White Wonder

Wat Rong Khun, Thailand 

Wat Rong Khun, or White Temple, Chiang Rai Province

On our way from the lesser traveled city of Chiang Rai in Northern Thailand to the Golden Triangle, where the three countries of Laos, Myanmar and Thailand meet, we stopped at the Wat Rong Khun, or the White Temple. Built by the artist Chalermchai Kositpipat the outside of the temple is embedded with millions of shards of mirrors giving it an ethereal look.

The artist portrays the unlimited desires of humans and the walls of the temple are painted with modern characters that have made an impact on people from Superman and Michael Jackson to the burning twin towers in New York on 9/11 and Doraemon. Since there have been reams written on the structure by fellow travelers I'm going to save myself the long story and direct you to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Rong_Khun for detailed information.

Apparently an earthquake in May last year damaged the temple. Hope it gets restored soon as it truly is one of the most unique temples I have ever visited. If anyone is going to those parts of Thailand, be sure to not give this a miss.

Entrance to the temple

There were quite a few tourists that day so it was impossible to get a clear shot of just the walkway!

Gaggle of humanity

These sculptures of outstretched arms along the sides of the walkway to the entrance depict unlimited human want.

The backside!

Golden Loos!

Even the loos were in an ornate shell! Guess one has to give adequate respect to important bodily functions!

Wishing Well

Ask and thou shall receive!