BUDDHA PARK (A CONCRETE CELEBRATION)
Reclining Buddha in Buddha Park near Vientiane
What a weird place!!
I stepped out of the cab and a wave of heat with 100% humidity with the usual wallop. (Note to self, do that sort of sightseeing at 08:00 in the morning, NOT mid-afternoon…)
No wonder I was alone. I had left Vientiane for the suburbs after checking the usual array of pagodas and sights to see around the sleepy (and very cool) little capital of Laos. I just wanted to see what else was around and I remembered seeing a short BBC clip on this remote park called Xieng Khuan. This sculpture park is roughly 25 km outside of town and is operated by the socialist government as a tourist attraction and public park. I read somewhere there was over 200 religious statues made of cement and I must admit I did not count them.
The park had been created by a monk in 1958 and slowly added over the years. When the Pathet Lao took over during the revolution, the monk worried about his park and how the communist government would react to his religious collection of gods and he fled, across the Mekong, to Thailand where… he re-created the same park!!! This monk definitely had a vision. Both statue parks are literally only a few kilometers apart across the border of Laos and Thailand.
Walking around was surreal surrounded by concrete sculptures of humans, gods, animals, demons, you name it. Shiva with her eight arms full of weapons, Vishnu, Buddha, they are all there mixed in with characters of Hindhu ancient stories. Among these ferro-concrete sculptures are skeleton thin Buddhas, a giant pumpkin that includes a demon head as an entrance and three floors representing Heaven, Hell and Earth and let’s not forget a standard gigantic 40 meter long reclining Buddha. Sadly, the place is about to fall into ruins because of floods from the nearby Mekong River and a general lack of care. What I thought when I got back in the car was how this whole place would look very cool in 20-30 years when all forgotten and vegetation growing all over, like a forgotten movie set in ruins.
LITTLE KNOWN FACT:
Laos only has 7 million population (give or take) and is the least densely populated country in Asia.
BEST MONTH TO VISIT:
November
Longitude 80 offers a Lao experience across Laos, the Forgotten Land that includes stops in Vientiane, Luang Prabang and a private cruise on the Mekong. And yes, your guide can take you to visit Buddha Park. Contact us if you would like to plan your adventure for 2022 or 2023!
