Modern Marvels of the East in Chiang Rai
Yin and Yang. Black and white. Uplifting and depressing. Eye-popping and macabre. If this is beginning to sound like a lesson in antonyms, then I assure you its not. However, I do mean to talk about opposites. First the ‘Yang'. Up in northern Thailand, in the town of Chiang Rai, a Buddhist temple lay in ruins. A few decades ago, visual artist Chalermchai Kositpipat decided to re-build it privately at his own cost. The result is the wondrous and whacky White Temple or Wat Rong Khun. In the overpowering heat and humidity of August, it appears like a mirage, the sun reflecting off its white plaster exterior studded with pieces of glass. We jostled with groups of largely Asian tourists and a number of European backpackers to get the best selfies from a distance. I decided to gingerly test the somewhat-alien looking sculpture for its glassy muscular strength. At the entrance we got properly spooked. Placed in a small arc th...