This fascinating Chiang Mai gift experience is all about contrasts. You’ll get the day started in the best possible fashion - relaxing your muscles with a soak in a hot spring. By mid-morning, you’ll arrive at Wat Rong Khun, otherwise known as the White Temple. This highly unconventional structure is the work of a local artist, and when eventually complete will comprise nine ornate buildings, including a meditation space, an art gallery and sleeping quarters for monks. The main building is bizarre and entrancing - a mix of classic Thai architecture with Western icons including sculptures of Michael Jackson and Freddy Krueger! Must be seen to be believed.
A similar eclectic style is on show at the third stop on the tour, the Black House. Built by a different Chiang Rai artist, there are dozens of surreal and moody structures within a peaceful garden, most of them very elegant on the outside, and sometimes quite outlandish on the inside. The creator Thawan Duchanee, is a prestigious artist, and it is said that Thai royalty have occasionally visited the Black House to meditate. If you’re looking to explore the wider Chiang Mai area and have a taste for the unusual, this tour is for you.
