Night 17

Dude, if you ever want to go on a date somewhere nice and quaint in Thailand, Chiang Rai is it. It reminded of those super quaint areas in SoCal lit with Christmas lights and a bunch of young artists singing some tunes next to these little cute trinket shops. By far the calmest night bazaar I’ve visited in Asia so far. To usher in my first legit meal after getting sick, we had hotpot. Like in a clay pot. Chiang Rai definitely killed it in a single night.

Day 18

Final full day in Thailand. Well, time to see some more wats! However, we went to see two entirely different kind of wats. Both the White Temple (aka Wat Rong Khun) and the Black House (aka Bandaam Museum) were made by artists quite recently. In fact, Chalermchai Kositpipat, who is continuing the building of the White Temple, taught Thawan Duchanee, the late designer of the Black House. However, if you ever see images of them, you’d think the relationship worked the other way because of Duchanee’s Gandalf-like beard.

Hands down, my two favorite temples ever.

We visited the Black House up north first. When you enter, you can really get a scary movie in the woods vibe. Fair warning, this is not a place for animal lovers. Skins, bones, and remnants of various animals are used to decorate the entire complex. Bones have been turned into conference tables and chairs. You can even find an entire bear skin just chilling inside one of the temples.

For extra measure, ghastly little statues decorate a number of these temples, too. There are also space-pods of sorts hanging around the perimeter. I swear one of them was a dinosaur

Overall, a fantastic experience with a dark but modern take on Thai Buddhism.

And it was just topped by the white temple.

And this place is not even finished yet. The ornate was might put some people off but any visitor should really take the time to really observe the detail that went into so many aspects of the place. Also dragons.

The grief and anguish theme really becomes clear the further you walk in. When you cross the bridge into the main temple, you’ll be greeted by hands and body parts reaching out for salvation. The glare created from the sunlight is blinding. Once inside the main temple, take you time to admire the interior and you’ll be able to find so many pop cultures references. The temple is pretty kick ass.

Now that I could eat, here’s a quick run down of the new goodies I had today.

What’s better than duck for breakfast? Admittedly, the duck I had in Bangkok was better but hey noodle soup is a killer dish here in Thailand

Chicken dinner, indeed. The yellow chicken curry definitely reminded me of homemade cooking. The soup of the Khau Soi was delicious and had a really nice kick with a little extra red pepper.

Hot coconut milk with coconut and mochi swimming. God damn, get some roti with pineapple jam slathered in it to go along with your bua loy and you’ll be having a great time. Ten out of ten with this dessert, Thailand.