Yeti Day Trips: Chiang Rai’s Black House

While I really loved the White Temple, Chiang Rai’s Black House (or Bandaam Museum) is nearly as great. (t’s also sometimes called the Black Temple, but these buildings have no religious significance and ladies? Fret not–you can wear your short shorts here with no worries.)

Reminiscent of Dalat’s Crazy House, this sprawling complex was created by Thailand national artist Thawan Duchanee, As wikitravel explains:

[T]he grounds include nearly 40 small black houses made of wood, glass, concrete, bricks, or terracotta in various unique styles and design scattered around the temple area. The cluster of houses accommodates Thawan’s collections of paintings, sculptures, animal bones, skins, horns, and silver and gold items from around the world. Several of the houses exhibit Balinese and Burmese architecture and art dating back to the Ayutthaya Period. The artist uses bones as a source of inspiration to paint. It is definitely not a place for animal lovers. There are also various kinds of baskets and drums from many regions and countries on display at Baandam.

It is open every day, but closes from 12-1 daily. You could spend two or three hours here quite easily, though the dead animals are quite eerie. It’s a tough place to photograph, but hopefully these images will give some idea of the scope and strangeness of the area.