{"id":3642,"date":"2012-06-04T23:43:58","date_gmt":"2012-06-04T16:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/durianapocalypse.net\/travel\/?p=3642"},"modified":"2012-06-05T07:19:16","modified_gmt":"2012-06-05T00:19:16","slug":"the-white-and-the-black","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durianapocalypse.net\/travel\/2012\/06\/04\/the-white-and-the-black\/","title":{"rendered":"The White And The Black"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part I: Cobra-Snake For A Necktie<\/strong><\/h3>\n

[dc]W[\/dc]oke the dimpled ass up early on Saturday, my first morning in Chiang Rai, to get a bicycle and wheel it up to the tantalisingly-monikered \u201cBlack Temple\u201d.<\/p>\n

If one would recall my having, whilst in Nong Khiaw, met a Vancouverite during the hike up to one of the Pathet Lao caves there. She told me about the so-called \u201cBlack Temple\u201d and \u201cWhite Temple\u201d, located in Chiang Rai. Though she\u2019d not herself been, her vague-but-enthusiastic second-hand description had had me wanting, since that day, to get here and see what they were all about.<\/p>\n

The Baandam<\/a> Museum, as it\u2019s officially known, is in point of fact the residence of Thailand National Artist Thawan Duchanee.<\/p>\n

\"black0\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Arriving to his pad was a bit trickier than the Wikitravel entry had made it out to be. My fault really, for having taken a tad too literally the direction to — after having traveled a certain number of metres from the main road — turn onto a \u201csmall\u201d soi; and thus passing by the road on which the museum is located, \u2018cause it was a little bit bigger than I thought a \u201csmall\u201d soi should be.<\/p>\n

So this led to me getting lost, and asking directions from locals. In typical Thai fashion, they were all very friendly and willing help out. Also<\/em> in typical Thai fashion, they were all pointing me in different<\/em> directions. But finally got it all straightened out; and have since clarified the Wikitravel directions (in case you, like me, can tend toward the pedantic).<\/p>\n

The museum is comprised of many structures of varying size, with the one theme in common: the colour black. Hence, the name. Oh, also in common is the stunning beauty of the structures.<\/p>\n

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Clearly, we are in the presence of a true master. Entering into the workshop (housed in the largest of the grounds\u2019 buildings), however, one begins to realise that while we may be privileged to have entered into his sway, we\u2019re not going to be able to have done so without paying for it.<\/p>\n

The carvings on the massive doors and the dozen or so totem poles situated just inside the entrance, as well as many of the paintings informally arrayed here and about, begin to lift Pandora\u2019s lid\u2026<\/p>\n

\"black2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u2026while the display tables to the rear of the hall prise it open still further\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026and a couple moments’ peeking inside the first few buildings along the walking path explode it into a trillion pieces.<\/p>\n

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\"black12\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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With the exception of a few buildings housing Buddhist shrines, the theme repeats throughout one\u2019s hour-or-so-long journey \u2018round the park.<\/p>\n

\"black16\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"black17\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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There are a few touches of whimsy along the way\u2026<\/p>\n

\"black21\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u2026and even a few horses lazing it about over in one corner. But mostly, it\u2019s an all-out bludgeoning.<\/p>\n

Though one will search in vain the artist\u2019s website for a statement to the effect, I can\u2019t but believe that the intent is to present some kind of commentary regarding our culture\u2019s mad obsession with meat, and the utterly casual cruelty with which we set about obtaining it. Anyway, that\u2019s my interpretation; maybe you\u2019ve a different?<\/p>\n

Certainly the giggling Japanese tourists gathering after their tour for photo-ops under the entrance sign seemed to have experienced something more akin to a stroll through Disneyland than having witnessed a horrifically disturbed visionary reflection of the times in which we live.<\/p>\n

The gift shop, incidentally, is almost as out-of-the-gourd as the museum proper.<\/p>\n

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The attached gallery, at least, includes some touching works depicting human\/animal symbiosis (or something like).<\/p>\n

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Not nearly so much fun as Nong Khai\u2019s Sala Kaew<\/a> Ku, but surely more important; the Black Temple, whatever its meaning, is a major achievement of the imagination. Both a harrowing and an exhilarating experience, it must be seen to be believed. Like Sala Kaew Ku, it ought to be a shortlist-destination of any Southeast-Asian itinerary.<\/p>\n

Part II: Angel Or Devil, I Don’t Care
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n

[dc]U[\/dc]pon arriving to-day, Monday, via city bus, to its location, I discovered that the \u201cWhite Temple\u201d, Wat Rong Khun, on the other hand, is already<\/em> a fairly major tourist destination. It\u2019s the life work, in fact, of a student<\/a> of Duchanee\u2019s; and is not slated for completion until 2070.<\/p>\n

This one plays much more lightly on the psyche. Not to say that it\u2019s not at all polemical; but the somewhat demonic imagery threwn in for good measure is pretty easily digestible, while war-is-bad undertones shouldn’t be terribly controversial \u2013 even if the massive mural the back of the temple hall does imply that the \u201cWar On Terror\u201d is all about oil and the gallery painting depicting Bush and Osama riding gaily together about the heavens atop a miniature rocket-ship does appear to be the artist\u2019s calling of bullshit upon the \u201cClash Of Civilisations\u201d.<\/p>\n

Anyhow, the tourists turn up in droves \u2013 as well they should, for the \u201cWhite Temple\u201d (officially named Wat Rong Khun) is as staggering a smorgasbord for the eyes as is its diametrically-hued cousin. Presumably inspired by the Dr. Zhivago<\/em> Ice Palace, the nickname is, well, not un-deserved:<\/p>\n

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\"white4\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"white9\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But applying the camera\u2019s sepiatone filter gives an interesting twist as well.<\/p>\n

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Either way you shade it, it\u2019s a pretty miraculous scene. There\u2019re other structures on the grounds, too (and more on the way \u2013 hence the proposed 2070 completion-date).<\/p>\n

\"white5\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"white6\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"white7\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"white8\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"white11\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The one building breaking the colour rule is, you guessed it\u2026<\/p>\n

\"white3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2026the shitter.<\/p>\n

The temple\u2019s interior is actually pretty small. The shrine\u2019s nice, and the gigantic murals, already mentioned, are spectacular and weird. Alas!, photo-taking was forbidden inside the\u00a0 temple — nor was it permitted inside the \u201cHall Of Masterwork\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"masterwork\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The gallery houses works of painting, drawing, and sculpture from throughout Kositpipat\u2019s career. They\u2019re compelling, beautiful, and surreal. Also a few bizarre installations about the grounds.<\/p>\n

\"white2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Not as depraved as the Black Temple, but also not as candyfloss as it may at first appear, the White is another landmark artistic statement of purpose. Just what is in the water here, I wonder?<\/p>\n

You want more photos? It\u2019s your lucky<\/a> day! They\u2019re there in the \u201cChiang Rai Temples\u201d Flickr set.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part I: Cobra-Snake For A Necktie [dc]W[\/dc]oke the dimpled ass up early on Saturday, my first morning in Chiang Rai, to get a bicycle and wheel it up to the tantalisingly-monikered \u201cBlack Temple\u201d. If one would recall my having, whilst … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/durianapocalypse.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/durianapocalypse.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/durianapocalypse.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durianapocalypse.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durianapocalypse.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/durianapocalypse.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3642\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/durianapocalypse.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durianapocalypse.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durianapocalypse.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}