Photographes à Chiang Rai

Chiang Rai is a quiet provincial town with three of the most photographed buildings in Thailand on its edges. Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple, about 13 kilometres south, is the work of the artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, who began rebuilding it in 1997 and expects the work to go on for decades: white stucco and mirrored glass above a pond, a bridge over a sea of reaching hands, and enough midday glare that early morning is the sensible hour. Wat Rong Suea Ten, the Blue Temple, finished in 2016 a few kilometres from the centre, is deep blue and gold inside and out. Baan Dam, the Black House of the national artist Thawan Duchanee, is the opposite mood — dark wooden halls, horns and bones, a museum rather than a temple. The temples are places of worship as well as art, so covered shoulders and knees are expected and voices stay low inside. North of the town, the Golden Triangle, where the Ruak river meets the Mekong at the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, gives a wide river landscape for the end of the day. The cool season from November to February is the best time; like Chiang Mai, the area can be hazy from about February to April.