The White Temple or Wat Rong Khun sends visitors flocking to Chiang Rai in Thailand’s north. The temple is an unorthodox, privately owned art exhibit, styled as a Buddhist temple. The phrase was coined today, ‘beautiful but weird’. Or, a Thailand Guadi describes it well. It is a must see. Tourist entrance fee is 50THB – just over £1.

The original Wat Rong Khun was in a bad state of repair at the end of 2000 and there were no fund available for renovation. Chalermchai Kositpipat, a local Chiang Rai artist took it upon himself to completely rebuild the temple. He has funded the project with his own money and has so far spent over THB40 million (nearly 1m GBP). Completion is due in 2070.

Kositpipat’s art is intriguing and stunning. Some of his early works were controversial as he mixed traditional Buddhist art with contemporary images until he became more accepted – even by the then King of Thailand. It’s refreshing to see an artist who doesn’t just have one style and this can be seen in the Temple Gallery showcasing Chalermchai‘s original work. Sadly, you couldn’t take photos so please do ‘google’ his fascinating work.

A really quirky, unique place to visit with interesting art dotted around the whole site – even the bathrooms!