Chilling in Chiang Rai :)
I felt such a buzz being back on the road again, full of all of the possibilities of what we could see over the next few days instead of just Lahu Village, and smoke filled bungalows. It felt great to be free.
I had decided that I was going to spend a few days in Chiang Rai with Kirstie and then make my way south again to Chiang Mai as she moved north towards Cambodia. I was looking forward to some chill out time in some fresh organic style cafes that I had researched and just enjoying some peace and quiet and good coffee in a good vibe kind of place. I was still torn on what to do after Chiang Mai as suddenly all of these new places and ideas appealed to me - I wanted to see Pai, I hoped to get to Sukothai as well and see some of the ruins and temples there on my way through to Bangkok. The more I read about that part of Thailand, the more I discovered things that I wanted to see and do! As always on this adventure, the bucket list grows ;)
After a very lazy start to the day Kirstie and I took a local bus to the White Palace. Wat Rong Khun is a contemporary unconventional Buddhist temple just 5km south of Chiang Rai. It was designed by Chalermchai Kositpipat in 1997. Wat Rong Khun is different from any other temple in Thailand, as it is designed entirely in white with some use of white class. Like a gleaming white vision of heaven. It is like something out of a disney movie, it is just unbelievably amazing! I could have spent hours there walking around and examining the detail in which has delivered throughout the whole temple. The white colour stands for Lord Buddha's purity, and the white glass stands for Lord Buddha's wisdom that shines brightly all over the Earth and the Universe. In 2013 the temple was still being constructed and isn't due to be completed for quite some years yet. I have added lots of amazing photos below so you can see for yourselves just how spectacular this one of a kind temple really is :) Enjoy <3
You will notice that although the palace looks all white and pure and angelic, that some of the imagery is both peaceful and the stuff that nightmares are made of!!
And the less angelic stuff ;)
Later the same day we took another local bus to visit the hell side of this equation - The Black House (Baan Dam). It was a little spooky to be honest but an amazing concept and brilliant design by local artist Thawan Duchanee. In complete contrast to the White Palace this is to the north of Chiang Rai, it is completely black and eerie and filled with animal skeletons, and darkness. The house itself is incredible, but the artist has also filled the ground with equally unique artifacts everywhere. We arrived quite late so didn't get to see its full glory, or grounds, but what we did see was pretty amazing! There is a mysteriousness about the property, it is not as well known as the White Temple, and virtually impossible to find. There are no signs to direct you to it, it is hidden away down little side streets and there are no signs around the House itself to tell you anything about the house. Everything is very much left to your imagination. You can see from the photos yourself below :)
We had real trouble trying to find the Black House. We took a local bus out of Chiang Rai and were dropped in the middle of nowhere. There are no signs or indicators of the house being anywhere at all. I managed to piece together enough small Thai words to ask some locals for help. This gorgeously kind boy told me "not noi" which means a little bit (as in we are close by), and he very kindly walked in front of us the whole way to the temple. So kind of him.
Both properties were created by Chiang Rai natives, both artists with ambitious visions. Both projects are ongoing, and will take decades of work before either artist is happy that they are completed.
Later that day we found a gorgeous cafe called rather originally "Chiang Rai Cafe" which was the kind of beautiful cafe setting where you could sit for hours and people watch. In the evening we discovered the night market, which was just the perfect way to end our time together. We walked through the market stalls for what felt like forever, then slowly found our way to the night bazaar food area and ate a delicious green curry with lemon juice. There was nightly local thai entertainment of amazing music and dancing on the stage. We laughed, and joked about our experiences since we had met that first day in Chiang Mai. All the things we had learned. The smiles, the tears, our gratitude for the friendship we had come to have as a result of it. We are the same person Kirstie and I, and I know I will see her again somewhere equally unique and amazing :)
Peace and love :)
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