Laos

The only city in Laos that we visited was Luang Prabang. Once again we were off to see the temples. And once again there was no shortage of Buddhas. First stop was Wat Mai. It dates from about 1780.

The temple is considered one of the most beautiful in Laos. Below are pictures of a couple of the beautiful panels that are part of the temple.

Next stop on our Luang Prabang excursion was another beautiful temple - Wat Xieng Thong. We had an opportunity to try some local foods but this time we passed.

There are quite a number of structures at Wat Xieng Thong. The pictures above show the Temple of the Reclining Buddha and the Buddha.

Below are pictures of the Sim (meeting hall) and a ceremonial gong. The picture below right shows one end of the Sim displaying the tree of life.

The picture below right is the Standing Buddha. This Buddha is housed in the small temple in front of the Sim shown in the picture below center.

One of the more unusual sights Xieng Thong is the Funeral Chapel. It has beautiful gold panels above the door and inside is the funeral chariot.

Luang Prabang is a peninsula bordered on one side by the Mekong River and on the top and other side by the Nam Khan River. After our visit to Thong, we went to the end of the peninusla for a view over the rivers. Below you can see a bridge that enables pedestrian traffic from one side of the Nam Khan to the other side.

From there we went to another temple - Wat Visounnarat. This is a working temple as you can see from the monks wndering the grounds and the monk eating his lunch in their "dining area". The Sim for this temple is the very simple structure seen below left.

This temple is home to the "Watermelon" stupa - named for its shape. Again, no shortage Buddhas including the VERY large one pictured below right. I was intrigued by the drum (below left) and the gong (below center). I understand that the drum is used for special occasions and is usually sounded at some EARLY time in the morning - about 4 am. A treat for the people living in the neighborhood.

The last temple of the day was Haw Pha Bang. It is a new temple, completed in 2006 located on the grounds of the Royal Palace. I particularly liked the snake like creatures (Nagas) that were situated on the side walls leading to the temple entrance. They didn't scare Granny!