Baan Dam Museum

For the free travel in Chiang Mai + Chiang Rai Transportation: I rented a motorcycle in Chiang Mai, as I am a rider myself. Safety varies from person to person; if you can ride, it's fine. For those who can't ride or are just average, it's advisable to maintain balance! Some sections in Chiang Mai, like Nimman Road, are quite challenging due to heavy traffic and narrow roads. As for the Thai JC checkpoints, I didn't encounter any during my two-day rental, but I heard that if you're caught, a fine of 500 Thai Baht is sufficient and you can continue riding. There are plenty of car rentals on the streets of Chiang Mai, with fairly uniform prices. I rented near my hotel for convenience, at a price of 250 Thai Baht per day (24 hours means if you take it at 3 pm today, you return it at 3 pm the next day) with a deposit of 3000 Thai Baht (instant refund upon return). For Chiang Rai, I rented a car to drive myself. It took about 3 hours to get there, and a bit longer, around 3 hours and 30 minutes, on the way back because it was dark and I drove slower. The cost was 4500 Thai Baht (also for 24 hours), with a deposit of 5000 Thai Baht. Although Thailand has right-hand drive vehicles, which I was not very familiar with, I got used to it after driving around Chiang Mai city for a while and remembering the turns. There's no expressway from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, it's like a national highway in China. Thai drivers are quite disciplined and honestly, they have better driving etiquette than in China, so it's quite safe. Just be careful when driving at night on mountain roads, as they have sharper and steeper curves than ours. Accommodation: I recommend staying near Tha Phae Gate in Chiang Mai for convenience, as there are many 7-11s around. Finally, I visited some classic places. I understand that Chiang Mai, like our Lhasa, has many temples and is a holy Buddhist land, so I mostly visited temples to worship. I went to the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep (which houses a relic of the Buddha), the Great Buddha Stupa, and in Chiang Rai, the White Temple, Blue Temple, and Black House.

The black House or Baan dam Museum in Chiang Rai is an outdoor museum with over forty buildings, installations, artwork and furniture, sculptures and very rare paintings. Different kinds of things are available here such as the tablecloth is crocodile skin and the chairs are buffalo bones. The buildings, on the other hand, are all beautiful and delicate, different but with the same Thai style in my variant and the artwork that houses each, although uncomfortable, interesting to see. Out in a large forest with lots of woodwork including children's toys, benches, trees, and abstract stone installations in black or terracotta. The beautiful craftsmanship with wood workers carving incredible panels. The trees are full of rambutan fruit and gorgeous flowers. We really loved this place! #bangkoktrip

Black Temple is actually not a temple, but a museum, also known as the Black House, with an overall color of black. The opening time is from 9:00 to 17:00, and the ticket price is 80 baht per person. Inside the Black Temple, there are no Buddha statues, but instead, there are animal bones and skins placed, which looks very frightening. The original intention of building this museum was to distinguish it from the White Temple, and the Black House also implies hell.

Chiang Mai is a foreign city that is particularly suitable for independent travel. The travel services on Ctrip are comprehensive, with airport pick-up and drop-off services for only 10-30 RMB, half-day tours to "Doi Suthep Temple" and "Bhubing Palace", family-friendly activities such as "Mae Wang Elephant Camp" and "Night Safari", and the most recommended one-day tour to the White Temple and Black Temple in Chiang Rai. On the day of departure, there will be a special car to pick up and drop off at the hotel. Even if your English is poor, there will be a Chinese tour guide accompanying you throughout the journey. I chose to depart on Friday because as a foodie, I didn't want to miss the most famous Saturday and Sunday night markets in Chiang Mai, where there are various cheap and delicious snacks and exquisite handmade products for sale. Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand. It not only has a leisurely pace, but also is full of ancient and profound cultural heritage. You can walk around in slippers on the streets and alleys, and if you get tired, you only need to take a tuk-tuk or songthaew for 20 baht (5 RMB) as transportation. Strolling through any street or alley in the ancient city of Chiang Mai, you can encounter magnificent or peaceful Buddhist temples. This small city with a population of 500,000 surprisingly has over 300 temples of all sizes, and you may get confused. However, there are several particularly famous temples that you must visit. The first "Wat Phra Singh". It is the largest Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, built in the 14th century, and is a perfect example of Lanna-style architecture. The first thing that catches your eye when entering the temple is the glittering golden Buddha statue, and the murals in the hall depict the ancient local costumes and customs. In the center of the temple is a 20-meter golden white tower, which is a strong representative style of Thai temples. The second "Qidilong Temple", also known as the Big Buddha Temple, is decorated with snakes and peacocks at the temple gate. There is a huge Buddha statue in the main hall, and the sense of space and the golden decorations inside the temple are very magnificent and exquisite. Along the path to the back square, there is a big Buddha pagoda. Although the ancient pagoda has been weathered by time and earthquakes, it appears majestic and magnificent under the reflection of the golden lotus flowers, with a simple and rustic charm. The third "Wat Chiang Man", the first temple in Chiang Mai, was built in 1300 and is the oldest temple in Chiang Mai. The best building in the temple is the stupa of the main temple, which is surrounded by 15 elephants at the base, giving it a simple and vicissitudinous appearance that contrasts sharply with the dazzling golden elephant spire. Not far from the city, the "Double Dragon Temple" on the Suthep Mountain, also known as the Suthep Temple, is named after two long dragons sitting and lying on both sides of the steps. It is a famous Buddhist summer resort in Thailand. The Thai royal summer palace is also built on Suthep Mountain. The Phuping Palace can be opened to the public when the royal family is not there from April to December. The palace has beautiful white walls and yellow tiles, and is located in the green mountains and trees, with its own beauty of coolness and peace. The two breathtaking temples in Chiang Rai, the White Temple and the Black Temple, are the highlights of a trip to Chiang Mai. The White Temple was built by designer Cheler Mchai at his own expense and was first established in 1997. The entire complex is pure white and lustrous, with only small pieces of polished glass as borders or decorations, which is quite different from the usual temples. The details, such as the flying birds on the eaves, the standing statues on the roof, the reclining turtles on the pillars, and the flowing clouds on the flags, all reflect the exquisite and delicate design, which is a masterpiece of art. The White Temple tells the story of how one can reach the Buddhist paradise by crossing the Naihe Bridge and avoiding the temptation of hell with a single-minded focus. Next to the White Temple is a "glittering" golden building, which is actually a toilet and is probably the most beautiful toilet in the world. The Black Temple is located in a forest of lush grass, consisting of many intricately constructed Thai temples made of original logs. The theme of the Black Temple is hell and death, with water buffalo skulls lined up on the ground, animal skins and large shells on the table, and a complete elephant skeleton and dried snake specimens on display. The creator, Mr. Thawan Duchanee, spent 36 years gradually designing and building this huge open-air, garden-style private art museum. His disciple and friend, a Buddhist artist, was inspired by him to create the still unfinished White Temple. In Chiang Mai, magnificent temples can be seen everywhere, filled with the mysterious charm of Eastern Buddhist culture. With cheap prices and convenient transportation, it is definitely a perfect place for you to temporarily escape from the hustle and bustle of the city and people you see with your eyes open or closed, and let yourself fly. Take some beautiful photos that will make you want to cry and savor them slowly.

The Black Temple should actually be called the Black House, it is not a temple but a private museum. The creator was the late famous artist Thawan Duchanee, who used it to store and display his private collection. The site contains not just one building but a dozen or so black structures of varying sizes, traditional Thai buildings with a black exterior. Some are exhibition halls, some are studios, and some are even private residences. Here, you can see a variety of sculptures and artworks in black and white. Some say the White Temple symbolizes heaven and the Black Temple symbolizes hell, the color of the two buildings may be a coincidental match, after all, Mr. Thawan Duchanee had a special fondness for black, which has already set the tone for the entire museum and its collections. But being called the Black Temple is indeed a kind of echo. The entrance leads to the largest exhibition hall, the exhibits, how should I put it, are a bit wild, ranging from wood carvings, abstract art installations to animal specimens, sacrificial and hunting tools, reflecting the artist's unique imagination, mysterious and quirky. Passing through the largest exhibition hall, you enter a forested grassland with various Thai buildings with high stilts and sloping roofs scattered around, which under the sunlight are not so gloomy, but rather exquisite and beautiful. However, buffalo skulls, sacrificial totems, and primitive tribal hunting tools can be seen everywhere on the ground, still very 'hellish'. There is also a massage room in the courtyard, this traditional massage method of first lighting a fire (no time to take pictures) and then stepping on the back is something I am seeing live for the first time. 🇹🇭 Black Temple (Baan Dam Museum) in Chiang Rai Address: 333 Moo 13 Tambon Nang Lae, Amphoe Mueang Chiang Rai Opening hours: 9:00-17:00 Admission: 80 Thai Baht Indeed not cheap, more expensive than the White Temple, but very worthwhile.

Not far from Chiang Rai's White Temple and Blue Temple, the local Black House, referred to as the 'little black house,' reveals itself at the entrance... it's not really a temple... it's more like a small museum. Unlike the solemn feeling that typical temples provide, the Black Temple exudes a more negative vibe, with visual impacts that are darker, reminiscent of black, hell, and death. The Black Temple, distinct from Chiang Rai's most famous White Temple and Blue Temple despite their proximity, is recommended to be included in the same day's itinerary for a visit!

An art based museum. It shows the local architecture of the region, and with some interesting 3D art using augmented reality. However it wasn't working for us when we're there, even though there is free WiFi. Otherwise, there are nice buildings showing local traditional buildings, and the culture of crocodile skinning. There isn't much to do, but still nice to look. #weekendgetaways