In Chiang Rai, a city located in the Northern Province of Thailand is a land bursting with a varied range of cultural experiences at every corner. And so to explore this great city my parents had booked an action packed day tour which over the course of 8 hours took us from grand temples to rural outskirts of the Paluang Hill Tribes. Our journey begin at 7 in the morning, as I alongside 9 other members were whisked away to our first location on the internerairy, Wat Rong Kung. Growing up in majority buddhist country my whole life, I have visited my fair share of temples. But as the first glistening specks of the facade caught my eye I knew in no way could this be anything like the stupas we have back home. Wat Rong Kung otherwise known as the white temple forgoes traditional Theravada Buddhism styling and architecture and instead can be better imagined to be the love child of Chalermchai Kositpipat (who side note after completion of the initial temple, retired back to his hometown to start a biker gang) whose love of Buddhism and modern art crossover. Which is why hidden throughout the 9 acres you can spot a various modern pop culture references like Spiderman and Godzilla battling inside the main hall or take a photo next to a bejewelled transformer-esque statue. Alongside the main building there were several other smaller monuments such as a wishing well (our guide was kind enough to explain the Chinese Zodiac and what is the appropriate amount of baht to throw inside), an artificial wishing tree (pictured below) and a smaller golden temple. A visitor truly could spend an entire day here just exploring and taking into account al the small details. Something about the Kositpipat’s artistic vision is he never wants the place to be fully complete because similarly to the way Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia is constantly swamped with renovations, the White Temple will always be in a state of renovation in the pursuit to reach artist perfection.
Our next stop was Wat Rong Suea Ten, the blue temple. Crafted by Kositpipat’s protege, Phuttha Kabkaew, the temple certainly contains the same distinctive elaborate carvings. The whole experience for me was extremely interesting because even down to the code of conduct it is the furthest thing from the sort of behaviour you expect to see in a Sri Lankan temple. From the lack of rules regarding color choice to the etiquette when presenting yourself in front of Buddha statue, to even the elaborateness of the architecture, everything was the complete opposite of Sri Lankan. Which is why I thought both temples were a worthwhile experience that broadened my views on how different cultures can interpret the same religion.
One of my favourite stops on the tour was the Baan Dam which translates to Black House. Even as far as art experiences go it is quite an unique one. As the brainchild of national artist, Thawan Duchanee it is a mixture of traditional Thai building which unconventional architectural features infused into and even stranger art. Visitors can roam the property at their leisure and explore the complex of 40 buildings, each jam packed with animal skeletons or wood carvings and/or large scale paintings done by Duchanee. During the visit I was able to gain a sense of inspiration because regardless of themes presented in his work, it was clear to anyone who saw that Duchanee was a man who was dedicated and excelled at his craft. Upon returning back to Sri Lanka and having the time to research the artist further, hearing his story, his use of Hitsuzendo and how he incorporated buddhist motifs to explore themes of humanities collective guilt really inspired me to base further art projects in class based off him.
