N 63 Vientane   Part 2

The next day we hired the same car which was driven by Mr Ek ( Thatsadaphone Thamdy ) for sightseeing. Although Vientiane was not so crowded yesterday, it was the opposite today.( Monday  ) There were many people and traffic on the road and in some places there even were traffic jams.

    

 The first place we visited was of course the most famous place and landmark , the Patuxai. Ek translated to us that Patu is door (same as our Tai language )and xai is win . As  Lao had been a French colony it is not strange that the monument is a kind of Arch de Triomphe , somewhat French design mix with Lao architecture. It was built between 1957 and 1968 and is dedicated to the Laotians who were killed in the fight to gain independence from France as well as from the nations who occupied Laos earlier, Siam and Japan . It is an impressive building with a vast paved ground and we happily took photos as everybody would.

    

 Next we visited Phra Tat Luang which is also a landmark of Vientiane. It is a temple built in 1566 by a Lao King with simple design, but is all gold plated. We reached there before the temple opens at about 9 and so we had to stroll around the compound which is also vast with exquisite Thai style temples, Buddha statues, and also a statue of a king.

   

 After that we visited some more Lao temples including  Wat Sisaket which is the oldest surviving monastery built between 1819 and 1824by King Anon. This wat is famous for its cloister wall housing 1000 tiny Buddha images (not numerous as Mohnyin Thanbokde )and rows of seated Buddhas.

      

 Wat Ho Phra Keow is also a stunning wat in Vientiane. We learned that it was built in the mid 16^th century by King Sethathirath to house the emerald Buddha but was destroyed and plundered by the Siamese and the Emerald Buddha wound up in Bangkok where it remains today. ( reminds me of the Mahamyatmuni or Rakkhine Buddha Image ) When we went to visit this Wat we cannot go in as it was being under renovation. We visited some more wats namely Wat Si Muang, Wat Ong Teu, Mahawihan, and Phra That Dam.

    

 After visiting these wats I asked Ek how far is Buddha Park which is one of the tourists attraction site  I had seen  on the internet. He said about 25 kilometers out of town and we have to go back the way we came into the city. As we were tired of visiting the temples I asked him to take us there. So we got into the car and started the long ride towards the place gazing at the roadside where the scene is quite similar to our countryside. At length we caught a glimpse of the Mekong river and buildings on the Thai side a little far away and finally reached Buddha Park.

  

  Buddha Park may be the most attraction for Western tourists who are not interested in wats or temples because it is a sculpture park displaying   old looking statues including a huge 40 meter high reclining Buddha statue.

    

  It was built in 1958 by a monk who studied both Buddhism and Hinduism. This explains why his park is full not only of Buddha images but also Hindu Gods. The most outstanding ones include Indra, the king of Hindu Gods riding the three headed elephant, a 4 armed deity sitting on a horse and an artistic deity with 12 faces and many hands each holding interesting objects. They are all equally important not only  because of their enormous size but because they are full of interesting details and interesting motifs.

  

   After a leisurely look around and taking photographs we left for the city once more .     Once in the city Ek took us to lunch at a Lao eatery . It has pleasant surroundings with fountains and thatched huts. When we ordered Lao food we found out that Lao food is so simple like sticky rice eaten out of old fashioned bamboo containers and grilled or fried chicken, fish and pork. But maybe they have more varieties that we don’t know because we don’t order. But we felt satisfied that we had tasted Lao food.

    

 We also visited the only shopping mall that Vientiane has to offer. The Morning Market or Talat Sao as it was called. After that we went back to our hotel to have some rest telling Ek to come for us at 5 to go to the Mekong Riverside Park.

  

   When we got to the Riverside Park it was not crowded yet and we took our place at a roadside shop and ordered some food. We saw the Mekong in the distance because there is a wide stretch of land in between. A gentle breeze was blowing from the river and the colorful flags from the flagpoles lining the road were fluttering in the breeze. The good weather and the pretty scene made us felt satisfied with the environment.

    

 After some time we were served our dinner , which was quite good but when we prepared to pay the bill we saw that it was a little too expensive . We said among ourselves that things and food are not as cheap as in Bangkok, but only hotel fees and car hire fares.

  

  Our last half day in Vientiane was a misery. We had planned to visit the Museum and some other places . But the day was a rainy one and we cannot go out as we were afraid to fall ill. When the rain  was a little lighter  we went to the shopping mall again and spend our remaining hours in a coffee shop and some look around until it was time to go to our hotel for checkout .

 ref....historical facts from int;