Today, I went to visit two of the most popular attractions in Chiang Rai: the White Temple and the Black House.

I started off by taking the public bus to the White Temple for 20 baht, which was a 30 minute-long trip.

Wat Rong Khun (White Temple)

The Chiang Rai-born artist Chalermchai Kositpipat designed this temple, which was begun in the 90s and is still in the process of being built.

The temple’s white coloring is supposed to represent the purity of Buddha, the glass signifies his wisdom and teachings, and the gold (from which the most ornate bathrooms you ever saw are built) represents the body and worldly desires.

The message of this temple seems to be that humans are wicked and greedy, and that one must ignore those temptations to attain enlightenment. When entering the temple, you cross a bridge over sculptures of hands reaching up at you, representing greed. In the temple itself (where I was not allowed to take photos), one of the walls is painted with a mural that features a fiery backdrop and demons, along with western pop culture references (Spider-Man, Neo from The Matrix, Tranformers, etc.) and images of warfare and terrorist attacks. This is a confusing message, but overall communicates that humans are wicked.

I may not agree with all of these messages, but the temple was beautiful and fun to see – even if I had to fight the crowds to view it.

Baandam Museum (Black House)

Next on the agenda was the Bandaam Museum, also referred to as the Black House, which is found on the other side of Chiang Rai from the White Temple. I split a taxi there with a group of Chinese tourists heading the same way.

This art installation by Thawan Duchanee, comprised of more than 40 buildings and all sorts of bizarre materials inside them, has a similar theme to the White Temple (though expresses it in a non-religious context): there is darkness inside man.

The exhibits within the buildings feature skulls, skins, bones (even an entire elephant skeleton), sculpture, paintings, and more that all add up to a haunting experience.