White Temple, Blue Temple and Black House

These three sites are not ancient temples but works by contemporary Thai artists, built since the 1990s. They can be seen in a single day and answer each other: where one plays on white and light, the next chooses deep blue, and the third black.

Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple, is the work of Chalermchai Kositpipat, who began it in 1997 and is still building. Entirely white and inlaid with mirror fragments, it is entered across a bridge lined with hands reaching out of the ground, an allegory of desire. Wat Rong Suea Ten, the Blue Temple, is by one of his pupils: indigo from floor to ceiling, sheltering a white Buddha. Baan Dam, the Black House, is something else entirely: some forty black teak buildings assembled by Thawan Duchanee and filled with bones, hides and carved furniture.

Covered dress is required in both temples. Baan Dam is a museum rather than a place of worship, and its darker subject matter often surprises visitors arriving straight from the White Temple.