The mysterious Black House of Chiang Rai…

Baan Dan Museum or the Black House, is a unique, strange and interesting landmark in Chiang Rai, Northern Thailand… Created by Thawan Duchanee the Black House looks like a huge Lanna-style Buddhist temple with big, intimidating-looking doors… it is filled with art and installations made of taxidermied animals… A gigantic wooden table stretches across the entrance room (as well as towards the back of the house) draped with snake and crocodile skins. You can also fine enormous black chairs made from multiple buffalo horns and even moose horns surround the table like malevolent guests. I took a seat here for a moment and felt like some medieval chieftain’s wife at the main table… lol (me and my imaginations) The walls are covered with paintings, sculptures, installations and large canvases painted in blood red with slashing black brushstrokes. While the White Temple (wat rong khun) is often described as “heavenly”, the Black House is its opposite, and seemed filled with darkness, and death - supposedly representing human suffering due to desire and greed that the Buddha saw along his travels…. The gardens are beautiful and instaworthy with collections of artefacts and antiques given to the artist….it is said that the cremated remains of the artist is also placed at the highest structure inside the main house… 🫢🫣 There are also a few artefacts representing human sexuality though it’s just carvings of the female and male private parts … so kind of a 18sx place… #chiangrai #tourismthailand #tatkl #livelifelah #baandam #blackhouse #thailand