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November 2001

Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic

Jeremy Koh
2005-11-05 11:36:01

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everything from silk and fine jewelry to toiletries, electronic equipment and hardware. There was also a bus terminal for transport into Vietnam next to the Talaat Sao. From the Talaat Sao, we walked around Central Vientiane and passed by the Presidential Palace en route to Thanon Fa Ngum along the Mekong River. The Presidential Palace was a rather small, nondescript building and closed to the Public. Next we headed for the Lao Revolutionary Museum along Thanon Samsenthai. There is a small entry fee of 200 kip and this museum mainly consists of a small collection of artifacts, paintings, photographs depicting the history of Laos ( I think because the captions were mostly written in French). However there was also a jar from the famous Plain of Jars in Xieng Khuang and dinosaur bones excavated from Savannakhet Province. However, i am unable to judge the authenticity of the bones. From here, we decided to head back to our guesthouse to prepare to checkout.

Day 2- After Checkout

After meeting Kongchay and her friends at 11am at the Nam Phu, they brought us to Haw Pha Kaew which is a former royal temple of the Lao monarchy converted into a museum and is no longer a place of worship (op. cit.). There are some ornate carvings with intricate details as well as various statues. There is even a room at the back of the temple in which photography is forbidden. To showcase this point, there are even some exposed reels of film placed at the entrance. Inside this room, there are even more statues of Buddha and even a holy book. However, the captions are again written in French.

From here, we proceed for lunch and after that headed to Xieng Khuan (Buddha Park). By gesturing to us to keep quiet, Kongchay managed to obtain the cheaper local admission price for us. This park by the Mekong River lies 24km south of the city centre off Thanon Tha Deua. This park consists of a collection of slightly bizarre Buddhist and Hindu cement sculpture (op. cit.). There is a pumpkin shaped building with a strange, concrete, leafless tree at the top. This building with it's 3 levels supposedly represents the levels of hell, earth and heaven correspondingly. Through a 'mouth', one climbs into the level representing hell. From there, there are staircases leading all the way to 'heaven' from which it is possible to get a bird's eye view of the Buddha Park. Within this building, there is even an inner chamber where there are some muddy coloured sculptures. Outside of this building, we wandered around the park. There is a large sculpture of a reclining Buddha and this park supposedly contains over 200 sculptures, many with snakes, though nobody knows how many exactly. I suggest that visitors to Vientiane not give this Buddha Park a miss as it is rather fascinating.

Day 2- After Buddha Park

After the Buddha Park, Kongchay drove us to Suan Vathanatham (National Ethnic Cultural Park), which is near the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge. The following passage is supposed to describe it: It offers the visitor a taste of Lao PDR's cultural and natural heritage. Shady paths wind past traditional Lao architecture, a small zoo (featuring alligators, bears, monkey, snakes, hawks, civets, and jungle cats), textile and handicraft shops, food and drink stands, towering dinosaurs, and sculptures of Lao literacy characters including Sinxai and the Four Eared Elephant. However, when we were there, the zoo or rather the cages were empty, there were no textile and handicraft shops open, and worse of all, it looks as if it's been deserted for a long time. It should have never been open to the public in it's current state. After taking a short rest in this 'ghost town', Kongchay sent us to the border where we had to catch a night train back to Bangkok.