It’s Monday the 13th today, and I managed to get out on the motorbike and into the countryside again. Serendipitous mistakes. I had wanted to go to another temple, days ago on the 8th, but was met with a wall of rain as I headed south. I decided to make my way to that aforementioned temple (familiar, having been there previously). However, I had mistakenly set my location on Google Maps. It happens, names are similar, trips years apart, and photos on the app are often inaccurate. As I approached, I saw this temple atop the mountain ridge and thought to myself “I need to find out where that is and get there.” It’s not as simple as you think, you can’t just make your way towards it. Its jungle here, there’s no guarantee a road leading that direction will make a sharp turn elsewhere. Yet I found myself getting closer and closer to this temple, and I began doubting myself. I wondered if there was repairs being done on the chedi, hence the crane. No, this was a completely different temple and I have never seen anything like this in my life before.

I have never experienced a temple this monolithic, as large does not begin to describe it. For it to be situated atop the Phu Phan mountain ridge, overlooking the Isaan planes, was breath taking even in it’s unfinished form. I have been to plenty of temples, and all of the popular ones. I can hear armchair experts typing “but x and x is bigger.” In size perhaps, but not in enormity. There is no way for me to accurately describe or show you the sense of scale this temple leaves oneself with. I could not (even if I tried) find a better counterpoint to yesterday’s dragon statue. I am not joking you when I say there was hundreds upon hundreds of marble slabs, three inch thick and taller than me, row upon row. This dichotomy — this dissonance — is unfathomable to me. Isaan is one of the poorest places in the developed world, and yet here I am in the jungle surrounded by gestating opulence. I would have believed you if I was told it was commissioned by Rockefeller himself.

Now, how exactly is this temple a counterpoint to yesterday’s dragon? The similarities seem to outweigh any differences… on the surface. The dragon, as we discussed, is a by-product of capitalising on the idea of a landmark. This, well this will be a landmark, and that is a total by-product of its existence. The dragon was made by hand, and by design, let us not mistake it for what it is. But this this is the inverse in its concept, and overwhelmingly more difficult to execute. Where the dragon has taken a year from ideation to completion, the temple is in its fourteenth year and another half-decade to go. Each of the hundreds of marble spindles takes a whole day for a single artisan, and there are hundreds to be made still. This makes Grand Designs look like Lego.

I’m not easy to impress, and I am impressed. If my whole ethos was made material, this temple could well be its embodiment. As I talked to the monks, he told me that the issue wasn’t money, labour, or time. It was materials. And it was a strict adherence to sequence, no running before they can walk. They cannot proceed to B before A is perfect. What surprised me most (though I cannot say why it came as a surprise) was when he said that these things simply are difficult. That nothing worthwhile, isn’t. Perhaps it was a surprise to hear it spoken to me, instead of me having to remind legacy houses of the fact. For isn’t it the same for my work? I could show you a thousand coffees and cats, but how often do you get to see what I am showing you today? That doesn’t come from anything but time, effort and intent intersecting subject. Just as the belief, the funding, the labour, all matters little until they are given that marble. Unlike this temple though, money certainly is the deciding factor for me. If I work, then I’m not documenting. If I am not documenting, then who is? Who cares enough, has the ability and the endurance to see this through? Yes, I think the reason I stand in awe at this temple is due to kinship.

This monumental undertaking — two decades — to my knowledge has not been seen in the West in generations outside of Notre Dame. But as I like to say “the exception proves the rule.” Notre Dame’s renovation after the fire is not the norm. Our monuments are often left to crumble once deterioration sets in. It isn’t the theological aspect that interests me, not at all. But the cultural mentality that allows this to be a prominent part of society. A part that I would argue is a clear net positive. I don’t believe one needs to be indoctrinated to respect heritage. For me, this is respect for tradition and craftsmanship. One of the first things civilisations did, is build pyramids. Children stack toys, hikers stack cairns. It is embedded in our nature to reach for the skies, and respect those who came before us for the lessons they may leave us with. The modern Western world has been so focused on “forward thinking” that they have forgotten the bedrock before building the high floors. there is no '“accessibility” conversations to be had in this temple. I noted the elevators being built and the response was — obviously, for the old and disabled. It’s not an exception, its not even in the conversation. There is no exclusion, interest is met with acceptance. I may be documenting Thailand as much for the UK as for anything else. We have lost something, and I think what we have lost is here. Somewhere between the paddies, mountains and monolithic chedi.

The temple itself was quite the hill climb to get to, which may surprise those who believe Isaan to be a flat plain. If you know where to go, there are roads that can challenge the Chiang Mai to Pai route. I was surprised to see that at elevation it had been raining, and the climb was slippery. Much like my camera equipment and my computer, I had though ahead and made sure to equip the motorbike with new tyres. Investments like these are now beginning to pay off, and these things may seem obvious but are really only encountered after trail and error. My aims with pre-production was not just to garner industry awareness and support, but to eliminate every variable possible before execution. In my early days I would completely wing it believing that to be the most organic or authentic way to approach the making of images. Even in the cinema world, I know of a lot of famous directors who find their film in the edit. I haven’t abandoned this mindset, in fact I think these field reports make it quite prevalent that this is a tenet I still abide by. Only reality has proven that even freedom of discovery needs adequate preparation.

Once inside the grounds I was met with the usual soi dogs, and I have become rather nervous — almost afraid — of them. There is currently a rabies outbreak and the government has issued a warning that covers the whole of Udon Thani province. But when I approached them closer I could tell they were collared, and they stopped barking. I wasn’t aware of the temple’s multiple workers at this time, having just arrived, so I was not sure these dogs were used to people. I turned away from three distinct temples on the 8th because of dogs, and let me be clear: I am not afraid of dogs. Even one tiny break of the skin means a lengthy and expensive trip to the hospital for rabies, one of many. I believe the current program is six weekly treatments. I don’t have the time for that, and I do not want to throw away money when it is not needed. In fact, this may hinder the project more than the monsoons and bad weather. I don’t want rabies, whilst preventative treatments are available, it is fatal if contracted. I have a lot to live for, and I will not let stray dogs, or a temple, jeopardise my life.

The monsoons have taken twenty-two lives this past few weeks, rabies is not a risk to be underestimated. the weather is against me, time is against me, the photographic industry’s status quo is against me. I have been wondering if it would be prudent to completely scrap this project. To work on my languages and computer skills instead. Discover is not the only IP in my stable, and after the ZEISS fiasco my tolerance has reduced to zero. Yet when I arrive at a temple such as this, and talk to the monks, when they say I can have free-roam of the site, including climbing the unfinished interior via scaffold, I am vindicated. The companion post to this article won’t get likes, my readership will not spike, but I feel as if my intention is being made manifest. I believe well and truly that change is coming, and I am ready to lead the pack.

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Discover Temples of Thailand is supported by Angelbird Technologies with companion motion sequences in collaboration with Dehancer Film Emulation.