The main vihara
Hands reaching out from Buddhist hell. And you thought this was a peaceful religion!
Thou shalt not smoke, drink, or offend Van Halen.
Off a highway thirty minutes south of Chiang Rai, on a street dotted with coffee shops and trinket sellers, lies
Wat Rong Khun, one of the most bizarre and beautiful temples ever built. Beautiful, because it's ivory white and pristinely spiky. Bizarre, because you're as likely to see an image of Hellboy as you are the Buddha.
The 12-acre complex is the creation of Chalermchai Kositpipat, who believes the best way to honor the Buddha is to have life-size cardboard cutouts of himself scattered about the property. Including in front of the gold-leafed bathroom, which along with the "Hall of Masterworks" is the only structure done in anything but white.
