Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) - Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon

Date of Exploration : 29 Jan 2017

Completed in 1880, the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon is perhaps the oldest major monument of its standing in Ho Chi Minh City. It is conveniently located within the heart of the city in District 1, just opposite the main entrance of the Reunification Palace (the two attractions are separated by a park).

I did a half-day self-guided walking tour of the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon, the city's Old Post Office next to it, and ending off at the Reunification Palace.

As the foliage of the park that separated the Reunification Palace and Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon parted, the cathedral's transept made its stately presence felt.

I had wanted to start my day's exploration at Reunification Palace first but it was closed during lunch (11am - 1pm) so I came to the cathedral instead.

While I was at the closed gate of the Reunification Palace, a motorcycle taxi rider came up to me and offered to bring me on a ride to show me where the various attractions are located for US$5.00 (duration of ride is about 30 minutes). I did not take up the offer and pointed towards the park in front of the palace's main gate and indicated that I'm going to the cathedral. He told me that the cathedral is not located in the direction which I pointed and offered to take me there. So I consulted Google Map and it showed that the cathedral is very near.

With the staggering amount of traffic in Ho Chi Mink City, getting a clean shot without any vehicle in it is good training for patience. God knows how long I waited to get this shot without any vehicles in it.

I was a little baffled, wondering to believe him or not but I declined his offer anyway and decided to cross the park to find out. As it turned out, the motorcycle taxi rider hadn't been truthful. The cathedral is located exactly in the direction that I pointed and it took me under 3 minutes to cross the road from the gate of the Reunification Palace, cut across the park, and arrive at the side transept of the cathedral!

Personally, I feel that the attractions (Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City Old Post Office, Reunification Palace, War Remnants Museum, Ben Thanh Market, the French Quarter and Bitexco Tower) are located within a reasonable walking radius. That's if you stay at the centre of District 1 which is near Ben Thanh Market. So it is not necessary to take the motorcycle taxi ride. Moreover, US$5.00 (approx. 115,000d.) is rather expensive to just ride past the various sites. Anyway, there are a lot of taxi scams and other money rip-offs in Ho Chi Minh City so be very careful. Click here for some of the unpleasant encounters I experienced.

Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon is right next to another of the city's historical gem - the Ho Chi Minh City's Old Post Office that was completed in 1891. It is also listed as one of the city's attractions to visit.

My visit coincided with the Chinese New Year period so while I was crossing the road to Saigon Cathedral, I caught sight of this CNY decoration on wheels. Talk about flower power! LOL

Facade of the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon. Officially known as the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception. I shall call it "Saigon Cathedral" for short.

Building materials for the cathedral were brought over from France with the marble statue of the Virgin Mary fabricated in Rome. "Notre Dame" means "Our Lady" in French.

Getting that essential "I am here" selfie shot :o)

In 2005, this statue of the Virgin Mary apparently wept tears from her right eye with a tear trail running down her right cheek. Is it a miracle?

The weather quickly turned gloomy with light rain during my visit but thankfully, the full blooming sunflowers planted around the statue added a smile to appreciate the cathedral with.

The two bell towers housing 6 bells each stands at a height of 58m.

Getting upclose with the Saigon Cathedral.

The cathedral was closed during my visit so I didn't get to see the interior.

Reflection of a star attraction from the French era of Ho Chi Minh City.

I stayed about an hour snapping photos of Saigon Cathedral's facade, most of the time spent waiting for traffic or people to clear the scene for cleaner shots of this historic religious monument.

Saigon Cathedral may not be as elaborate or atmospheric as the gargoyles-laden and medieval Notre Dame de Paris, but it offered a glimpse into the early Europeanisation of Vietnam. The "invasion" of France into Vietnam's politics started because a Catholic priest asked the French government to provide military support and help to Vietnam's Emperor Gia Long in reclaiming lost lands from the country's rebelling peasants.

So, always be careful when asking for help. Or one may end up losing much more.

Chiang Rai (Thailand) - Wat Rong Khun (White Temple)

Date of Exploration : 30 Dec 2016

There's a saying that if you've never been to Wat Rong Khun (White Temple), you've never been to Chiang Rai. So...

... the best way to 'prove' a visit is to selfie with the temple. As if I needed an excuse to have a selfie. LOL

Planning a Visit to Wat Rong Khun (White Temple)

The famous attraction is located about a 30-minute drive from Chiang Rai city centre (where the Night Bazaar and Bus Station are) and it's easy to find a day tour package that includes a visit to this temple as every one of them have it in their packaged itinerary.

If you don't want to follow a packaged tour and want to come on your own, I read online that you can hire a tuk-tuk (local motorised tricycle) for about 300-400bht for a return trip. The driver will wait an hour or two for you. A tuk-tuk will comfortably sit about 2-3 persons.

Roadside view of Wat Rong Khun. The temple is not hidden in some secluded spot but is highly visible by the side of the road it sits along. These photos were taken on a pavement next to the road before even entering the temple.

A water demon guards the shallow canal that runs next to Wat Rong Khun, offering a prelude to the bizarre and macabre sculptures within the temple grounds.

As I wanted more time to explore this icon of Chiang Rai at my own pace instead of following a tour, I decided to hire a car for a day and customise my own tour itinerary.

There are 3 of us (my parents and I) and it costs 750bht per person to go 4 places - Wat Rong Khun, Singha Park, Khun Korn Waterfall, and Wat Huay Pla Kang. It is good to group these 4 attractions together as they are within the southern cluster of attractions (using Chiang Rai city centre as a point of reference) so travelling time from one to the other can be cut down.

To me, the northern cluster of attractions would be Baan Dam (Black House), 5 Tribes Villages, Mae Sai, and Golden Triangle, which are offered by most tour packages and they usually include Wat Rong Khun as well so you can imagine how rushed the day tour would be. If you join a tour, you'll get about 45 minutes at Wat Rong Khun. I prefer to take my time to take photos and take in the ambience of the place. My visit lasted slightly over 2 hours here.

With my folks at Wat Rong Khun. They were wearing matchy-matchy t-shirts. How cute!

We booked our tour through an agency (called "So Good") near the Night Bazaar. We've asked a few agencies and So Good offered the best rate. So good indeed!

Our driver picked us up at our hotel (Wangcome Hotel) at 8:30am and our tour ended at almost 7:00pm. We tipped the driver who didn't speak much English 200bht. So our total cost for the day's tour was 2,450bht, not inclusive of meals and entrance fees.

Beauty and Her Necessary Beasts

From far, Wat Rong Khun looks like an immaculately pristine embodiment of purity. But on closer look, you will find frightening and grotesque sculptures that seem out of place in this vision of great divine beauty.

This coexistence of gods and demons, heaven and hell, is deeply rooted in the Hinduism percept of duality where good and evil are complementary. One cannot exist without the other. Without darkness, we wouldn't understand light. The ying goes hand-in-hand with the yang. As Buddhism has profound connections to Hinduism, Wat Rong Khun expresses this fundamentally Hindu philosophical principle in the context of Thai Buddhist architecture.

Personally, whenever I encounter a skull or 'ugly blemish' to the overall beauty of Wat Rong Khun during my visit, it is a reminder that nobody is perfect. We all have skeletons in our closets. Me included :)

I can't read Thai but it looks like this is a health warning for alcoholics against the golden gate of spiritual nirvana. Wouldn't this send a message to booze more so as to get there faster? Hmm...

What is Predator doing at Wat Rong Khun? Is it a nod to the ancient alien theory of life on earth?

Hanging heads of folklores and superheroes greeted us.

Hellraiser, Ironman and Hellboy... Hollywood comes to Chiang Rai.

My pre-cious...

Before even entering Wat Rong Khun, my curiousity was piqued by the assortment of loathsome looking heads dangling from branches. Entrance to Wat Rong Khun is free for Thais while foreigners pay a 50bht entrance fee, which is rather nominal.

I thought I've left the scary stuff behind but I'm greeted by entrance gates topped with 4-faced skulls upon entering Wat Rong Khun. Is this a temple or horror house?!

Not a Typical Thai Temple

Wat Rong Khun is not actually a temple but a privately owned art-chitecture gallery conceived by Chiang Rai's resident artist, Chalermchai Kosipipat.

Wat Rong Khun was a temple that degenerated into disrepair and restoration works had to be stopped due to insufficient funds. A deeply devout Buddhist, Chalermchai decided to fund and rebuild the temple with a vision to blend tradition with contemporary art. Wat Rong Khun would serve as a centre for Buddhist teachings and meditation in Chiang Rai and is the artist's way of contributing merit to gain immortality.

The reconstruction of Wat Rong Khun began in 1997 with new buildings and extensions added. The entire architectural project is expected to be completed in 2070. This is kinda like the Asian answer to the Spanish Sagrada Familia.

The must-get shot with the White Temple in the background. Still can't get over my parents' matchy-matchy t-shirts. LOL... And I thought romance was dead.

Money-maker shot of Wat Rong Khun (I'll use Wat Rong Khun and White Temple interchangeably). While there are many tourists around, it is not difficult to get a clear shot of the temple as this angle is by the water's edge so no one will be in front of the camera.

Pass the surrounding pond with white kois (yes, even the fish is white!) we arrived at the entrance to the ubosot, which is the main prayer hall.

To get to the ubosot, we must first cross hell, be judged by the guardian deities before crossing the bridge of the cycle of rebirth to heaven represented by the ubosot building.

A beautifully ugly face... No matter how good we looked, it will one day decay away.

So very Pan's Labyrinth-y.

Outstretched hands fill the pits that the bridge crosses.

The outstretched hands in a pit represents incessant needs, where human aspirations and desires are unending and never satisfied.

When you cross the bridge, there's no turning back. Literally. If you turn back for a quick photo with the pit of hands as foreground and ubosot as background, a staff will chide you over a loud speaker for stopping, even if just for a split second, and hurry you to move quickly along.

Guardians 'judge' those who cross the heavenly bridge at the entrance.

Approaching the very busily decorated gable of Wat Rong Khun's ubosot (main prayer hall). No photography allowed inside the ubosot which has paintings on its interior wall depicting the four stages of life - birth, vigour, illness and death.

White represents the purity of Buddha while silver embellishments represent his wisdom.

An aspara making a floral offering.

No inch left undecorated.

Entrance of the ubosot. Shoes must be removed before entering and no photography allowed inside.

Corridor next to the ubosot.

Looking back towards the gate from a corridor surrounding the ubosot.

An vision of calmness and serenity... the simplicity of the monk is a visual pause button.

The 'clean' white pagodas in the back garden provide a stark contrast to the highly ornate decorations all around Wat Rong Khun.

Exit gate of Wat Rong Khun's ubosot area.

While I've seen many photos of the White Temple, nothing beats the thrill of finding a personal angle to frame the temple, an angle that I have not seen before.

Close to the exit from the ubosot area is a pavilion guarded by what looks like twin cone-shaped Christmas tree.

The 'trees' are adorned with countless bells with hanging medallions in the shape of stylised bodhi leaves.

The 12 Chinese zodiac animals rim the cap of the pavilion which houses a wishing well.

You can try to toss a coin and land it within the lotus sculpture at the bottom of the well or just anywhere in it and make a wish... Hope your wishes will come true :)

Another ornately decorated pavilion I came across within the compounds of Wat Rong Khun.

At the base of the pavilion, look out for grotesque faces that would hopefully not cause a nightmare.

Face your demons... The artist's controversial depiction of Buddhism with popular culture and the unholy has provoked ire and attempts were even made to have him banned from the Buddhist community.

Gold Where No One has Gone Before

White isn't the only colour to be found at Wat Rong Khun as a grand building in gold commands an equal measure of admiration. But the building is not a temple, prayer hall, or any religious structure. It is in fact, the toilet!

Gold at such massive scale is quite a sight to behold!

Gold at such massive scale is quite a sight to behold!

Exterior of the gold toilet at the White Temple.

Interior of the male toilet... Makes pooping here a glam dunk. A good release feels even more heavenly in this gold lavatory fit for royalty!

Pano view of Wat Rong Khun's site. As I took my leave at about 11:30am, more crowd streamed in. So come earlier, best by 8am when the temple opens.

Address : San Sai, Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai 57000, Thailand
Opening Hours : 8:00am - 6:00pm
Entrance Fee : 50bht (for foreigners), Free for Thai