Vientiane Day One

The chanting started at 4.15am. It was just as well that I was up at 4.00. 

Jet-lagged body-time 8.00. 

Went on the balcony to see a wonderful start to the day. Devotees were stretched 

along the pavement outside the hotel giving food to a passing parade of monks. 

The street lighting added to the fabulous saffron colour.

Breakfast at the hotel was great. 

Then we hired a car to go to Buddha Park (Xieng Khuan) about forty minutes away 

on the banks of the Mekong. The drive was bumpy and incredibly dusty.

 Along the road were many small out-door cafes. 

Would you like a mouth-full of dust with that sir?

The Park was built in 1958 by an eccentric mystic, Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat. 

So it is one man’s vision. And his vision was a little odd.

The Park is a bizarre collection of huge concrete sculptures of both Hindu and 

Buddhist gods interspersed with peculiar creatures.

It looks like the same model was used for every statue as they all have the same 

large disproportionate nose. Lots of peculiar Kodak moments. 

At the Park were hordes of school children who wanted to practice their English. 

I left Omar to be a teacher while I wandered around documenting the weirdness.

We drove back via the Pha That Luang. It is the national symbol of Laos and 

the most  important religious monument in the country.

 It is a three-layered gilded stupa. You can only access the court-yard and 

walk round it. It opens at 1.00pm but there was a delay of 15 minutes while 

the gate keeper, an indolent, slothful girl, finished her ice-cream. By then there 

were about 30 people baking in the sun.

Beside That Luang are the Wat That Luang Neua and the Wat That Luang Tai. 

Two temples that were also closed. The area itself is really harsh with acres of glaring pavement. 

Bring your sunglasses.

We drove back to the hotel and dropped into a local cafe for an assortment of dishes 

that had us guessing. Time for a nanny-nap and a read while we prepared for tomorrows

meeting. Later we went to Asmara for dinner. Asmara is a beautiful French Colonial building

that has been turned into an up-market hotel and restaurant. The food is very cheap in 

Vientiane. Lunch for two was about $US8.00 and dinner with wine was a steep $US40.00 

for two and so far the quality is great.

And after fighting off the mosquitoes we went to bed.