Vientiane Images Gallery (16 images)
Monks in saffron robes and flip-flops stroll through the streets at dawn collecting alms. Children play marbles and hopscotch on the sidewalk of the city's main drag, as a chicken pecks at the roadside by a basket of mangoes. Welcome to Vientiane - Asia's quietest capital. The Mekong River slowly meanders past the city, setting the pace for the town. Laotians move along at a similar tempo and visitors are soon lulled into the city's rhythm, a rare treat for those who crave a slower,...
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Vientiane Strolling Monks
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Mekong Sunsest and Fishermen
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Tuk Tuk at Sunset
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Vientiane Morning Market
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Wat Pha That Luang,
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Wat Impeng Mural
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Wat Si Saket Buddhas
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Mekong Riverside Art
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Vientiane Morning Market
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Patuxai Arch
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![Phra Rahu Eats the Moon and Sun at Xieng Khuan, "Buddha Park". Xieng Khuan or ?Spirit City? is a monument to one man?s eccentric and bizarre collection of massive ferro-concrete sculptures dotted around a riverside meadow. Although the reclining Buddha and edifice resembling a pumpkin there are statues of every conceivable deity in the Buddhist/Hindu pantheon. Xieng Khuan was designed and built in 1958 by Louang Pou Bunleua Sulilat a self style holy man who took Hinduism and Buddhism and merged them into his own iconography. After the revolution in 1975, he fled from Laos to Thailand where he built another sculpture park, Sala Keoku in Nong Khai.[1][5] He fled because his anti-Communist beliefs conflicted with the views of the Pathet Lao.](http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I00004LsMVmd0Chg/t/200/I00004LsMVmd0Chg.jpg)
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Phra Rahu Eats the Moon and Sun
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Chedi and Cart
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Papaya Vendor on the Mekong
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Vientiane Morning Market Produce
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![One of the quirkiest, yet most interesting attractions in Vientiane would have to be Xieng Khuan, commonly called "Buddha Park". Xieng Khuan or ?Spirit City? is just as much a monument to one man?s eccentric and bizarre ambition as it is an impressive collection of massive ferro-concrete sculptures dotted around a riverside meadow. Although the brontosaurian reclining Buddha and strange edifice resembling a pumpkin - there are statues of every conceivable deity in the Buddhist/Hindu pantheon. Even if you are not up on your Buddhist/Hindu deities you will enjoy strolling around some of the more fantastic shapes. Xieng Khuan was designed and built in 1958 by Louang Pou Bunleua Sulilat a self style holy man who took Hinduism and Buddhism and merged them into his own iconography. After the revolution in 1975, he fled from Laos to Thailand where he built another sculpture park, Sala Keoku in Nong Khai.[1][5] He fled because his anti-Communist beliefs conflicted with the views of the Pathet Lao.](http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I00007BHtwx2Wyf8/t/200/I00007BHtwx2Wyf8.jpg)
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Xieng Khuan Buddha Park
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Naga at Wat Pha That Luang