Day 4

If Doi Suthep was the closest thing we have to heaven, the white temple would be the closest thing we have to…  the Ice Castle in frozen?

 

The white temple glistened brightly under the harsh sunlight. You couldn’t look at it without squirning your eyes uncomfortably. To enter the temple, you even have to go through those metal entrances found at entrance of Disneylands. Standing there, I was half expecting the Elsa to burst through the doors of the chamber of the temple, belting out “ Let it go~ Let it goooooo~”.

 

Well, my Frozen fantasy abruptly ended when the guards starting screaming at some chinese tourist for taking a group photo in front of the temple and blocking everyone’s path.

Our first stop was to the legendary Gold toilets the tour guide told us about. “ Don’t pray to the golden buildings like those tourist.” our tour guide snided. “Some even kneeled down in front of it.” To their defense, it’s easy to see why people would think that the building was an extension of the white temple. It was covered in shiny gold and it was truly majestic.

 

There wasn’t an area where you could really pray properly and present your offerings to any deities. The constant chattering and buzzing in the temple broke any serenity or peace the temple could have offered. The inner chamber of the temple had massive murals that covered the walls. The murals featured some interesting charaters lining on the gateway to heaven. An interesting collection of prominient figures like Micheal Jackson, Bumblebee and even the purple evil minions. Never thought I would see the evil purple minions in a religious painting, but hey what do I know about art?

 

Another mind boggling thing was how the artist behind the concept of the temple was celebrated and praised, instead of the actual gods and deities the temple was bulit for. Throughout the busride and the tour in the temple, all we heard was how the artist spend so much time and effort building the place. How the artist had to take massive loans from banks to fund his dreams of building the best temple in the 21 century.

 

A random thought:

Temples has always played a pivotol role in the devout Chiang Mai community. In the past, it was a school where boys could receive education. On weekends, it allowed males to congugate and socialise. From what i can see, the White temple served a greater purpose now for the Chiang Mai community. It fed the Lana people and kept them clothed. It reviatalised the sluggish Chiang Rai economy and allowed them to capitalise on their rich heritage and culture.

 

Next stop, the Black House! To be frank, I didn’t really get it. I understand that it is a collection of  artist’s wife favourite items…. But for the life of me, I really can’t see why someone would like tables made up of skeletons, and chairs made out of animal skins. I am not denying their value…. I’m just saying that that chair is probably pretty uncomfortable.

 

The place was just too morbid for me.   

 

But somehow I feel like they did not make those places for anyone. It’s just a way for them to express themselves. So it doesn’t matter to them that ignorant tourist like me don’t get what they are saying anyways.

 

Maybe the elephant skeleton really meant the world to the artist’s wife. Just like how the White temple mean so most for the artist. But to the rest of us, they are just pretty backdrops where we can take photos and post it on Instagram.

 

Well, It’s hard to tell who’s the weird one here.

 

“Sometimes it’s only madness that makes us who we are.”

Batman, Arkham Asylum