Thailand is a paradise on our planet, annually attracting millions of people from around the globe. The abundance of historical monuments, ancient ruins, Buddhist pagodas. Thanks to all this, Thailand is so conquering the love of travelers. The White Temple makes a significant contribution to evoking this admiration. He is so beautiful and amazing that many come here primarily to see him.
Location of the White Temple
Having seen this beautiful creation of a person in photography, any person more or less familiar with this country will be able to accurately say that this is Thailand, the White Temple. Where exactly this magnificent and unusual structure is located - far from everyone can answer, because, despite its obvious popularity, the temple is still away from the most "hyped" resorts in Thailand - such as Pattaya or Phuket.
And this temple is located in the north, in a small town called Chiang Rai (not to be confused with the city of Chiang Mai, which is also in the north and is the cultural capital of Thailand). Wat Rong Kun - this is the name of the White Temple in Thailand - is not the only, but the most recognizable landmark in the city. Moreover, he is so recognizable that he is known even more than Chiang Rai itself.
The real name of the temple and the history of construction
Wat Rong Kun was designed by the famous artist and architect Chalermchay Kositpipat. It looks like an ordinary person, Mr. Kositpipat - a well-known and wealthy person. Confirmation of the latter is the fact that the White Temple in Thailand was built exclusively on his money. In addition, it is being built to this day - the entire process of construction has been going on for almost two decades. The construction of Wat Rong Kun began in 1997.
It is known that the father-creator of this beautiful temple in principle does not accept any financial assistance from sponsors. According to the architect himself, he consciously refuses money for construction so that no one can dictate to him the conditions for the construction of the temple of his dreams. This is not surprising, given that the artist is sometimes noticed by self-painting the walls of the temple.
May 2014 earthquake
In May 2014, an earthquake occurred in the city of Chiang Rai. The white temple in Thailand is destroyed. It was after this sad event that the famous architect nevertheless agreed to accept help for the reconstruction of the destroyed complex, but not from patrons, but from ordinary parishioners who were determined to help restore the shrine. Note that it was initially announced that it was impossible to reconstruct the White Temple in Thailand. However, encouraged by the support of fellow citizens, Chalermchay Kositpipat still decided to repair it and bring it back to its original state.
The Beauty of the White Temple
The first word that comes to mind when seeing this temple is “splendor”. Indeed, this building is striking in its beauty and elegance of forms. Skillful carvings, striking imagination patterns - all this is surprisingly harmoniously intertwined in the image of Wat Rong Kun, which is not only the White Temple, but a whole temple complex full of bizarre and symbolic statues, frescoes, sculptures of mythological creatures.
The White Temple, probably, can be called if not the most unusual, then one of the most unusual Buddhist religious buildings for sure. If in the rest of Thailand, as well as in neighboring countries, all the wools - Buddhist temples - are built in a completely different style and are cast with gold and warm colors, then Wat Rong Kun is not one of them. Evidence of this is the dazzling whiteness of everything around - almost everything in the complex is made of alabaster and painted in marshmallow-white. In addition, the surface of the buildings on the territory of Wat Rong Kun is inlaid with a mirror mosaic that reflects the light and gives the temple even greater radiance.
It is worth noting that in the complex you will not find identical figures - they are all unique, and each of them symbolizes something. Together, they allow visitors to immerse themselves in the history of the country and Thai mythology. So, while walking around the temple, you will follow the “road of enlightenment”, you will meet the guards of Hell and Paradise, you will see a lot of amazing imagination and even funny sculptures.
The White Temple itself in Thailand, unfortunately some, cannot be photographed from the inside, since inside it there is a complete ban on any shooting. So the image of the Buddha on the wall and two of his statues can only be seen with their own eyes.
Completely white?
By the way, you can still find one non-snow-white building in Wat Rong Kun. This building is cast in gold ... toilet. Yes Yes exactly. Perhaps this luxurious restroom is one of the most beautiful in the whole kingdom. And all guests of the temple complex can use it without exception. At the same time, it is absolutely impossible to say that the golden toilet is out of the ordinary - it is so unusual and beautiful, however, like everything else in the White Temple.
And a little remark. Speaking about visitors, one cannot but mention that there are many of them in Wat Rong Kun, no less than in similar popular places, for example, in Bangkok. Therefore, we recommend that you arrive there early in the morning or late in the evening, if you want fewer people next to you.
How to get there
It is best to see the famous white temple in Thailand live. Photos - even the most high-quality and professional ones - will not be able to convey even a fraction of all the admiration that Wat Rong Kun will cause you. Moreover, getting to him from Chiang Rai is quite simple. It is located 15 kilometers from the city of Chiang Rai, and you can get there by bus, paying a nominal 20 baht.
And you can get to Chiang Rai from the capital of Thailand, Bangkok - such large low-cost airlines (low cost airlines) as Air Asia or Nok Air offer a very inexpensive flight to this city. For example, a round-trip ticket can cost you only a hundred dollars. And for shares that are regularly held by these carriers, the cost of the flight may be even less.