34. Stop Chiang Rai, Thailand

On Friday, 13.03.2020, we rented a scooter and drove to our first stop for the day: the White Temple or 'Wat Rong Khun'. I have never seen a temple like this before, and it is not comparable to any other in Asia. Normally, white is considered a color of mourning in Buddhism, but here it is deliberately used to symbolize the purity and wisdom of Buddha. There are small pieces of mirror attached everywhere, which make the entire complex sparkle and truly look like a small fairy tale castle.

Since 1996, the temple complex has been built by a Thai artist who finances it through his own means and donations. Currently, only about 20 percent of the planned complex has been completed. The visit here is without a tour guide, but the paths are clearly marked. First, you cross a bridge that represents the cycle of life and rebirth. Hands and skulls emerge from hell on both sides of the bridge. In the main building called 'Ubosot', which is located behind it, is the assembly hall of the monks. Everything here is completely different, the walls are brightly painted and feature drawings of George Bush, Michael Jackson, and even Osama Bin Laden.

The rest of the complex is equally spectacular, so much so that we couldn't stop marveling at it, but it doesn't have any further significance.

There was one more highlight: a large golden toilet house.

Next up was the giant Buddha of Chiang Rai, also known as 'Wat Huay Pla Kung'. Although the statue is well-known, it is not actually a Buddha. The deity is a Guanyin who supports people on their path to Nirvana. We took an elevator up to the top, and from there we had a panoramic view. Through the eyes of the statue, you could see that it has a view of everything around it and observes everything closely. The area around the elevator was similar to the White Temple, everything was white and decorated with pieces of mirror.

The 'Baan Dam' is known as the Black Temple and can be seen as the counterpart to the White Temple. However, if you have visited the Black Temple, you will know that it is an extraordinary museum that deals with death and has an unusual collection of objects. The complex is very large, so we spent a long time here. In the end, I must say that the exhibits left me with a negative feeling and overshadowed the White Temple.

As the name suggests, all the individual rooms were black and very dark inside. The 'furnishings' consisted mostly of dead animals or parts of them: fur, animal skins, horns, and bones. Instead of a tablecloth, the table was decorated with the skin of a 5-meter-long python or crocodile skin. Other buildings had stuffed animals or black and red paintings depicting fights between different animals.

The next temple and the last for the day lifted the mood again. It is simply called the Blue Temple because it is predominantly blue. There isn't a special story behind it - for Thais, it is just a normal temple, albeit in blue. As usual, you have to take off your shoes to enter. Inside, the colors blue and gold prevail, and the wall and ceiling paintings are breathtaking and very detailed.