The Buddha park, an hour on the public bus from Vientiane, was designed and built in 1958 by a yogi/priest/shaman who merged Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, mythology and iconography to form a collection of concrete statues in the middle of no where. When I visit it is pouring with rain and I get my photos inbetween showers, spending most of the time sheltering in a huge concrete pumpkin with a mouth. I get the impression that this artist was a bit mad.
Other than the brief explanation given at the entrance to the park which I have paraphrased above, I'm not really sure what the point of the park is, other than None of the staues have informative signs, but I suppose that most of the visitors are Hindu or Buddhist and can recognise them and know their stories, whilst I recognise only a few of the obvious ones (the Buddha mostly).
Most visitors are tourists of Asian descent, taking pictures of each other next to the huge statues through their IPads. There are also a few monks, quietly wandering around with umbrellas (which they always carry, whether its raining or sunny).
Other than the brief explanation given at the entrance to the park which I have paraphrased above, I'm not really sure what the point of the park is, other than None of the staues have informative signs, but I suppose that most of the visitors are Hindu or Buddhist and can recognise them and know their stories, whilst I recognise only a few of the obvious ones (the Buddha mostly).
Most visitors are tourists of Asian descent, taking pictures of each other next to the huge statues through their IPads. There are also a few monks, quietly wandering around with umbrellas (which they always carry, whether its raining or sunny).
Thank you (and Charlotte) for all these photos of you! All those statues looks amazing. Shame about the rain! Love Murv
ReplyDeleteCharlotte wasn't there, I was with people I met in Vientiane. Still raining, I went tubing today and the river is over the banks xx
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