Back To Si Saket

Case and I walked across the border into Laos at Lao Bao, Vietnam yesterday and then spent 11 hours driving to Vientiane. Saw a lot of beautiful karst and bounced through thousands of potholes on Rt. 9. Slept well last night. As a reward for the long road trip, I stopped by Wat Si Saket (see Wat Si Saket and Wat Si Saket (Revisited)) after my meeting at the WWF office. Spent a long time admiring the exquisite wooden statue shown above. [NOTE: Can't believe I never noticed this piece before; must be a new addition].

Broken Buddhas at Si Saket

Another shot of the shattered Buddha statues stored in Wat Si Saket in Vientiane, Laos. The statues were destroyed during the intensive bombing of Laos in the Vietnam War (see Collateral Damage). I currently have a copy of this image as the desktop on my MacBook Air. Good lesson in impermance. For your own lesson in impermanence, a high resolution copy of the image above can be downloaded here.

[NOTE: Apparently, Laos is the most heavily bombed country in history.  An estimated 260 million cluster bombs were dropped on Laos during the Vietnam War - one every eight minutes, 24 hours a day for nine years].

Si Saket Still Life

Incense and flower offerings at the base of a stupa in the main courtyard at Wat Si Saket (see Wat Si Saket) in Vientiane, Laos. 

Sweeping Up

Older monk sweeping up at the entrance to Wat Si Saket (see Wat Si Saket) in Vientiane. The monastery hadn't opened yet for the day, and it was just me taking pictures and him meticulously sweeping up little bits of paper, flower petals, and dirt. All very quiet and mindful.

Wat Si Saket

Si Saket is a beautiful wat, or Buddhist monastery, in Vientiane, Laos. It was constructed in 1818 on the orders of King Anouvong, and is probably the oldest temple in Vientiane. The terrace surrounding the temple is lined with over 300 Lao-styled Buddhas of varying age, size, and material (e.g. wood, stone, or bronze).

The terrace walls are riddled with small niches, containing several thousand gilded or ceramic Buddhas. [NOTE: The temple was (mostly) spared by the armies of Siam when they sacked Ventiane in 1827].