‘White Temple’ to charge foreigners an entry fee

CHIANG RAI – Wat Rong Khun, better known as the White Temple, will charge foreigners an admission fee from Oct 1 onwards.

Entry will remain free for Thais, local media reported on Thursday.

Renowned national artist and creator of the temple Chalermchai Kositpipat said he had never before collected a fee from Thai or foreign visitors since the temple was built for 19 years ago.

He had initially intended it would be

A temple committee and other representatives had recently raised the issue of charging an entry fee.

They proposed that the admission fee be used for the temple’s management, said Mr Chalermchai. He had agreed with the proposal.

However, he had suggested that admission be set at  50 baht for foreign visitors, who would also receive a brochure introducing Wat Rong Khun and a bag.

No entry fees would be collected from Thais as the temple belongs to the Thai people, the national artist said. He confirmed that foreigners would be charged an entry fee of 50 baht from this coming Saturday onwards.

Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/