Vientiane

Wat Si Saket — Vientiane’s oldest surviving temple

Built in 1818 by Chao Anou, Wat Si Saket on the corner of Lane Xang Avenue and Setthathirat Road (across the street from Haw Pha Kaew) is Vientiane’s oldest surviving temples and next to That Louang and Haw Pha Kaew, one of the city’s most important Buddhist sites.

According to tradition, this was where the Lao lords and nobles came to swear allegiance to the King. When the Siamese sacked Vientiane in 1828, they spared this temple, perhaps because it is built in a style similar to Thai temples

On the interior walls of the cloister are over two thousand small niches, each of which houses a small Buddha image. Over 300 seated and standing Buddhas of varying sizes and materials (terracotta, wood, plaster, silver, gold and bronze) rest on long shelves below the niches, most of them sculpted or cast in the characteristic Lao style.

Last time we were here in 1968, this gate was in the middle of a dusty road

We had a nice long chat with this interesting gentleman

blowing bubbles into the setting sun on the Mekong

a fisherman is reflected in the sunset with his boat