Day 71
But I’m going to try to use them to describe it anyways. Along with some photos. Those tend to help.
The White Temple in Chiang Rai, Thailand, has been on my bucket list ever since the first time I laid eyes on photos of it. It looked incredible, and also artsy and creepy, like the Buddhist counterpart of Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia. The two have similarities – both have been built in the modern era and neither are completed.
The White Temple was started in 1997 and will remain under construction until 2070. My complete lack of planning got me into trouble again the day I visited the White Temple. Normally, one can easily catch a bus to the temple for only 20 baht (less than $1). Ever-confident in my awful sense of direction, I headed out, foolishly, without a map. I had used the only one I had the previous night to fight the mosquito infiltration in my room and didn’t want to carry a paper soaked in mine or someone else’s malaria-infested blood around with me.
I walked in the 90-degree heat for 30 minutes and realized I had no idea where I was going. I stepped into a 7-11 where a tiny woman took pity on me and offered to call me a taxi. “Bus station very far” she said. I said I feared the taxi was expensive, but she negotiated with him to use the meter so that it would cost about the same as the bus, then brought me to what appeared to be a gynecologist’s office to wait for the taxi.
Under the curious stares from pregnant Thai women probing me, I waited. And waited. And waited. The taxi finally showed up and tried not to use the meter. After some back and forth, I paid more than I wanted to and finally found myself at the temple. Luckily, entrance was free.
Finally, I got to lay eyes on this:
And more importantly, these little guys:
I scurried into the temple area, eagerly snapping pictures, prancing around trying to get every angle of these amazing hands:
…and skulls!
There was a man with a loud speaker and microphone who eventually noticed I was holding up the stream of people steadily piling through the narrow temple paths. “Lady, keep moving, keep moving!” he said as I chuckled and kept snapping pictures.
I looked through my photos and wasn’t satisfied, so I had to go through once again, and hope my friend with the microphone didn’t notice. Then again, I was one of the only foreigners there and I was wearing purple elephant hippie pants and a bright pink t-shirt. I’m not sure how or why I thought I’d scurry past him successfully. I started my photo snapping again:
Sure enough, he noticed me right away, and got right back on his microphone: “Lady! Keep moving, keep moving!” I started giggling again as I slowly started to oblige.
With some heavy help from poor Yvonne all the way in Luang Prabang, I successfully found the bench, under the tree, on the highway, to the right of the giant photo of the king, and made my way home for 20 Baht. It was a good day all-in-all, and resulted in some amazing photos and memories. *Click here to see the full set of photos on Flickr.
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Hogga says
This is beyond insane!
Kristin Addis says
But also pretty awesome!
Kristin Addis says
But also pretty awesome!
Michael Hodson says
I only stopped there for like a half hour on my way to Laos. Your photos kick mine’s ass 😉
Kristin Addis says
I spent a couple here. I was just so mesmerized! Thanks 🙂
Kristin Addis says
I spent a couple here. I was just so mesmerized! Thanks 🙂
Jo (The Blond) says
wow! it looks amazing!!! What an experience this must have been!
Kristin Addis says
was very cool to see, but annoying to get to! 🙂
JustChuckinIt says
Kristin, I don’t know if I’ve seen a building more beautiful than this. Just simple mind boggling how mystifying it appears and the intricate detail. Will definitely be adding this to my list!
Kristin Addis says
I thought the same when I saw photos, and just knew I had to get there. It was quite impressive!
eriksmithdotcom says
This place does look pretty remarkable. I’ve seen quite a number of posts done on it, and your pictures do as nice a job of catpturing it as any I’ve seen.
Kristin Addis says
It is pretty remarkable. I saw a lot as well and tried to capture it a little differently than I’ve seen before.
Way Out Far says
Brilliant! I read somewhere once that you can see the Alien from the films somewhere in all this artwork too! Heading to northern Thailand next week and definitely going to look The White Temple up – thanks!
Kristin Addis says
There is a pretty awesome mural inside the temple that you’re not allowed to take pics of (I snuck one anyways with my iPhone) http://instagram.com/p/S-CYzeux9D/
Anglo Italian says
Truly, there really aren’t enough words to describe the awesomeness. Thank heavens you had your camera & the guile to get onto ‘Photos Round 2’
Kristin Addis says
Haha, the “guile” love it.
Penny Sadler says
You’re right! No words for that. Awesome!
Kristin Addis says
I was blown away!
Abhilasha says
Hey Kirstin,
Partially instigated by cheap flight tickets and partially motivated by your blog, I am backpacking alone to Thailand and Cambodia for 20 days starting 10th October. I love the pictures on your blog and will like to collect some of mine, especially like the ones of white temple in Chiang Rai. Are these DSLR pics or iPhone pics ?
Kristin says
These are all DSLR pics. I wrote about the cameras I use in this post: https://www.bemytravelmuse.com/backpacking-asia-packing-list/
Stepheny says
Can you recommend a tour from Chiang Mai to Rai?
Kristin says
Just take a bus honestly. Cheaper and easier.