A Day in Vientiane
“This delightfully friendly capital, studded with crumbling French mansions, bougainvillea-blooming streets and steaming noodle stalls, is somewhere between a big town and a diminutive city. Full of things to see, from the golden Pha That Luang to the serene Wat Si Saket and an impossibly rich selection of international cuisine – most pointedly French – you’ll find yourself slowly won over by the easy charms of this evolving backwater. The city may reveal its beauty less readily than Luang Prabang, but spend a few days visiting its unusual sights, sampling its excellent food and enjoying a Beer Lao at sunset by the river, and you’ll soon feel at home here.” – Lonely Planet.
As I only had a single day to explore Vientiane I thought it best to focus on the two most popular sites, namely Pha That Luang and Wat Si Saket.
Pha That Luang, which translates as “Great Stupa”, is a gold-covered Buddhist stupa located in the centre of Vientiane. Even after undergoing several reconstructions the architecture of the building still includes many references to Lao culture and identity, and is generally regarded as the most important national monument in Laos. The stupa today consists of three levels, each conveying a reflection of part of the Buddhist doctrine.
After being blessed with yet another beautiful clear blue sky I set off to photograph this famous stupa. It was unusually quiet when I arrived at the site and although that made it easier for me to get some wide angle shots it did make me wonder where all of the tourists had gone. I never did find out and for the few hours I spent here I was mainly on my own which made it quite a surreal experience.
Wat Si Saket, built between 1819 and 1824 by Chao Anou, is believed to be Vientiane’s oldest surviving temple; some say due to the fact the temple was built in the Siamese style of Buddhist architecture, this style perhaps saving it from the destruction that came with the Siamese armies in 1828.
The most unusual feature in this serene temple is the thousands of small niches in the outer wall, each of which houses a small Buddha image, and on shelves in front of the cloister wall are three rows of larger Buddha images, in various styles and materials. Some say there are actually around 7000 Buddha images housed within the temple grounds; however as time was ticking on I couldn’t undertake the task of actually counting them so we are just going to have to believe what we have been told!
It is certainly time to get back to the country after so much city living and as my next destination is a small island on the Mekong River it should balance my trip out nicely, so goodbye Vientiane and hello Don Det!
