A leisurely breakfast – a small mountain of French bread pastries, eggs and bacon – precedes today’s adventure.
We’ve hired a taxi to take us to a couple of notable sights in Vientiane. The first one, Buddha Park (Xieng Khuan) is located about 25 kilometers southeast of the city along the Mekong River, and is a sculpture park known for its surreal and intriguing collection of Buddhist and Hindu statues.
There’s over 200 sculptures and its an amateur photographers dream so I’ll let my pictures do the talking.
The park is filled with large concrete statues of Buddha, Hindu gods, demons, animals, and mythological figures, blending spiritual elements with a touch of whimsy.
The statues were created in 1958 by a mystic, Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat, who combined elements of Buddhism and Hinduism in his designs.
We return into the city for our second stop. Pha That Luang (The Great Stupa). It is the most iconic and significant religious monument in Laos, symbolizing the country’s Buddhist faith and sovereignty. It is located in the heart of Vientiane and is considered a must-visit landmark.
We have a great time wandering the grounds and admiring the sculptures.
The Golden Stupa stands at 45 meters tall, is covered in gold leaf and represents the Buddhist concept of enlightenment. It is believed to house a relic of the Buddha, making it a revered pilgrimage site.
The structure was originally built in the 3rd century as a Hindu temple, later converted into a Buddhist site in the 14th century by King Setthathirat when he moved the capital to Vientiane.
It has undergone multiple restorations due to damage from invasions, with the current structure dating to the 20th century. The stupa consists of three levels, each representing different aspects of Buddhist doctrine: the underworld, the earthly world, and the heavenly world.
The site includes a number of surrounding beautiful temples like Wat That Luang Tai and Wat That Luang Neua, offering peaceful spaces for prayer and meditation.
We return to our hotel at around 2pm for a dip and a poolside nap.
We walk to tonight’s chosen restaurant via the Night Market which is close to the banks of the Mekong. As.per last nights experience the roads are quiet and the streets are dimly lit. The night market is buay but not really much to write home about but a nice wander. We pop in for a quick Beer Lao where we ate last night as it has a really great outside area. We go for Japanese and ita a bit disappointing but we don’t let it spoil another great day. We’re on the move again and fortunately it doesn’t require a ridiculously early alarm call.
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