing shorts. The outside was decorated with
masks, hands and other decorations symbolising ‘world temptations, desired and
greed’ that the monks are learning to escape from. You can read about the
history of the temple here.
WE then travelled to the black house, or Baan
Dam. Created by Thai artist Thawan Duchanee, it’s a museum of dead animal skins, sculptures, and
carvings. There are many small buildings that look like mythical teepees, with chairs
in a circle inside like a fantasy meeting room. Outside were fields guarded by
live ponies, and more sculptures of tall mushroom looking sculptures and rock
formations. Both the White temple and the Black house were free to view.
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