Wat Rong Khun back to its original beauty in 2 years
The day after the earthquake in Thailand that struck Chiang Rai province and caused severe damage to his temple, Chalermchai Kositpipat, the creative artist of Wat Rong Khun, announced he would not repair it. But this morning, he changed his mind and announced it will take two years to rehabilitate it back to its original beauty.
This is the tremendous support not only from Thai but from people around the world that gave him the motivation and desire to finally rebuild their temple. “I was shocked by the thunderous morale support they gave to me and encourage me not to give up to bring this world’s treasure back to all people in this world” he said when announcing he reconsidered its earlier decision to leave the temple unrepaired, renovation work being too heavy.
Tomorrow, part of the temple will be open to visitors to allow them to take pictures. Some buildings like the main wihaan will stay closed and only visible from the outside for safety reasons. The Department of Public Works and Planning offered his services to inspect the structures of all buildings and see what could be repaired and what must be demolished. From the outside, we see little damage, there are mostly missing tiles but inside Wat Rong Khun, there are serious cracks in the wall, beams and ceilings. The entry will be prohibited until officials have certified that it is safe to walk inside.
Repair work will begin immediately on the buildings while the damaged murals and artwork on the walls and ceilings should be carefully and thoughtfully recreated. This should take at least two years .
