Black House (Baan Dam) History
The black house or black temple in Chiang Rai was created by the late Thawan Duchanee
– a Chiang Rai native and former student of Chalermchai Kositpiapa; the
artist who built the White Temple. His creation portrays the
time-transcending Buddhist belief of reincarnation. Baan Dam is made as a
studio, museum, and home all in an eclectic mix of modern design and
traditional northern Thai buildings. 
There are about forty small monuments in the estate and an extensive collection of weird and bizarre things. The first thing you see is a big Lanna-style house (vihara) of charcoal black wood. It looks like a temple; inside you can find a long dark wooden table, animal skins, and some paintings. This is not a place for animal lovers. There are many skeletons of animals and random things that you can see inside some of the galleries. The architecture and attention to details are amazing.
The houses around the area looked menacing. Inside one of the huge houses, there is a long table and some pillars with interesting carvings. One of the houses also looked like either a submarine or a fish. Inside there, I found an alligator skin and shells arranged in a somewhat weird way.
There were also interesting rock formations you can see outside. Also, make sure to visit the restroom because there are many interesting things there too. When we visited, we saw people working and also my favorite was the gallery there.
The Black House is one of the most bizarre, interesting and creative art sites I have ever visited. There are so many things to see and even small things that looked uninteresting give out a surprise. It is a combination of Thai traditions and contemporary ideas that brings out an interesting result.
Black House Opening Hours and Entrance Fee
Black House is open every day from 9 am to 5 pm but closed from 12:00 to 13:00. The entrance fee is 80 Baht per person. There is plenty of parking opposite the front entrance where you will also find a souvenir shop, food stalls, and a coffee shop.
How to Get to the Black House
The Black House is around 10 km away from the Chiang Rai towards Mae Sai. It will take around 20 – 25 minutes before you reach the drop-off point for the Black House. If you take the bus, you can tell the bus conductor that you want to go to “Baan Dam” they’ll know about it. You can walk around 50 meters further. you will see a temple-like structure and then you’ll find a sign too. However, all of the writing is in Thai. You can ask around there for the entrance of the Baan Dam too.
To get back to Chiang Rai, just go back to where you stopped and cross the other side. It won’t take long to get on another bus back.
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