Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
to Laos and is enshrined in its namesake city of Luang Prabang, but the Pha Kaew remains in
Bangkok to this day, much to the resentment of Lao Buddhists.
The museum houses the finest collection of Lao art in the country.
BronzeBuddhas
, many
looted of the inlay that once decorated their eyes, line the terrace surrounding the building.
Inside are some exquisite works, one of the most striking being a Buddha in the “Beckoning
Rain” pose (standing with arms to the sides and fingers pointing to the ground) and sporting
a jewel-encrusted navel. Also of note are a pair of eighteenth-century terracotta
apsara
, or
celestial dancers, and a highly detailed “naga throne” from Xieng Khuang that once served
as a pedestal for a Buddha image. Next to the throne stands an elaborate candleholder of or-
nately carved wood and almost identical to one still in use at Wat Sisaket. An arched metal
rod attached to the wood is where the lighted candles were placed.
Outsized bronze
statues
of a kowtowing Lao boy and girl on the lawn outside the museum
were once part of a tableau that included the statue of explorer Auguste Pavie. The French-
man's statue is now located inside the French embassy compound across the street. Sheltered
under an adjacent pavilion is a sample stone urn from the Plain of Jars, but this small, broken
jar is a rather poor specimen and not really typical of those at the site.
Presidential Palace
Just west of Haw Pha Kaew along Setthathilat Road is the
Presidential Palace
, a rather un-
impressive French Beaux Arts-style structure, built to house the French colonial governor,
and nowadays used mainly for government ceremonies. Tourists aren't allowed inside, but
plenty stop for photos outside the gate.
Wat Simuang
Roughly 500m southeast of Haw Pha Kaew, down Setthathilat Rd ∙ Daily sunrise-sunset ∙ Free
While Vientiane has its share of Buddhist monasteries,
Wat Simuang
stands out in terms of
the number of worshippers it receives. Numerous pavement stalls stationed outside the walls
give some indication of its popularity and sell all the ingredients for a proper tray of offerings
(flowers, fruit, incense and candles). The monastery itself was built on an ancient Khmer site,
the ruins of which are piled behind the
sim
and consist of laterite bricks with traces of stucco
ornamentation.
The sim
The
sim
of Wat Simuang houses the city's
lak meaung
, a sacred stone pillar. It is believed that
the guardian spirit of Vientiane inhabits the pillar, which was consecrated with a human sac-
rifice at the time of the city's founding. Covered with gold leaf and wrapped in sacred cloth,
the pillar is the centrepiece of an altar crowded with Buddha images. That great multitudes of
worshippers come here is evident from a glance at the ceiling, coal-black with a thick coating
of soot, which is constantly rising from sputtering candles and smouldering joss sticks.
