Vat Si Mueang and the Vientiane City Pillar Shrine

Just one full day in Vientiane was enough for us since we had already seen nearly everything in the sleepy little town. I've been to Vientiane twice, but never for longer than a weekend, and I have seen almost everything. Tomorrow we will be heading north to Vang Vieng, a stop on our way to Luang Prabang, the ancient royal capital.

We are making the most of our time in Vientiane, though.  After all, I really love the city, maybe even as much as I love Siem Reap (and if you've followed this blog for any amount of time, you'll know that I have really good feelings for that funky little Cambodian town).

After the requisite cup of Laotian coffee at one of the city's dozens of trendy cafes, we headed out to the one major site we had missed before: Vat Si Mueang and the City Pillar Shrine.

Vientiane City Pillar Shrine

City Pillar Shrine

Pretty much every city in Thailand and, I guess Laos too, has a City Pillar. A City Pillar, housed in an elaborate shrine, is considered to be the center and soul of the city. Steeped in Brahman, Buddhist, and animist traditions. Essentially a massive spirit house for the city, the City Pillar is the focal point for religious ceremony for a city or town.

Vientiane Shrine

The Vientiane City Pillar is located right  outside of Vat Si Mueang, an old royal temple in Laos. It's housed in a grand building of white and gold, and is one of the most impressive structures in the city. There's also a City Pillar museum, but it wasn't open yet when we arrived. Maybe next time.

City Pillar

elaborate golden shrine

Vat Si Mueang

The main site that we set out to visit that day, however, was Vat Si Mueang, a beautiful and impressive Buddhist temple located near the City Pillar.

gates of Vat Si Mueang

As soon as we entered the temple complex, a local woman greeted us, handing us waxy yellow candles and bundles of flowers to give to the Buddha statue as an offering.

Buddha statue with a naga serpant

The temple dates back to 1563, and was constructed by the medieval kingdom of Lan Xang, which means "The Land of a Million Elephants".

Vat Si Mueang

We entered the temple hall, where it was dry and comfortable. We had arrived quite early in the morning, and as we entered the temple complex, we had seen the monks sitting down for breakfast in one of the temple buildings. Monks must "beg" for food, and walk on barefooted alms rounds through the city very early in the morning. Local people will pray for good blessings, and will offer rice and other food to the monks in their metal "beggars bowls". After returning to the temples, the monks must share whatever they have been given.

interior of the temple hall

We saw an interesting sort of ritual taking place inside the temple. A local man was bowing and praying at a solid stone Buddha statue. After praying, he lifted it above his head three times. I asked Pinky what that was all about. She told me that there was a sort of fortune-telling ritual here. People will pray to the Buddha to ask a question. If they can lift the heavy statue three times, the answer is "yes". If they can't, the answer is "no".

making a wish

The first time, the man was unable to lift the statue. After praying again and presumably asking another question, he was able to lift the statue as easily as if it had been made of styrofoam...

thataway

mororbike and spirit house

Just out the back of the temple is a small sort of public park. It was a cool, drizzly morning, and there was almost nobody out except for a few novice monks sweeping the ground with brooms.

the temple buildings

Standing above the park is a statue of King Sisavang Vong (1904–59), one of the last kings of Laos. The Kingdom of Laos fell in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War. Today, Laos is a Communist country, like its neighbors China and Vietnam.

The current temple was built over the ruins of an ancient Khmer temple. Though most of the ancient Hindu temple have long crumbled away, a single stone chedi remains, surrounded by Buddha statues and wrapped in blessed cloth.

original stone chedi

Local people place broken or damaged Buddha statues and religious artifacts around the chedi. Supposedly, the holy power of the chedi can remove any bad karma caused by damaging a statue of the Buddha.

incense

Many of the Buddha statues surrounding the chedi were holding offerings of flowers or rice in their hands.

Buddha with offering of rice and flowers

Buddha statues

We didn't want to leave Vientiane and set out on our big adventure through northern Laos without getting a blessing! A monk tied a colorful string around my wrist while chanting a prayer of protection and good luck. After all, an extra blessing can't hurt!

receiving a blessing

temple murals