Visiting White Temple in Chiang Rai

Hey dear community, at the beginning I would like to welcome you all to my contribution and hope you have a day so far that has brought some interesting experiences into your life! In this publication I have decided to share something about an experience that I have made in Chiang Rai and am happy if you can learn new things or even get to know a new place.

Thailand is full of breathtaking temples, some of which definitely have their own charisma and one of them is probably the well-known white temple which is located in the city of Chiang Rai. This temple, which looks very surreal, has developed into one of the most famous sights of the country, which in truth is a modern construction that was only built in 1997 and was about creating a work to combine traditional values with modern ones. As with most other temples, there are no monks active here and it's not a religious complex but a form of art project in which symbolism and attraction should be more in focus. For the artist Chalermchai Kositpipat it was more than just a simple project and one of his huge life's work which should go down in history even after his time and he demands that the temple should be expanded again and again after his time and he has already trained students for these purposes who after the death of the 70th Year-olds should continue the work.

The symbolism of the temple is also extremely diverse and pretty much every part of it has its own meaning and also the path that leads to the temple is full of sculptures that have their own meaning and already the path that leads over a bridge is connected with a deep spiritual meaning. On the wall paintings it can also be seen that emphasis has been placed on integrating modern influences, but controversial topics are also used here which are not popular with everyone and it's important to mention that there are really many people here, which is why it can be worthwhile to be on site early. I visited the temple during my time in Chiang Mai and from there it is a good day trip which lasted about 3 hours, but this was not the only thing I got to see that day and there were other sights on my list. The entrance fee is relatively fair and has only cost about 100 BHT, but there is still a small cave here on the site with the name Cave of Art which has cost again something, but someone who is already here should not miss this unique cave.

The cave was visited relatively quickly, but it was worth it in every respect and I think it is also positive that the temple was financed by private funds and there were no subsidies, which is why it's definitely worth supporting the project with some extra money. I will write more about the day trip in the future, but the temple was only one of four things I saw that day and only because of the temple I would not come here and in any case combine the trip with other sights nearby to get the most out of it. Even if it's not a traditional temple in this sense, but an art project from the modern era it was still an interesting experience for me which I do not regret having made and who should be in Chiang Mai should not miss to make a trip!

Many thanks for stopping by and I hope you could learn something new and like my post and appreciate my effort! I captured these pictures with my Sony Alpha 6000 plus 55-210 mm and iPhone 16.