The Buddha Park

Vientiane, Laos

We ventured out of Vientiane today about 25 kilometers west to a strange sort of place called Xieng Kuam "The Spirit City" more commonly known as The Buddha Park. The site was designed and built by a monk who had fled Thailand during the revolution. Used as a way to visually show his beliefs it has over 200 buddhist and hindu statues and images, including his interpretation of a hellgate, a sort of hollow pumpkin looking thing with 3 layers inside representing hell, earth and heaven.

It was easy to idle away the morning roaming the grounds surrounded by images of siddhartha, buddha, shiva, laxmi, ganesh, krishna as well as a few i couldn't place - like the pig headed god (jess you would have loved this guy). Like most sights in Asia there was also a restaurant located in the park, just on the Mekong River. Lunch consisted of some surprisingly tasty fried fish and sticky rice.

The highlight of the trip wasn't just the statues, but also the 50 minute tuk-tuk ride there and then back again. As we road along the crater-filled dirt path we ran into so many friendly faces, got to see where they make the (i'll quote Penne on this one) "Beer Lao, Nectar of the Gods", and had a chance to enjoy the sun showers without getting soaked. My arse, however could have done without some of those potholes.

Think today will be our last day in Vientiane. I've really enjoyed the warmth and easy-going mentality here, but it just makes me want to experience more of Laos. Tomorrow we'll be heading up towards Luang Prabang with maybe a stop in Vang Vieng.

By the way we tried some laap sin last night - absolute heaven! my mouth is just watering thinking about it. Come to think of it I think its about time for a late afternoon snack....