Chiang Rai in Black and White
Two famous Northern landmarks – The White Temple and The Black House
A lot is happening on the art scene in Chiang Rai. The city appears to attract many Thai artists and of course they are influenced by the works of Chalermchai Khositpipat เฉลิมชัย โฆษิตพิพัฒน์ (sometimes called Thailands Gaudi) and Master Tawan Duchanee ถวัลย์ ดัชนีย์. The Chapel of Wat Rong Khun, or simply known as The White Temple is located in Rong Khun village just 10 kilometer south of Chiang Rai. And the Black House of Master Tawan Duchanee is somewhat north of the city.
So, If we start with the White temple.
Rong Khun village is where Chalermchai Khositpipat was born.
The temple has strong pure white color representing the Buddha, and is decorated with glass mosaic that mirrors the sunlight. No gold decorations are used for the main building (ubosot), but instead the toilet close by is glimmering in gold. This is not your ordinary temple. It’s traditional and modern at the same time. Full of contrasts.
Rong Khun village is where Chalermchai Khositpipat was born.
The temple has strong pure white color representing the Buddha, and is decorated with glass mosaic that mirrors the sunlight. No gold decorations are used for the main building (ubosot), but instead the toilet close by is glimmering in gold. This is not your ordinary temple. It’s traditional and modern at the same time. Full of contrasts.
When you walk to the main hall you get to pass hell first. One of the striking features inside the main hall is a demon with a motive of Obama Bin Laden in one of his eyes and George Bush in the other eye. The project began 1997 and is still under construction. Nearby is also an art gallery with the works of Chalermchai Khositpipat. By the way, Chalermchai Khositpipat has designed the new clock tower in Chiang Rai. The white Temple is rather easy to find. It’s located on road 1208 just off National Highway number 1.
As for the Black House of Tawan Duangdee, it is a slightly more complicated issue. We were lost a few times before we could find the place. According to some of the sellers, working close by the Black house, Master Tawan Duangdee doesn’t want to promote a visit to the Black house just yet. It’s his son that started to spread the word. The work on the Black House has been going on for 30 years. When we went there, it opened from 1 pm. But we could not see all of the area, because the master himself was taking a rest in one of the buildings. However, this is an impressive park area with plenty of fantastic wood buildings, the main hall all in black. Beautiful woodcarvings, skins and horn installations are everywhere.
There is also a small shop where you can buy some souvenirs, such as a wooden phallus (”palatkik” ปลัดขิก ) for blessing your merchandise, combined with the shell of coconut. The seller in the shop can tell you a quite intriguing story about this piece. It is the design of one of the masters friends, who seems to have used his own... -We're sorry, we won’t tell you more than that ;)
To find the Black House, head north on National Highway 1 for Mae Sai and Chiang Rai Rajabhat University. After around 20 minutes you will see a small sign where to turn left (on our Flickr gallery its the picture that says TURN) . See this link for a picture of Master Tawan Duchanee.
© Text and Photos: Per Sundberg
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