Wat Xieng Thong, Luang Prabang (Laos)

March 08, 2021

Wat Xieng Thong, Luang Prabang (Laos)

From my diary (May 2010)

After a short visit to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, I’ve taken a long-distance coach to reach Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It takes its name from the Prabang Buddha – which translates as the ‘Delicate Buddha’ – venerated as the kingdom’s palladium. The Prabang Buddha is said to have been created in Ceylon, and to have resided in the Realm of Angkor for a considerable amount of time, before being presented to Fa Ngum who first unified the Lao people in the mid-14^th century. During his reign, Theravada Buddhism of the Sinhalese school was introduced to Laos.

Nine hours on the winding roads of Northern Laos through small villages with their stilted wooden huts, and stunning mountains covered in green, before I am finally in this delightful little town with a strong French feeling. Luang Prabang’s oldest part was built on a small ‘peninsula’ wedged between the mighty Mekong River on the one side, and the Nam Khan, one of its tributaries, on the other. And, on the bank opposite the Mekong, just forests and mountains. In the town’s historical centre is a steep wooded hill called Phu Si, whose summit affords an enchanting view of the town and its green surroundings. Old Luang Prabang is made up of three long parallel streets (one in the centre, and the other two along the Mekong and the Nam Khan respectively) intersected by a few side streets, many of them tree-lined. Along these streets one finds graceful two-storied French colonial buildings, most of which have now been turned into hotels, coffee shops, restaurants and shops. Tucked among these buildings are small Lao wooden houses and Buddhist temples. Among the latter, the one that is considered the most exquisite and a classic of Luang Prabang’s religious architecture, is Wat Xieng Thong, located on the extreme tip of the ‘peninsula’...