Party in the Chiang Rai

Sunday March 14, 2010

This evening Danny and Lisa will be hosting a party at their home so by the time we woke up Boot and Lisa where already hard at work preparing food and cleaning up the house a bit. Danny, Blue, Emma, and I took a trip to Wat Rong Khun aka the White Temple.

Wat Rong Khun was built by an acclaimed Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, in his home village of Rong Khun to help support it's economy. This place was unlike any of the other Wat's we have seen. Like most other Wat's it was large, grand, and had an amazing attention detail, however this temple was all white, decorated with precise reflective mosaics, and many of it's features had some real sense of humor if you took a close look. Possibly the coolest part about it all is that it's a work in progress and thus only partially finished. Danny and Blue started noticing tons of things that were new since they had last been there including a large colorful, humorous, and largely metaphorical mural in the main room. I guess we'll have to go back in the future to see the changes.

We walked through the gift shop and the artists gallery, and then headed over to the Big C for some lunch and light shopping. Big C is basically a mall, with a bunch of little shops, kiosks, and eateries with it piece de la resistance being an enormous department store on the top floor. We spent some time in the department store, which slightly resembled target and the likes, and purchased a few necessities such as beach towels for our island travels and a bunch of cosmetics. We walked away with a bunch of stuff only out about 300 baht (less than 10 dollars), crazy.

Then back to the house for some R&R and some party preparation. Guests started arriving at four and soon the house and yard were filled with interesting people and tasty food. Many of Danny and Lisa's friends are local artist and others who they have met in their time here, both Thai and Farang (foreigners) all of which were very nice and interesting to talk to. We got some good advice about what to do in Chiang Rai as well as the rest of Thailand, and heard some pretty great stories.

By the end of the night we were all full, tired, and ready for bed. Tomorrow we leave for Chiang Mai in the afternoon, sad to go. Emma is now crying and she will tell you why:

I am not, actually crying, although I am sad to leave Chiang Rai. It has been so nice to have Danny, Lisa and Blue to show us around and take care of us. But now's not the time for being a sad sally.

Wat Rong Khun was our major outing for today. The temple is...amazing, but not at all in the way that the other temples have been. Chalermchai Kositpipat, the artist/architect has created a very interesting perspective in his work. There is a clear contrast between good and evil, in addition to a dark sense of humor that weaves its way throughout his pieces. The best of these is dark "jokes" is in the entrance to the main temple at Wat Rong Khun. While crossing an ornate bridge that leads to the temple, you walk over a sea of sculpted hands, all reaching as if to pull you down into the abyss. One of these hands, is giving the middle finger, and has one single red fingernail, the only color in a sea of white.

The inside of the temple includes a mural which pictures the attack on the world trade center, some Chuck taylors, and some other unexpected images. There is a theme in his work of a passage between the bad things in the world towards a kind of nirvana, represented by the traditional Buddhist images which decorate the far wall of the temple.

The outside of the grounds is a vast expanse of intricately designed buildings in gold and white. The architecture uses many of the same styles as traditional temples, like the broken tile mosaics and moldings, but in such a way that the effect is completely different. Really interesting stuff. Also, the temple is open despite being under constant construction. Chalermchai Kositpipat reminds me very much of some artists I admired in Spain, Antoni Gaudi (who had such grand plans for the Sagrada Familia that it continues to be under construction far after his death) and Salvador Dali (for the way he uses imagery, color, and illusion in his work). Of course I'm not expert on art, so this is all just my idle musings, but that's what I got.

After lunch at Big C, and a quick stop to grab some essentials, we headed back to get ready for the party. Lisa and Boot were busy all day preparing salads, snacks, tasty chicken dishes with basil and fruit for the festivities. All of the guests were very friendly, and we chatted with them about our travels, their lives in Chiang Rai, etc. The party was a great success, and at the end of the night we were exhausted, but happy.