White Temple in Chiang Rai to charge foreign visitors

[sceadugenga]

I don't believe I've ever seen a monk there.

[villagefarang]

I don't believe I've ever seen a monk there.

They do come to visit like other tourists as you can see in my photo earlier in this thread.

[chickenslegs]

Again foreigners are discriminated. All humans should be teated equal.

All humans are equal but, in Thailand, Thai humans are more equal than the others.

(Apologies to George Orwell).

[sawadee1947]

Its a stunning looking temple, 100 baht, meh, Id pay

Have you ever been inside? Not worth to do. Wasted money.

[arunsakda]

100 Baht and absolute outrage over "racism". Meanwhile there is another thread running where most find it totally acceptable, not racist, and just plain common sense to not rent a condo to Indians because of "cooking odours".

The Eurocentrism and subtle bigotry of many threads on TVF never ceases to amaze.

[luke000]

The White Temple isnt really a Temple, its just a building made to look like a Temple .

The Temple was made by the artist for his own immortality .

Its all about him, nothing to do with Buddhism .

[AlexRich]

The White Temple is worth a visit if you are in the region. The main attraction is the temple itself, I don't recall anything inside the complex to be anything special. I originally thought it was a religious temple until I saw Star Wars characters on the internal wall frescos. Unless of course Yoda is a Buddhist?

So, if you don't wish to pay just take photographs from outside, and if you're not too concerned then pay and have a look inside. Personally it was the external design that I found most interesting, not the internal artworks, etc.

[luke000]

100 Baht and absolute outrage over "racism". Meanwhile there is another thread running where most find it totally acceptable, not racist, and just plain common sense to not rent a condo to Indians because of "cooking odours".

The Eurocentrism and subtle bigotry of many threads on TVF never ceases to amaze.

If a person decides not to rent a Condo to a person who will annoy other people in the building , that isnt being racist .

The person who owns my Condo building doesnt allow any cooking inside the rooms , its anti-social

[luke000]

There used to be and maybe still is a sign at the White Temple which stated that all Foreigners can only enter the Temple if they have an official Thai guide with them due to Foreigners innapropriate behavior at the Temple

[Nowisee]

Pretend for a moment:

A farang owns a night club in Thailand.

Upon entrance all farang get in free. Anyone that is asian looking is charged 100 baht.

The cost is negligible, the entertainment inside is the same for everyone.

[luke000]

Pretend for a moment:

A farang owns a night club in Thailand.

Upon entrance all farang get in free. Anyone that is asian looking is charged 100 baht.

The cost is negligible, the entertainment inside is the same for everyone.

Wouldnt he just be able to own 49 % of the Night club ?

[arunsakda]

100 Baht and absolute outrage over "racism". Meanwhile there is another thread running where most find it totally acceptable, not racist, and just plain common sense to not rent a condo to Indians because of "cooking odours".

The Eurocentrism and subtle bigotry of many threads on TVF never ceases to amaze.

If a person decides not to rent a Condo to a person who will annoy other people in the building , that isnt being racist .

The person who owns my Condo building doesnt allow any cooking inside the rooms , its anti-social

There is a difference between saying no cooking and no smoking to "No India". It's called racism. I just think it would be refreshing if racists would just admit their bigotry (I mean it is an anonymous web forum, nobody is coming to arrest ) than to say "I'm not racist" but then " I will not rent my room to Indians".

[luke000]

100 Baht and absolute outrage over "racism". Meanwhile there is another thread running where most find it totally acceptable, not racist, and just plain common sense to not rent a condo to Indians because of "cooking odours".

The Eurocentrism and subtle bigotry of many threads on TVF never ceases to amaze.

If a person decides not to rent a Condo to a person who will annoy other people in the building , that isnt being racist .

The person who owns my Condo building doesnt allow any cooking inside the rooms , its anti-social

There is a difference between saying no cooking and no smoking to "No India". It's called racism. I just think it would be refreshing if racists would just admit their bigotry (I mean it is an anonymous web forum, nobody is coming to arrest ) than to say "I'm not racist" but then " I will not rent my room to Indians".

Although the basis for not renting to Indians is the odour, rather than their skin colour

[andre47]

100 Baht and absolute outrage over "racism". Meanwhile there is another thread running where most find it totally acceptable, not racist, and just plain common sense to not rent a condo to Indians because of "cooking odours".

The Eurocentrism and subtle bigotry of many threads on TVF never ceases to amaze.

Where do you see racism in this thread?

Where do you see eurocentrism? Is it eurocentrism if I say that the human right egality should be protected?

It has nothing to do with the fee of 100 Baht. It is absolutely correct if the owner charges the visitors. This building was very expensive and the maintenance is costly too.

[connda]

I'll inform the Thai wife to take the White Temple off of her "Thing I Want To Do" list during our next visit to Chiang Rai which she has been planning for awhile. I live her, pay taxes, contribute more to the Thai economy that most middle class Thais, and I'm (and others like me) are treated like second rate trash. Screw them. It's not a 'real' temple anyway, but just for show. I'll leave it to the tourists.

[luke000]

I'll inform the Thai wife to take the White Temple off of her "Thing I Want To Do" list during our next visit to Chiang Rai which she has been planning for awhile. I live her, pay taxes, contribute more to the Thai economy that most middle class Thais, and I'm (and others like me) are treated like second rate trash. Screw them. It's not a 'real' temple anyway, but just for show. I'll leave it to the tourists.

She can still go to the White Temple for free and you can wait outside.

Its just being selfish to say that She cannot go, just because you have to pay

[canuckamuck]

I imagine charging Thais to enter a temple in Thailand would raise quite a fuss. Not to mention that the Thais already know how to behave on temple grounds and do not contribute greatly to the maintenance costs. I wish they could act like that respectfully in their national parks though. In that instance the westerners should be the ones charged a lower fee.

[connda]

The desire to bash all things Thai has yet again overridden all logic and common sense. The owner of the temple is an artist, he built it as an expression of art, his other works are to be seen in the nearby art museum. He wanted everyone to see his work so he opened it up to the public, pretty soon he became overwhelmed by the number of tourists and the cost of upkeep hence he's now charging a small admittance fee. He's overwhelmed by tourists, mostly Chinese, he's not overwhelmed by Thai nationals hence he's charging the people who are costing him most. If anybody can't see the logic and fairness of all that, feel free to bash away.

I'm not Chinese. I'm from European ancestry. It's the concept that no matter how much we contribute to Thai society, we are always nothing but Outsiders, and will always be nothing but Outsiders. Never accepted. That's simply sad, and for a professed Buddhist nation, it's counter-intuitive.

[luke000]

I'm not Chinese. I'm from European ancestry. It's the concept that no matter how much we contribute to Thai society, we are always nothing but Outsiders, and will always be nothing but Outsiders. Never accepted. That's simply sad, and for a professed Buddhist nation, it's counter-intuitive.

Do stop your whinging, there are 100 000s of people born in Thailand , second and third generation, who arent recognised as Thai , are stateless with no Nationality .

They have a right to complain about not being "accepted"

[connda]

100 baht now , if they realize they can earn money on this foreigners have to pay 500 baht tomorrow.

I don't go to Doi Inthanon any longer either due to the charge. But once compared to the grandeur of, say, Mount Rainier, there is nothing much to see at Doi Inthanon anyway. Frost? How about 30 feet of snow? Trees? How about old growth timber. And at the entrance of Mount Rainier National Park, everyone foreigner and citizen, are charged the same. So yeah, I vote with my feet.

[connda]

The Chinese come with busses, overrun the place and don't behave at all. I can imagine it's not possible to charge only Chinese.

The inside of the prayer hall is well worth a visit because of the beautiful wall paintings. What many of you don't see is that Thai people donate a lot which farang don't do.

The restoration of the temple after the earthquake could only took place because of gifts from Thai people and benefit expositions from other artists.

@ Harry, although the name is wat Rong Khun, it's not a temple in the meaning of practicing Buddhism but a masterpiece of art.

Thais are one of the most generous races in the world when it comes to donating.

They give merit, bun, which is the expectation that they will get something back if they give. Without that expectation, I doubt they would give.

I confuse all Thais I know when I say that I give for no other reason than it's the right thing to do. No other motive. They can't wrap their heads around that. But, it is a different kind of giving that is from the heart.

[namatjira]

It's a good idea.....nobody can operate in a vacuum....would you be happy if thousands of tourists crowded your house , and it cost you a small fortune to give them an opportunity to do it ? chalermchai is o.k.....he is also a seriously good artist....he has made his mark in Thailands art history and this temple is a part of it.....good luck to him he deserves it

[connda]

I'm not Chinese. I'm from European ancestry. It's the concept that no matter how much we contribute to Thai society, we are always nothing but Outsiders, and will always be nothing but Outsiders. Never accepted. That's simply sad, and for a professed Buddhist nation, it's counter-intuitive.

Do stop your whinging, there are 100 000s of people born in Thailand , second and third generation, who arent recognised as Thai , are stateless with no Nationality .

They have a right to complain about not being "accepted"

Whinging?

[Hiyaall]

Well if you don't go to the temple, I highly recommend the flower festival.

[naboo]

A "temple" built by an artist with a huge ego, a desire to be worshiped. I found the place incredibly tedious. I did cycle to it from Chiang Rai at a later date, but didn't go inside. Would rather stop at the side of the road and have a coffee, much more likely to see something interesting.

[pomchop]

100 baht now , if they realize they can earn money on this foreigners have to pay 500 baht tomorrow.

I don't go to Doi Inthanon any longer either due to the charge. But once compared to the grandeur of, say, Mount Rainier, there is nothing much to see at Doi Inthanon anyway. Frost? How about 30 feet of snow? Trees? How about old growth timber. And at the entrance of Mount Rainier National Park, everyone foreigner and citizen, are charged the same. So yeah, I vote with my feet.

No everyone is NOT charged the same...there are senior and kids discounts along with military and disabled discounts:

The Senior Pass is a major benefit for those getting older. People aged 62 and up can get a lifetime pass that functions like the Interagency pass, giving access to national parks, national forests and more. The Access Passis a free lifetime pass for those with a permanent disability. There also are free U.S. military passes and free volunteer passes.

[luke000]

The White Temple has always previously been free to get in .

I have been there a few times .

Now that people will have to pay, people who never went there when it was free are complaining that they will have to pay to get in and they will probably never go there anyway

[laislica]

I must admit, I find all the moralizing and condescending remarks from instant Thailand experts to be quite tedious. You're not a better person because you refuse to pay 50 baht. No one is forced to go to this tourist attraction and I am sure there will be no shortage of visitors even with a charge of 50 baht. Instead of trying to control the actions of others, just make your own choice whether to go or not, and allow others the same freedom.

You don't really understand the problem. The problem is not that they charge 50 Baht. This is ok and most of the people will understand.

The problem is the discrimination according to your nationality. What comes next? If you have the wrong skin color or the wrong religion you have to pay more?

No you don't understand, we say this bridge is OK to cross, when there's a new bridge we'll decide whether it's OK to cross or not, acceptance of dual pricing doesn't mean acceptance of everything in the universe.

Except that this is perhaps a Bridge too far?

Many of us Farang are married to Thai ladies and as Joop50 posted, Post #34, Thais like to donate (Tamboon), it's making merit and gives them good luck.

We take care of them (Wife, her children by previous marriage(s) and her family), often to better standards than Thai men can afford.

My wife certainly gives to many temples. They seem to like to spread it around as far as possible.

Ever done a 9 temples tamboon trip to fix bad luck problems, different temples every time he he?

So why should we be targeted to pay and not Thais?

The site is wonderful and well worthy of paying 200b for every couple who want to visit it.

EVERY! not some!

Come to Spain and visit the Al Hambra in Granada.

EVERYONE PAYS - That's fair!

I have visited - and paid many times and will go again in May with my wife and step son.

The difference between the Al Hambra and the white temple is that you really need two solid days to see everything at Alhambra and the gardens.

Whereas the white temple, one hour would be more than enough.

Since I find that the cost of living in Spain and Thailand to be about the same.

Take 14 hours needed to really see everything against the 1 hour.

Divide 560 by 14 = 40

Thus a fair price, bang for buck, would be 40b per PERSON.

Note that these prices are for a personal visit, not a guided tour for which you can expect the cheapest to be around €35, 1,400b per PERSON!

I have added the approx price in Baht.

Prices of Direct Sales:

- Day visit: 14 €, 560b

- Night visit: 8 €, 320b

- Garden visit: 7 € , 210b

- EU Students under 26 with valid ID: 9 €, 360b (showing youth ID, only euro26 card).

- EU senior citizens (65+), pensioners and horders of the tarjeta Andalucía Junta sesenta y cinco or similar ones: 9 €, 360b

- Members of the International Council on Monuments and Historical Artistic Sites (ICOMOS) and of the International Council of Museums (IOCM): Free admission.

- Chidren under 12 : Free admission.

- People with disabilities (with more than 33% disability and upon presentation of valid document): 8 €, 320b

[chiang mai]

To compare the White Temple and the Al Hambra is to compare apples and matchboxes, one is a 21st Century privately owned example of art, the other being a 13th Century palace that is a national artifact owned by the nation and its people!

[boomerangutang]

I've been there a dozen times (visiting friends have asked me to take them there). The place leaves me cold. To each his own, I guess. I'd prefer a place with some history, particularly natural history like interesting flora or fauna or mineral activity, ....or fossils or archaelogical significance. The White temple has none of that. It's a contrived piece of art with myriad patterns, if you will. It's no more of a temple, then a little spirit house made of pieces of bamboo, and at least the spirit house would likely have character. The White Temple almost didn't get temple status. It was turned down by the Sangha committee. It was only after successfully petitioning the King, that it was allowed to call itself a temple.