Chiang Rai and the White Temple

Although there is plenty going on in Phuket, Thailand really is an amazing country with STACKS to see and do. Maybe your holiday could embrace a bit of a sight seeing adventure and then start or end up here with me in Phuket. Or simply just break your stay in Phuket with a couple of plane trips (Phuket to Bangkok/Bangkok to Chiang Rai...or somewhere 'up North') to sample the different climate and scenery. I would very much recommend purchasing a Lonely Planet Guide to Thailand if you are coming here and have a look at some of the maps, places and information given in this essential traveller's handbook to get an idea of what might appreal to you. Chiang Rai, for example, is nearly as far north in Thailand as you can go before hitting the Laos or Myanmar borders. Morning temperatures are in the 12 degrees range (ideal for sight seeing) but climbing to the mid 20's by afternoon (in the Dec to Feb period). It's a delightful northern town but has a dramatic and very popular attraction in the White Temple, correct name being Wat Rong Khun.

Whereas all other Thai temples (Wats) are extremely colurful the White Temple is exactly what it says it is....white! This effect is due to a 'combination of whitewash and clear -mirrored chips' giving an impression of 'glittering porcelain'. This temple's construction began in 1997 and is due to continue for some time yet as the artist/architect Chalermchai Kositpipat incorporates more of the world's 'events' into his murals and paintings as they unfold.

I know art is very much to an Individual's taste etc but the paintings inside Chalermchai's on-site studio are nothing short of brilliant if at times inventively futuristic. I bought a couple of prints for the house...with the orginals selling in the region of $6,000! He is an extremely productive artist with a lot of work on display and the funds he raises are used to develop his masterpiece, the Temple itself which is a incredible and gigantic work of art.

So...if you get to Chiang Rai...this is a 'must see' and invites an opposite and stunning artisitic stance within the framework of the traditional Thai temple.