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

Kyoto (Japan) - A Date with the Gates of Fushimi Inari Shrine

Date of Exploration : 30 Mar 2016

This iconic landmark of Japan needs no introduction but ironically, its name is not be very well-known. Before coming here, I didn't know it is called Fushimi Inari Shrine and only referred to it as "that place with the orange tunnel of wooden pillars and beams". Having seen so many striking photos of it, this shrine has been on my checklist of places to visit for a loooooong time if I ever came to Japan. So tada! ...

... I finally walked into the photograph I've seen so many countless people had taken!

Probably the most recognisable tourism sight and site in Japan after Mount Fuji, this attraction that is made for souvenir photos is a must-see by being as enchanting and fascinating as it is awkward in its fusion with the forested hillside it calls home.

Walking into a Spiritual Vein of Shinto

Established since 711AD, Fushimi Inari Shrine is one of Japan's definitive cultural relic and is the head of all Inari Shinto shrines (some over 40,000 of them) in Japan. "Inari" is the kami (god) of grain foods such as rice and Sake and is worshipped for its association with good harvest, fertility and prosperity.

As for "Fushimi", it is the name of the location the shrine is at to distinguish it from the many other Inari shrines.

A giant torii gate marks the entrance path that leads to Fushimi Inari Shrine.

A second torii gate stands guard closer to the shrine's Romon Gate. Behind the Romon Gate is the collection of prayer houses of Fushimi Inari Shrine.

Three cheers! Saw these jovial lovelies taking a wefie and their joy of friendship compelled me to snap a photo of them in the act. But when they saw me framing their moment from a distance, they spontaneously broke into a smile towards me. So I got closer and remembered this warmth that brightened my day. Even though we were strangers. Thank you for the sunshine! :-D

Foxes are considered messengers for Inari. Wherever you find fox komainu (guardian spirits) at the entrance of a holy place, that is a sure sign that that is an Inari shrine.

A stage sits in front of the main prayer (honden) and offering (haiden) hall.

Framing the stage where bugaku dance or noh theatre are performed to honour the gods. Torii gate, purification trough, stage, honden, haiden, ema and omikuji are classical features of Shinto shrines.

A side shrine within the compound of Fushimi Inari Shrine lined with an ema board where devotees can write their hopes, wishes and prayers on wooden 'cards'.

Fushimi Inari Shrine's main honden and haiden hall.

There are many ways to pray and make offerings at a Shinto shrine from tying omikuji (fortune telling paper slips) to make good fortunes come true and bad fortunes go away, to lighting candles and incense, to penning hopes on wooden ema cards.

Ema in the shape of mini torii gates where visitors can pen wishes and prayers to be hung on a display rack.

Say a prayer and sound the bell to alert the spirits to get to work in realising the wishes. I'm not Buddhist but I was quietly hoping for prolonged good health for the people I love and myself, as well as wisdom and everlasting love when I tugged the ribbon that sounded the bell. I hope my hopes come true :)

This is what everlasting love looks like... Saw this old couple, white with the remaining hair they had, praying at a shrine. What you don't see is that they were holding each others' hand while saying their prayers. I felt so warm and fuzzy inside and also envious. Meeting that person who is willing to work things out and grow old with you is such a treasure to never let go of.

The old couple were praying to this Shinto altar. May whatever they prayed for come into realisation.

After passing through the stage, prayer hall and a series of shrines, we arrived at the back of Fushimi Inari Shrine where the real magic begins! This is where we will walk into the famed corridor of minor torii gates lined to closely together, they form an endless crimson tunnel.

The corridor of torii gates is adored by many visitors so it is impossible to get a clean shot without people in the background. But if you come in the evening, the number of visitors will be thinner.

The initial line-up of taller torii gates led down a path where it is split into a left and right row of densely packed shorter torii gates. The conventional way is to take the right route and return by the left. The corridor leads up the mountain that Fushimi Inari Shrine sits at the bottom of.

As we were pressed for time, we didn't intend to climb to the top, a journey that will take about 3 hours to go up and come back down so we took the left route to experience what walking into the orange tunnel felt like. 

Although we went against human traffic, we were freed from the crowd and managed to experience the meditative allure of the torii tunnel without people. It felt mysterious because you can't see beyond a turn and yet awed at the same time of the sheer number of these wooden pillars and beams.

At one point, I imagined the tunnel to be the blood veins that fed Inari.

A very popular thing to do is to rent a traditional Japanese kimono or costume in downtown Kyoto and pretend to step back in time in Japan at Fushimi Inari Shrine.

The torii corridor cocooned us from the forest outside.

The torii gates were donated by individuals as well as corporations as homage to the gods for prayers for prosperity that were realised. There are about 10,000 of these torii gates that formed snaking trails up Mount Inari. If you are thinking of donating and inscribing a torii gate of your own, it costs about ￥400,000 (S$5,300) for a small gate and ￥1 million (S$13,200) for a big gate.

A leap of victory for finally coming to this place that I've wanted to visit for so long! And getting here was much easier than I thought. It's just a short 5 minutes train ride on the Japan Rail line from Kyoto Station to Inari Station.

This is definitely a place like no other to visit when in Japan!

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