Wat Rong Khun Chiang Rai in Thailand

Wat Rong Khun is very different to any of temple you are likely to see in Thailand. A lifetime project of artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, the temple has a fine blend of traditional Buddhist art with contemporary themes.

The temple is almost entirely white

no other colours are used at all. It is though decorated with small pieces of mirrored glass which add substantially to the temple’s spacious and airy feel. Designed to be viewed in moonlight, if you can manage to get there when the moon is out it’s worth the effort – very nice indeed. This temple is certainly worth a visit unless you have limited time.

Wat Rong Khun was a local

selection of places to visit during our stay in Chiang Rai. We did not know this temple until our Thai friend told us about it as it was not covered in any of our English tour books, but we found it in our Thai guide book.

It is a very different temple

very artistic and it doesn't really compare with any temple we had seen so far. The temple is the works of the Thai artist artist Chalermchai Kositpipat and it is well visited on the weekends by Thai people.

Wat Rong Khun Chiang Rai in Thailand

There were busloads of people on the temple grounds and in the nearby gallery. It was still being constructed, or shall I say created, when we visited in December of 2004. The artist sees it as a "creation of the Buddhist Artwork for the Motherland...for the Auspicious Offering to the Lord Buddha". Different but impressive