Hanuman, Buddha Park
Our final excursion in Laos took us to one of its most unusual sites, an exotically bizarre sculpture park some distance to the east of Vientiane (25km, for us a good 45 minute ride by tuk-tuk). The site is located just east of Thadeua village on the north bank of the Mekong River, which here also serves as the international boundary separating Laos from Thailand (the Thai bank of the Mekong can be glimpsed from the southern end of the Park).
Generally known simply as 'Buddha Park' or Xieng Khuan to the locals, this astonishing site was the brainchild of Bunleua Sulilat, a spiritual guru whose beliefs fused elements of Buddhism and Hinduism which is very much reflected in the park's iconography, with images of the Buddha (including an extremely large reclining statue 130ft long) alongside figures from the Hindu Pantheon, all rendered as cement sculptures.
Sulilat and his team of followers began work in the park in 1958 and work continued for many years until the 1975 revolution in Laos saw the communist takeover and subsequent anti-religious views within the new authorities. Sulllat abandoned his park and fled to neighbouring Thailand where he resettled and began anew on a second sculpture park only a few kilometres away over the border. The Lao park has since been preserved and managed by the government as a tourist attraction.
Wandering amongst the statues is an unforgettable, if rather eerie experience. It was early evening by the time we arrived and the light had started to fade, thus all kinds of huge and strange figures were emerging from trees and shadows all around us. The concrete statues have become somewhat mottled and blackened over the intervening years which gives them a more ancient look. The imagery is quite literally a fantastic mix, human figures of various sizes abound with occasional animals too (along with Hindu deites who combine elements of both). The largest sculptures are of course the reclining Buddha and a towering sentinel-like figure carrying a prone maiden (probably one of the giant or 'Yaksha' figures from the Ramakien).
Strangest of all is the first monumental sculpture encountered by the Park's entrance gate, a massive rounded structure that looks like an enormous pumpkin crowned by a tree-like form. This edifice contains three layers representing Hell, Earth and Heaven which can be ascended from within, though one has first to enter through the mouth of a terrifying screaming demonic face. Within it are a multitude of smaller statues and tableaux, but it is so dark inside that only eerie shadowy forms can be discerned without the aid of a torch; we were thus compelled not to linger in this uncomfortable gloom (watched by numerous dark figures impossible to make out) but instead headed up to the roof from where a sweeping view over the Park and its sculptures can be enjoyed.
Buddha Park is something really quite special and well worth the extra effort of getting out of the city to see it. There's really nothing quite like it (apart from its successor park over the river / border which we didn't have the opportunity to visit).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha_Park
For a fuller account of Buddha Park see the link below.
www.rainforestcruises.com/guides/buddha-park-laos
Hanuman, Buddha Park
Our final excursion in Laos took us to one of its most unusual sites, an exotically bizarre sculpture park some distance to the east of Vientiane (25km, for us a good 45 minute ride by tuk-tuk). The site is located just east of Thadeua village on the north bank of the Mekong River, which here also serves as the international boundary separating Laos from Thailand (the Thai bank of the Mekong can be glimpsed from the southern end of the Park).
Generally known simply as 'Buddha Park' or Xieng Khuan to the locals, this astonishing site was the brainchild of Bunleua Sulilat, a spiritual guru whose beliefs fused elements of Buddhism and Hinduism which is very much reflected in the park's iconography, with images of the Buddha (including an extremely large reclining statue 130ft long) alongside figures from the Hindu Pantheon, all rendered as cement sculptures.
Sulilat and his team of followers began work in the park in 1958 and work continued for many years until the 1975 revolution in Laos saw the communist takeover and subsequent anti-religious views within the new authorities. Sulllat abandoned his park and fled to neighbouring Thailand where he resettled and began anew on a second sculpture park only a few kilometres away over the border. The Lao park has since been preserved and managed by the government as a tourist attraction.
Wandering amongst the statues is an unforgettable, if rather eerie experience. It was early evening by the time we arrived and the light had started to fade, thus all kinds of huge and strange figures were emerging from trees and shadows all around us. The concrete statues have become somewhat mottled and blackened over the intervening years which gives them a more ancient look. The imagery is quite literally a fantastic mix, human figures of various sizes abound with occasional animals too (along with Hindu deites who combine elements of both). The largest sculptures are of course the reclining Buddha and a towering sentinel-like figure carrying a prone maiden (probably one of the giant or 'Yaksha' figures from the Ramakien).
Strangest of all is the first monumental sculpture encountered by the Park's entrance gate, a massive rounded structure that looks like an enormous pumpkin crowned by a tree-like form. This edifice contains three layers representing Hell, Earth and Heaven which can be ascended from within, though one has first to enter through the mouth of a terrifying screaming demonic face. Within it are a multitude of smaller statues and tableaux, but it is so dark inside that only eerie shadowy forms can be discerned without the aid of a torch; we were thus compelled not to linger in this uncomfortable gloom (watched by numerous dark figures impossible to make out) but instead headed up to the roof from where a sweeping view over the Park and its sculptures can be enjoyed.
Buddha Park is something really quite special and well worth the extra effort of getting out of the city to see it. There's really nothing quite like it (apart from its successor park over the river / border which we didn't have the opportunity to visit).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha_Park
For a fuller account of Buddha Park see the link below.
www.rainforestcruises.com/guides/buddha-park-laos