One of the things I wanted to do while in Vientiane was visit the Buddha Park. The park is located about 25-30 km outside Vientiane and takes a 40 minute car ride to get there. Last night I stopped at a hostel nearby that was advertising rides to the Buddha Park. The proprietor said that the a mini van would leave twice a day to go there, at 10am and 2pm. As long as there were at least 4 people willing to go, it would cost 70,000 kip (about $9 USD). He said he didn’t know yet how many people might be going but that in the morning he would have a better idea of the head count. So this morning I went by the hostel at 10am to see if there was in fact a mini van leaving for the park, and indeed there was. I guess the Buddha Park is a pretty popular attraction. The experience took less than 2.5 hours including transport. We arrived at 10:40am, spent an hour in the park, and got back to Vientiane around 12:15pm.
The Buddha Park (also known as Xieng Khuan) is exactly what it sounds like: a park full of Buddhas. In this case, yes, there are several Buddhas as well as several Hindu deities and other mythical creatures. The park is littered with sculptures depicting stories from both Buddhism and Hinduism. The creator of the park was Luang Pou Bounlua Soulilat, a monk-priest-shaman with a very specific vision integrating Hinduism and Buddhism. He started building this sculpture garden in 1958 and created all the sculptures out of cement. While this meant that the sculptures were built quickly, cement isn’t the best material longterm so many of the sculptures appear to be crumbling to the ground. It kind of gives the park this mysterious air. After the revolution in 1975 Luang Pou fled to Thailand just across the river (yes, Thailand is across the river from here!) where he built another similar park.
There are a lot of sculptures in the park as I’ve mentioned. Many are Buddhas, and many are related to stories and tales taken from Buddhism and Hinduism. It would probably help to have some knowledge of these stories before going to this park, otherwise it feels like you’re walking through a jumble of cement statues. There’s a little hut near the entrance of the park with photos of some of the different statues with a description of what’s going on there, but again, this would really only mean anything to someone who is already familiar with the stories. The place is still quite nice and interesting though (notwithstanding the heat).
One of the most iconic sculptures in the park is known as the Giant Pumpkin (although I’m sure that’s not the formal name for it). The sculpture looks like a pumpkin with a tree sticking out from the top. There’s a crazy face at the bottom with it’s mouth open. You can walk into the mouth and go inside the sculpture. It’s three stories tall. There are a couple of very steep staircases inside (along with more sculptures and Buddha statues) that take you up to the roof of the sculpture with a nice view of the park.
Buddha Park from the top of the giant pumpkin
Giant pumpkin sculpture
Mouth entrance on the giant pumpkin
Buddha Park Sculptures (also taken from the top of the giant pumpkin)
Buddha Park
At the opposite side of the park from the giant pumpkin is a pagoda of sorts with very steep steps. I tried climbing up these to get a better view, but they are so steep and narrow that I couldn’t get more than half way up.
Buddha Park from the pagoda
In my van cohort were two Canadians that I befriended in the park. One of them, let’s call him J, I met briefly yesterday at COPE. The other, let’s call him N, was someone J had just met a few days before in Vang Vieng, which is a laid back town about 5 hours north of Vientiane. They weren’t exactly traveling together, but had sort of paired up to do some site seeing. I mentioned to them that I was interested in walking to the Patuxay monument (i.e. the fake Arc de Triomphe) and then on to the golden stupa once we got back to town. They liked the idea and agreed to come with me.
We got back to Vientiane, grabbed a quick lunch, and then set off for the golden stupa. The Arc de Triomphe is on the way to the golden stupa. It’s a good walk and probably took us 20 minutes to get to the Patuxay monument. The arch is quite lovely up close. While the boulevard and arch does have this French colonial feel, the arch itself is in the Lao style.
Patuxay Monument
There’s this lovely park behind the monument with fountains. We walked through it and continued on toward the golden stupa.
Taken from the park behind the Patuxay Monument
I would like to pause for a moment to say that it was blistering hot today in Vientiane. When I woke up this morning it was already around 88 F. By the time we walked to the golden stupa it was close to 100 F. When we walked back to the center of town in the mid afternoon it reached 104 F. I went through bottle after bottle of water. It’s unbelievable. They don’t call it the “hot dry season” for nothing.
Anyways, we pressed onward to the golden stupa. After another 20 minutes we finally arrived.
Golden Stupa, Pha That Luang
At 45 meters tall, the golden stupa (or Pha That Luang) is the most important Buddhist monument in Laos. It is believed that a bone of the Buddha is enshrined there. The original stupa was built in the 16th century. In the the mid-19th century most of Vientiane was destroyed by Siamese invaders and the stupa was heavily damaged and abandoned. It’s been rebuilt a few times over the years.
Inside the cloister of the Golden Stupa
As is the case with most temples or stupas, there are several other temples within the complex. We also went inside the recently constructed Hor Dhammasabha (or Buddhist convention hall) which happened to be open to visitors. This building has beautiful tiered roofs. The interior is all painted. We stayed in the building for awhile, cooling off and enjoying the peace and quiet of the place (we were the only people there). The other temples around were closed off to the public, so we simply roamed around for awhile before heading back.
Hor Dhammasabha or Buddhist convention hall
We went back to the center of town mostly the same way we came. It was a hot afternoon and we were getting tired. I suggested a small detour at the the end of Avenue Lang Xang to see the That Dam (or Black Stupa).
That Dam, Black Stupa
Locals believe that the That Damn was once inhabited by a seven-headed dragon (now dormant) called the Naga that protected the city. Built in the 16th century, the stupa is one of the oldest stupas in the city and hasn’t been renovated so it has this ancient feel to it. It’s located in a quiet roundabout near the US Embassy in a quiet residential neighborhood, which adds to its charm.
So that was my day! It was a nice way to end my time in Laos. I’ve really enjoyed this leg of my trip and part of me is very sad to leave.
I fly to Cambodia tomorrow, directly to Phnom Penh (the capital) where I will spend a couple of days. Third country on my itinerary!
Jules Traveler 