Wat Sisaket.
The Wat as seen from the Avenue.
Almost didn't go in.
So glad I did.
Stevie and Stig, Laos-style.
A Fijian Flame bush.
It was originally built to house The Emerald Buddha only was burned down in the 15th century by the Cambodians in their War of Buddha Retrieval, but rebuilt nearly a century later with the intention of creating a space for eight thousand Buddhas to make up for the one stolen from them.
"Nah nah nah! Cambodia.
We've got more than you!"
The Wat as seen from the Avenue. Almost didn't go in.
So glad I did.
Totally fell in love with the place. I think it was because of the faded colours.
How gorgeous is this!
And also the feeling of age attached to it.
And also because they had so many good things in there. Like ...
... the stupa of my dreams.
How gorgeous is this! And also the feeling of age attached to it.
And also because they had so many good things in there. Like ...
... the stupa of my dreams.Rayna, when I die, can you build me a stupa exactly like this one?
And they have absolutely the worst "Stevie and Stig" I have ever seen.
And they have absolutely the worst "Stevie and Stig" I have ever seen.
Stevie and Stig, Laos-style.Aren't they just sublime? You don't know about my "Stevie and Stig" passion, do you? I've been collecting photographs of guardian lions (which Hong Kong nicknames Stevie and Stig) for six years now, intending to one day write an essay about them. I have some genuinely fabulous ones and some genuinely awful ones ... but these two have to be simply the worst and so worth a double-click.
And here's something they have that really shocked me:
And here's something they have that really shocked me:
A Fijian Flame bush.Since this bush is endemic to Fiji, I couldn't understand what it was doing in here. Like, who bought it over to Laos? Who planted it at Wat Sisaket? It's obviously attached somehow to that guy in the photo because it's planted as part of his stupa complex, but that doesn't really explain anything, does it. I also saw a Fijian Flame bush in the Royal Palace grounds at Luang Prabang, so maybe it was a gift from Fiji to the royal family or something ... which is certainly a better gift than Australia's STICK!!! But even that doesn't explain what it's doing here!
But enough of that mystery. Let's talk about the Wat.
But enough of that mystery. Let's talk about the Wat.
Gorgeous, huh!
It was originally built to house The Emerald Buddha only was burned down in the 15th century by the Cambodians in their War of Buddha Retrieval, but rebuilt nearly a century later with the intention of creating a space for eight thousand Buddhas to make up for the one stolen from them.
"Nah nah nah! Cambodia. We've got more than you!"
In addition to those rows in front, each of those niches contains a statue of Buddha ...
You can make out
the Niche Buddhas in this one.
... and the pavilion runs all the way around the complex. I didn't count the number of Buddhas they have in here but it looks like it comes close to eight thousand.
Thailand also has a Wat that houses 1o thousand Buddhas that looks very much like this one, although this one is a lot older, so I guess Indo-China has a long history of one-upmanship and "Nah nah nah!" regarding their Wat building.
The Wat is full of the most amazing ancient frescoes that are so much nicer than the Pompey ones I saw with Margaret last year. (They are too incompetent artists, Margaret! You're just being "precious" thinking otherwise.) You aren't allowed to take photos inside the Wat itself, but these frescoes are very like this one that's in the lobby:
This gorgeous lady
wanted to pose for me
because she heard me ask a stranger
to pose next to a wall because
I loved the way the purple looked
against the terracotta,
and she's also wearing purple.
I actually wanted her to stand
with her back to me,
but she was German and
didn't understand.
However, I was very naughty and did snap one inside because ...
You can make outthe Niche Buddhas in this one.
... and the pavilion runs all the way around the complex. I didn't count the number of Buddhas they have in here but it looks like it comes close to eight thousand.
Thailand also has a Wat that houses 1o thousand Buddhas that looks very much like this one, although this one is a lot older, so I guess Indo-China has a long history of one-upmanship and "Nah nah nah!" regarding their Wat building.
The Wat is full of the most amazing ancient frescoes that are so much nicer than the Pompey ones I saw with Margaret last year. (They are too incompetent artists, Margaret! You're just being "precious" thinking otherwise.) You aren't allowed to take photos inside the Wat itself, but these frescoes are very like this one that's in the lobby:
This gorgeous ladywanted to pose for me
because she heard me ask a stranger
to pose next to a wall because
I loved the way the purple looked
against the terracotta,
and she's also wearing purple.
I actually wanted her to standwith her back to me,
but she was German and
didn't understand.
However, I was very naughty and did snap one inside because ...
The ceiling of Wat Sisaket. ... the ceiling is covered in roses. They say roses on the ceiling are part of the secret world of the Da Vinci Code and I'm sure these Laotian folk have never even heard of Da Vinci, let alone Jesus and Mary Madelaine and their very great secret, and yet they still have roses on their ceiling ...
... although maybe it has something to do with Angkor Wat in Siem Reap where, according to legend, bearded white men with red crosses on their white vests built them their rose-covered ceiling ... and this is just another case of "Nah, nah, nah, Cambodia! We have one too!"
And let's end this quick tour with yet another photo of My Dream Stupa!
The little one in the front. Please, please, please, Rayna!
May I have one!
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