Wat Ong Teu grand celebration.

Wat Ong Teu Mahawihan is located along Setthatirat Road within the tourist belt.

 Most backpackers arriving in Vientiane using the local 'songtheaw' or 'tuk-tuk' will definitely be drop off in front of the temple where most of the hotels,guesthouses,bars,cybercafes,Mekong River or even the small little Chinatown is just a short walking distance from here.

Wat Ong Teu is surrounded by four other temples : Wat Inpeng to the north, Wat Mixay to the south, Wat Haysok to the east, and Wat Chan to the west.

Wat Ong Teu Mahawihan (Temple of the Heavy Buddha) is one of the most important temple in Laos. Famous for its beautifully carved wooden facade, the temple was built in the early 16th century by King Setthathirat, but like almost every other temple in Vientiane it was destroyed in later wars with the Siamese.
The temple was rebuilt in the 19th and 20th centuries. Home to the Patriarch of Lao Buddhism, the temple also serves as a national center for Buddhist studies.


Most of the monks came to this Buddhist Institute to enhance their studies.

 Jade statue of the Great Warrior,King Setthatirat I. (1534-1572)
Also known as King Chaichetta in Thai,the king has his origin from the Lanna Kingdom in Chiangmai,Thailand.

Supposed to be the King of Lanna,he jumpship and returned to Lang Xang and became king taking with him the Emerald Buddha.

The reason mainly due the danger posed by the Burmese invasion of Chiangmai in 1558.
King Rama I took back the Emerald Buddha and placed it at Wat Phra Kaeo(Temple of Emerald Buddha) in Bangkok two years later.





The first week of November is the grand That Luang Festival in Vientiane and Wat Ong Teu is also one of the many locations which also commemorates the event.

 Leading the temple's procession were the monks.
It was a glittering night at the temple which otherwise will be closed at night on normal days.





 The Lao people young and old came in droves and nearly filled the whole temple compound.

 The situation was quite comparable to the Loy Krathong festival in Bangkok which has the most tourists but not here at the moment.










Adding to the festivities were the fireworks display.












The Lao ladies began the night with 'lam vong' folk dance.

 'Lam Vong' is the national dance of Laos in which the men will formed the inner circle while the ladies will dance in the outer circle.

 In Cambodia this dance is known as 'ramvong' and the most popular social dances.









Devotees carrying a paper crafted sedan chair decorated with yellow honey flowers and the real Lao Kips bills were also pin on it to be made as offerings to the temple.

The more money ones stick on the sedan chair,the more properous will be to the business.








  It was a night of candlelit procession.
Devotees parading around the temple three times in the belief this will bring good luck and strength.















 

 Heavily decorated with Lao kips which will eventually be donated to the temple.

The band came marching in with some latest techno music.

 

Festival like this is the best opportunity the mix with the Lao people and understand their culture.













 Devotees converging inside the temple after the procession to pray the almighty Lord Buddha.

It was a very huge crowd turnout even the outside of the temple's pavement has to be occupied by the devotees.

Devotees praying outside the temple's compound. Buddhism is the primary religion of Laos.

Lao Buddhism is a unique version of Theravada Buddhism and is at the basis of Lao culture.
Buddhism in Laos is often closely tied to animist beliefs and belief in ancestral spirits, particularly in rural areas.
 Buddhist flag alongside the Lao National flag.







The huge Ong Teu bronze Buddha inside the temple's 'sim' flanked by two smaller Buddhas.

'Sim' refers to the main building where the statue of Buddha is located.

Lao dancers wearing black clothings are the Lao-Lum people that formed the largest ethnic group in Laos.

 The lowland Lao-Lum ethnic group parading in the procession.

View inside the temple's prayer hall.

Statue of Phra Ong Teu.

Playing the samba music.

  A small Pha That Luang shrine.

That Luang festival is also known as the 'Full Moon Festival' while in Thailand it is known as the Loy Krathong.

Whereas the Full Moon Party held throughout the year is a different version can be experienced in the islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan off the coast of Surathani Province in Southern Thailand.

Half day trip to Buddha Park.

This morning my Vietnamese hostel mate,Cuong decided to visit the Buddha Park so I accompanied him to the Vientiane Bus Terminal near Talat Sao to catch Bus No:14.

Cuong has his last day itinerary as he'll be catching the 5:00pm sleeper bus (150,000 kips)to Vinh in Central Vietnam.

He's the staff of Vietnam Telecom in Ho Chi Minh City.




We walked from Sabaidee Guesthouse at Setthathirah Road to the bus station which takes about 15 minutes.

 It was a non aircond local minibus and the fare was 6,000 Lao Kips.

 Interestingly the minibus do stop at the Lao Immigration before the Firendship Bridge to NongKhai town in Thailand.

Bus passengers destined to Thailand will disembark from here and later the bus continued to pick up passengers at a bus stop in front of the shops nearby. Those who just came in from NongKhai ,Thailand should make sure whether the bus is heading to Vientiane otherwise you'll be paying for a roundtrip.




  Buddha Park also known as Xiengkuane Buddha Park is about 25km southeast from Vientiane City and it lies just beside the mighty Mekong River with a good view of Nongkhai town across the river.

Part of the main road before the park has a lot of potholes so expect to enjoy the bumps.

The entrance fee to Buddha Park is 5,000 Kips and 3,000 kips if you declared your camera.

The first interesting sight is a sculpture that looks like a Lao pumpkin with a stalk on the top.

Orange colour pumpkins in abundance were quite popularly sold at the wet market behind Vientiane bus terminal.

Orange is the colour of the monk's robe and the pumpkin must be part of the vegetarian menu as it was rich in nutrients beta carotene for health longetivity.

The early days sculptors must have been inspired by this heavenly fruit.
 To the Chinese,pumpkin (南瓜; nánguā) symbolises - prosperity, abundance, descendant's luck, illustrious children, enchantment, fruit draws earth energy to manifest gold.

Whereas to our western counterparts,Pumpkins and Halloween go together like candy and apples, and this orange globe can light up this frighteningly fun occasion.

 Big mouth is awaiting visitors into this heavenly fruit. It will be hell when entering but if you manged to reach the apex it will be like heaven. This structure is facing beside a slow flowing Mekong River.

In Geomancy(feng shui) terms,this will be good 'Chi' or 'the breath of life'

Buddha has disciples like Ananda,Asoka,Mahinda,Nanda and many others who are Hindu origin.

Asoka is the most famous Indian emperor who converted to Buddhism after learning The Dharmma in the 273 BCE .

Thereafter wars were banned. He was a lay Buddhist who contribute the expansion of Buddhism in India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon) by sending his children to preach the Dhamma.

A large sculpture of Reclining Buddha.
 Left arm along the body, right arm serves as a pillow with the hand supporting the head.

Story : The giant Asurindarahu wanted to see the Buddha, but was reluctant to bow before him. The Buddha, while lying down, presented himself as much larger than the giant.

 He then showed him the realm of heaven with heavenly figures all larger than the giant.
 After all this, Asurindarahu, the giant, was humbled, and made his obeisance to the Buddha before leaving.

These images of Buddha in similar postures can be seen in Thailand at the following places:- [at Phra Pathom Chedi, Nakhon Pathom province],[Wat Imprumoon, Ang Thong province] and [Wat Pho near Bangkok].






Hindu Goddess Durga sculpture.
The Destroyer of Evil.

Four Headed Lord Brahma who has been cursed by Lord Shiva.

Three Headed Elephant similar to the Erawan Shrine Statue at Paknam in Samut Prakan Province,Thailand.

Hindu God Ganesha has an elephant head in a human body.

Demon statue that looks alike the one guarding the Hor Phra Monthien Dharma, Wat Phra Kaew, Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand.

Apart from tourists,monks also came to visit as part of their field work.

Laotian boy from the nearby neighbourhood playing at the park.

Grasshoppers and locusts are enemies that threatened the livelihood of the peasants and farmers.

Statue of Buddha shielded by serpents.

A panoramic view of Buddha Park from the apex of the 'pumpkin'.

SanJiang Mall opposite Wat Tay Yai in Vientiane

A leisurely walk from Wattay International Airport in Vientiane to the town centre which was about 5km distance takes about 30 minutes.

Getting out from the airport to the main road took about 5 minutes to walk.

Just cross the traffic light junction which is Luang Prabang Road,keep walking towards your left will lead to the town centre.

Passing by Dansavanh Hotel and Nightclub,I thereafter walked into the compound of Wat Tay Yai Buddhist Temple which was preparing for a celebration during the night.

There were many stalls already gearing up for the fanfare.




There were two temples of this Siamese style architecture,the other being Wat Tay Noi also along the same row.

Wat Tay Yai is the nearest to the airport and was also bearing the same name as the airport.

The two temples were built by two sisters who were also the wives of King Sai Setthathirat I in the early 16th century.
 The stairways have Nagas lining at both sides.

Nagas are half snake,half human which were being worshipped as they brought fertility and being guardians of rain.

They are protectors of spring,wells and rivers.
As the guardians of rain, you can see statues of the Buddha meditating where a seven-headed serpent has spread its hood over the Buddha's head to protect him from the rain.

In Thailand,Wat Doi Suthep in Chiangmai has a pair of huge Nagas leading to the temple.

Wat Tay Yai's temple's roof has a look alike that of the Grand Palace in Bangkok,Thailand.

The Siamese have great influenced in Laos as early as the 18th century under King Taksin who has gained authority over the Lane Xang Kingdom (namely Luang Prabang,Vientiane and Champassak)

The Buddhist Temple has an aesthetic multi four layered roof mainly due to the large prayer hall.

Perched at the end of the roof were decorative ornaments resembling a tall thin bird with hornlike and may looked like the mythical creature 'Garuda'.

Paper craft of a sedan chair that will be paraded around the temple with Lao kips pinned to it as offerings.

Entrance to the udosoth or ordination hall.

  Monks at the reception tables to greet devotees for tonight temple celebration.

A mini size Pha That Luang statue in the compound of Wat Tay Yai.

Pha That Luang monument is a gold plated Great Stupa of Laos which dates back to 1556.

According to the Lao people, the temple is a lot more than just a worship place as it is believed to be extremely sacred enshrining a relic of Buddha in its stupa.

It is also the international symbol of the country and most religious monument of historic significance.
 The first week of November annually is the Bun That Luang Festival and is the hearthrob of the entire nation.

The vibrant occasion begins in the 12th month of the lunar calendar on the 15th day of waxing moon (November). The three days of religious ceremony followed by a whole week of exciting festivals, going on all day and night can be observed in all the temples throughout Vientiane.

The laypeople walk in processions from the Wat Si Muang in Vientiane city towards the Pha That Luang monument.
In the Pha That Luang, the Lao people make offerings to the Monks to reflect their obedience and in hope of getting their prayers heard for a better life after recarntation.

The offerings include candles, lanterns presented in honor of Buddha.

 Lao women selling 'pasaat pheung' (elongated pyramids of wax and banana stems) to participants in the annual candlelit ceremony at Wat Tay Yai. A symbol of solidarity among the communities.

 Devotees will normally hung the Lao Kips currency onto the banana stems as an offering to Lord Buddha.

This is the hottest item on sale during the festival. These were made of melted candle wax and mixed with honey to produce the yellow discs, which resemble flowers.

 According to legend, a monkey once offered honey to Buddha, and was reborn as a human.

This is symbolised in the use of honey in the wax.

 Orange carnation flowers mixed with 'pasaat pheung' wrap in banana leaves.

Lao kips will be hung onto the jossticks.

These patterns looked quite similar to the floating 'krathongs' which were used by the Thais in Bangkok during the Loy Krathong festival which also falls on the first week of November.

Due to the current wet spell and swelling Menam Chao Phraya in Bangkok,the Loy Krathong Festival must have focussed around Chiangmai area.

Nakhon Sawan in Central Thailand was one place which I used to go and celebrate the Loy Krathong festival but this time around the aftermath of the flood must have made the event less attractive.

A local Laotian house cum office building which looks very grandeur in design.

A section of Talat Gok Pho market near Wat Tay Yai which was quite near to Wattay International Airport.

A small market but famous for the green papaya salad and cheap food for takeaway as there won't be seats around.

Somphouthong Restaurant offers Savannah Barbeque Lao-style.

Savannah refers to Savannakhet town in the south of Laos which has a border crossing to Mukdahan on Thailand side.

Mukdahan in North Eastern Thailand,Isaan Region is 642km from Bangkok.

Suzhou Restaurant has its name after Suzhou Hi-tech City about 110 km west of Shanghai in China.

Suzhou cuisines have moderately sweet sour and delicate flavors especially the famous fried freswater fish braided with flour.

Bitter bean curd which is red color is the main specialty of the Suzhou people.
Ao Zao duck noodle,sweet scented chicken,beggars chicken were part of the menus.







Arch entrance to Wat Tay Noi has a colourful temple multi tiered roof design.
Built by the second wife of King Sai Setthathirat I.

 In Vientiane city Wat Inpeng is along Setthathirat Road.

Phommachack English Center is a government school along Route Luang Prabang Road.
The government is encouraging the study of English Language among the Lao people which is a vital engine of growth to Laos.

There were many other private independent English Centers such as Sharon English School, Santisouk Montisseri Preschool,Vientiane Pattana School, Eastern Star Bilingual School, AIS International School, Vientiane International School, Vientiane College, ARDA Language Center, Gold English Institue, Onny Lao English Center and many others spread all over the city.

While loitering around the quiet Wat Tay Noi,I stumbled onto one Chinese lone tourist from Xishuangbanna,the capital of Jinghong in Yunnan Province,southwest China.

 Mr Wu was very kind enough to invite me for dinner at a Fujian Restaurant near the SanJiang Shopping Mall where he was putting a night off at a Chinese owned hotel.

 Most of the restaurants around here operate in the morning while in the evening only a few stalls will be opened.





"San Jiang Jia Ser Chen" or San Jiang Household Furnishing Village was along the same row of shopping warehouse displaying agricultural machinery tools.

This section will be the first point of arrival in SanJiang Shopping Complexes which was quite huge the area.

Goods on display were mainly Made-in-China products. It takes about 10 minutes walk from the SanJiang Mall to the main road of Luang Prabang Road when I made my way back to the city to look for a hostel.

After 7:00pm the whole place looked a bit deserted when most of the shops were closed.

"San Jiang Ping Quan" or San Jiang Hotel is the only hotel in the area serving most of the clientele from mainland China.

Vientiane to Kunming bus also stop here for the convenience of passengers.
The rooms were all airconditioned with rates at 120,000 kips.Payment can also be in chinese renminbi currency.
Contact booking number:021-520666.

The main shopping complex of SanJiang.These were Lao angels just after work at 6:00pm on the way to the motorbike parking lot.

 SanJiang Shopping Mall,presumbly the largest Chinese investment in Southeast Asia was constructed on September year 2006.

Located in Oumoung (Neua) ,village of Sikhottabong district the whole area have large open air parking spaces. Tell the tuk-tuk you want to go Talat Jin which the Lao people called it and not SanJiang they won't know.

Jin means Chinese.