All White: White Temple Chiang Rai (Thailand) vs. Taj Mahal (India)

I like Red Wine and tomato sauce too much to be wearing white clothes. White clothes are spending more time in the washing machine than on my body and - with the exception of underpants and socks - this is not cool. So, while I’m trying to avoid white clothes, there is nothing wrong with a perfectly white building. Today, I want to show you two of the greatest white buildings I have ever seen - the White Temple Wat Rong Khun in Chiang Rai (Thailand) and the Taj Mahal in Agra (India).

Wat Rong Khun

Whiter than white: Wat Rong Khun

Let’s start this story in Thailand. When I saw pictures of this temple for the first time, I was blown away. I have never seen anything like it. A pure white temple covered with intricate carvings and sculptures that seem to be made of corals, surrounded by green trees and a little pond full of koi fish. Looking at the photos, I thought this place was somewhere in a little forest, sitting in a tranquil opening, animals grazing on the nearby meadows.

Well, reality is a little different. In fact, when I arrived in Chiang Rai with my rental car, I was driving right past it and didn’t even notice it. The temple is located a few metres next to one of the main roads leading into Chiang Rai, a few kilometres outside of the city centre. And there is no forest. No meadows. It’s literally right next to the road where these spooky little thingys prevent people from parking their cars right next to it.

Spooky bollards next to the White Temple

But even though this building is more a privately-owned art exhibit rather than a mysterious temple in the jungle, it is still exceptionally beautiful and very unique. You get to the main building via this arched bridge over a little pond.

Bridge leading to the temple

In front of the bridge, if you look closely, you can see lots of outreaching hands that stand for unrestrained desire. The passing of the bridge symbolizes the way to happiness that can be achieved by foregoing temptation, greed and desire.

Don't let them grab you

Taj Mahal

Personally, I achieved lots of happiness by following my desires. One of these desires was to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra and I finally made it there about 6 years ago, in June 2012. I was on a business trip and after spending the night in a club in Delhi with some colleagues we hopped into a car (pretty much without sleep) and went on the 4 hour journey from Delhi to Agra.

The outside temperature was about 1000 degrees and it didn’t help that we were a little dehydrated from the night in the club. But the hangover was quickly forgotten after catching the first glimpse of the Taj Mahal.

“A massive marble structure, without weight, as if formed of ether, perfectly rational and at the same time entirely decorative, it is perhaps the greatest art work which the forming spirit of mankind has ever brought forth.” This quote by Hermann Keyserling sums it all up.

Cheesy tourist shot

After taking the obligatory tourist shot, we ventured inside the building which houses the tomb of Emperor Shah Jahan’s favorite wife. It is arguably the world’s most impressive grave. It is probably also one of the world’s most expensive graves as the construction costs amounted to about US$ 827 million as measured in today’s value.

Visitors being impressed by the pure white beauty of the Taj

In my previous blog posts I was usually comparing two very similar places. The Taj Mahal and the White Temple in Chiang Rai have nothing in common, really, with one exception: They are probably the two most impressive, pure white buildings I have ever seen.

Have you guys been to either of the two places? What do you think of them? I would love to hear your travel stories. Also, if you know other impressive, pure white buildings - let me know!

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All images are my own work. All rights reserved.

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