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Buddha Park

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travlinroch
travlinroch
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Editor Pick

Xiang Khouan (Buddha Park)

  • August 8, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by SeenThat from Tel Aviv, Israel
The Buddha Park in Vientiane provides an unusual opportunity for seeing the deep cultural connections between the people living on both sides of the Mekong River despite the huge – wider than the river – political gap.

Reaching the Park

The BuddhaPark is on the Mekong River shore, 25km south from downtown Vientiane and roughly in front of the Thai town of Nong Khai. It is possible to reach the park with bus #14 from Vientiane's main bus terminal in front of the Morning Market or with a tuk-tuk from the Morning Market to Thadua. From there take another tuk-tuk or walk for some twenty minutes until the park is reached.

Timing

The park is open daily between 8am and 6pm; the entrance costs 2000 kip.

Luang Po Boun Leua Sourirat

The park was created in the 1950s by a monk called Luang Po Boun Leua Sourirat, who was the disciple of a cave-dwelling Vietnamese Hindu hermit. After returning to Laos, he began constructing sculptures in a garden on a Mekong riverside meadow. Following the Laotian Communist Revolution, the monk was forced to flee to Thailand, where he created a parallel garden across the river, in nearby Nong Khai. The temple across the river was built from 1978, and the monk died there in 1996.

The Sculptures

The sculptures garden is an open book showing its creator’s philosophy of life. It displays a sculptured interpretation of a mixture between Buddhist and Hindu philosophies. The park is dominated by a single reclining Buddha of monstrous dimensions, which is surrounded by a myriad of smaller items. It is useful to bring a book with illustrations of the Hindu-Buddhist pantheon; in such a way the recognition task would be easier. The grayish, heavy ferro-concrete sculptures have very little artistic or aesthetic value but provide a fascinating view into the local culture.

Sala Kaeo Ku or Wat Khaek

Across the river, Sala Kaeo Ku, is a more elaborated version of the Buddha Park. Slightly east from Nong Khai, it is a pleasant walk from the city center to the temple; tuk-tuks span the four kilometers in a few minutes. See the relevant entry in my Touch Point journal for further details. The split park strongly symbolizes the cultural links between these two related people.

Hindu Wheel of Life

The most interesting and complex sculpture is the one representing the Hindu Wheel of Life; however, getting explanation in situ is almost impossible thus studying the topic or bringing a small textbook to the park is recommended.

From journal Vientiane: Bits and Bites

Buddha Park

  • November 19, 2005
  • Rated 5 of 5 by travlinroch from San Diego, California
Buddha Park

What an amazing photo opportunity one has at Buddha Park. Thought we would be going for a quick one-hour stop... but noooo... we spent hours (and many rolls of film) wandering this tiny wonder.

From journal Laos

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