Wat Rong Khun - magical or mental?

Lonely Planet once dubbed this white fairy tale temple a Marmite piece of construction - you love it or you hate it. Were I to be forced to make a decision I would have to go with my gut instinct and decree it ghastly. It resembles something out of a gothic inspired Tim Burton film, or a fantasy produced by a mad dictator who spent too long working out just how tacky he could make the place look.

At first sight it does look magical:

But it did amuse me to see in the midst of all this supposed perfection the top section of the highest point has already collapsed, divine retribution?

From whichever angle you view it it is very glitzy:

Despite the broken top of the spike

Quite clearly visible again here:

Note the grubby feet, it's been a permanent feature of my trip! Not sure they'll ever be clean again.

But it is when you look at certain features in detail that you realise that all is not as harmonious as would at first appear:

Don't remember Buddha having a weakness for Scotch?

This all brought to mind Dante's Inferno, which is one of the issues I have with this supposed temple. Temples are meant to be dedicated to the veneration of Buddha but there was nothing there that even vaguely brought him to mind. It was all show and bling and OTT,  it was very much the financier of the project bragging about his success in life: look at me, how well I've done in life, that I can throw so much money at this construction - very much in direct contrast to the Buddhist philosophy.

No cameras were allowed inside the actual temple which is a shame as it is difficult to describe to you the murals on the wall. Most temples have depictions of the Buddha or stories of his life and good deeds, but this one had a browney beige background wash on which had been painted cartoon style features such as: Michael Jackson Moon Walking,  Superman flying through the air, Buzz Lightyear, Kung Foo Panda, The  Matrix. It's just WEIRD! Do look it up online, you'll see what I mean, the interior is a joke that isn't even funny. It's a child's bedroom wallpaper, designed by an artist with an overactive imagination and no sense of restraint.

The irony of it is that this monstrosity was hit by an earthquake not that long ago and artists are busy repairing the damage which was mainly confined to the painted interior, poetic justice!

I realise I'm in the minority in my dislike of this temple. I found it tasteless, tacky and vulgar, with hoards of tourists being herded around by tour guides, staff carrying megaphones bellowing out instructions,  and souvenir shops and ATMs all over the place waiting to part fools and their money.

But I still wanted my photo taken in front of it, because: it's what tourist do isn't it?