We arrived early to Chiang Rai after surviving the pinball ride that was our overnight bus. It's always an adventure when you are roused from your slumber by sounds of falling luggage and the elbow of the person next to you in your side as you are being slammed into the aisle while flying around a midnight mountain switchback. Nevertheless, we roused our bruised and tired bodies and made our way to Baan Bua which was a quaint little guesthouse in the city and had some breakfast.
Our first stop of the day was to Wat Rohn Kuhn (White Temple) a little outside of Chiang Rai. We were (per usual) the only foreigners on the local bus and had some 
fun trying to describe where we wanted to be let off--thankfully the bus lady helped us out (once she found out we could speak a little Thai she warmed right up to us and was chattering away as though we were fluent). We were greeted by the beautiful gleaming White Temple which is really unlike the rest of the temples in Thailand. Yes, it is still big and guady and over the top, but there is something about its stark whiteness and glistening mirrored tiles that is sort of magical. However, it is also very strange. It's supposed to represent the equivalent of heaven in it's purity and use of white, but as you walk up to it you cross over a bridge surrounded by sculpted hands (apparently reaching out from the underworld--which represent temptation). 
The highlight is probably the one hand that has it's middle finger painted red amongst the sea of white. Inside the temple (unfortunately you can't take pictures) is a modern depiction of the transition from the underworld to the enlightened one. I say modern because the muraled walls have images of Spiderman, Neo from the Matrix, cell phones, Star Wars, etc. My only guess is it symbolizes the evils of the world coupled with the 'superheroes' who are trying to defeat them? Strange, but beautiful and interesting. The complex itself is also unbelievable as it won'tbe completed for another 50 or so years; it's crazy to think that the person who started this project won't even be alive to witness its full completion!
fun trying to describe where we wanted to be let off--thankfully the bus lady helped us out (once she found out we could speak a little Thai she warmed right up to us and was chattering away as though we were fluent). We were greeted by the beautiful gleaming White Temple which is really unlike the rest of the temples in Thailand. Yes, it is still big and guady and over the top, but there is something about its stark whiteness and glistening mirrored tiles that is sort of magical. However, it is also very strange. It's supposed to represent the equivalent of heaven in it's purity and use of white, but as you walk up to it you cross over a bridge surrounded by sculpted hands (apparently reaching out from the underworld--which represent temptation). 
The highlight is probably the one hand that has it's middle finger painted red amongst the sea of white. Inside the temple (unfortunately you can't take pictures) is a modern depiction of the transition from the underworld to the enlightened one. I say modern because the muraled walls have images of Spiderman, Neo from the Matrix, cell phones, Star Wars, etc. My only guess is it symbolizes the evils of the world coupled with the 'superheroes' who are trying to defeat them? Strange, but beautiful and interesting. The complex itself is also unbelievable as it won'tbe completed for another 50 or so years; it's crazy to think that the person who started this project won't even be alive to witness its full completion! Our next stop was to Baan Si Duhm (the Black House) which was created by a friend of the White Temple creator and is a little less unknown. At first I thought it was the weirdest place on Earth, but the more time we spent there the more peaceful and interesting 
it became. It was sort of like an artist's commune in that there were art installations littered about the grounds inside various black houses, shrines and domes in addition to the many artists who were working on various projects at the time. There was a series of 3 dome structures that had bizarre animal skins/furs/skeletons and furniture made from horns and wood, but were designed with the most incredible acoustics. You could hum a single note and the reverberations echoing from the walls literally enveloped you in a sea of overtones--in laymen's terms: it was awesome!
it became. It was sort of like an artist's commune in that there were art installations littered about the grounds inside various black houses, shrines and domes in addition to the many artists who were working on various projects at the time. There was a series of 3 dome structures that had bizarre animal skins/furs/skeletons and furniture made from horns and wood, but were designed with the most incredible acoustics. You could hum a single note and the reverberations echoing from the walls literally enveloped you in a sea of overtones--in laymen's terms: it was awesome! After our trek around Chiang Rai we made our way to the Night Bazaar for some bartering and some good eats before heading off to bed--how nice it was to have a bed after sleeping on a bus all night!
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