Nong Khai to Vientiane

  MORE PHOTOS OF NONG KHAI  VIENTIANE  AND LUANG PRABANG 2007

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OK ,I'm cheating Nong Khai is not in Laos it is just across the Thai - Loa Friendship Bridge from Vientiane.   We broke our journey between Myanmar and Laos to spend a few days relaxing before hitting the road again,  and to cycle to the Buddha Park

Mut Mee Guesthouse                                                        

                                 Good food and comfortable rooms in lovely garden by the Mekong

  

Salakaewkoo Buddha Park

Was created over 20 yrs by a Lao mystic shaman Luang Poo Boun Leua Sourirat

His greatest creation is the 'Wheel of Life', which starts with a graphic depiction of conception and ends with death

There are over a hundred sculptures in the  park, some rising seven stories high.   Buddha sits under a seven headed serpent,  a goddess waves a formidable array of weapons and a lovely elephant is beset by yapping dogs, some in boats some in cars and others on motor bikes.  Utterly bizarre
Vientiane

Patuxai -  Victory Gate,  Vientiane's very own Arc De Triomphe built in 1968 as a memorial to the Lao killed in battle prior to the revolutionary wars.  The cement being diverted from a USA funded runway project at Vientiane airport.  the resemblance to the Parisian Arc is superficial, the top is very Lao in style and the interior decorations depict scenes from the Ramayana.  From the top there is a grand view down the processional avenue leading the the Presidential Palace

Patuxai, aka The 'Vertical Runway'                                       

 Wat Sisaket built by the last King of Vientiane
  Haw Pha Kaew

Originally constructed in 1565 to house the Emerald Buddha which had bee acquired from Siam under complicated circumstances.   In 1778 the Siamese sacked Vientiane, destroyed the temple and carried their Emerald Budda back to Bangkok where you can see, but definitely not photograph it in the similarly named Wat Phra Keo in the grounds of the Royal Palace

Pra Kaew was rebuilt in the late 1930s and is now a museum

Beautiful bronze Buddha statues line the outer corridor

 

We had a choice of delicious fresh fruit shakes                               

or what ever was in the bottles with the snakes (whisky?)     

Wat

 

 

 

Maixi

  
In the evening the place to be is down by the river, selecting your fish, having it cooked at a riverside restaurant and watching the sun set

 

MORE PHOTOS OF NONG KHAI  VIENTIANE  AND LUANG PRABANG 2007

Laos Map | 2007/08 Asia Trip Itinerary | Home Page 1 of 11 | Page Down