16th Day - Chiang Rai - Wat Rong Khun

After breakfast, we head back to Chiang Rai. Michi has to do his PCR test at the hospital. This time it goes quite fast. At the nearby shopping mall, we can exchange money again. Since it's raining, we don't really have a hurry and have some food. In the shopping malls, there is freshly cooked food at every corner. There is everything you can imagine. The rain stops and we can visit Wat Rong Khun - also known as the "White Temple". This temple is a private artwork in the style of a Buddhist temple complex. The Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat decided in 1996 to reconstruct the temple in a modified style with voluntary helpers. He spent $1.2 million of his own funds for the creation of the temple and saw it as an offering to Buddha. Currently, only about 20 percent of the planned facilities have been built. The completion is estimated to be around the year 2070. Until then, the construction is exclusively funded by donations. There are many small mirror tiles embedded in the temple, which make it sparkle and shine from a distance. It also reminds of Gaudi and somehow also of Hundertwasser with all its peaks. Impressive is also the golden temple standing on the premises. They are remarkable buildings.