In the morning, I taverns to find the statues and did find them as well as the many temples.
The Chao Fa Ngum statue. The statue is flanked with a small army of 3 elephants. King Fa Ngum established the Kingdom of Lane Xang Kingdom of a million elephants) in 1354. According to the legend King Fa Ngum was the last son of Chao Fa Ngiew and was born with 33 teeth in 1316. For this reason (others have been suggested), the prince was banished at age 7 and rafted downstream the Mekong River to the Khmer Kingdom of Angkor where he grew up and married a Khmer princess of the Cambodian king who took him in. In 1350-1353, with the support of Khmer Kingdom of Angkor, Fa Ngum returned to Xieng Thong to assemble an army and unified small villages to establish the Lane Xang Kingdom. He reigned as King until 1372. When he overtook Vientiane, it had an impenetrable bamboo fence. He had archers shoot gold into the fence then spread a rumor of the gold. Villagers and soldiers took it apart for him.
King Sisavangvong
King Sisavang Vong (1885-1959) was a King of the Luang Prabang Kingdom and then of Laos after his father’s death. He was a supporter of the France after having studied there. His Palace is now the provincial museum in luang prabang). In cooperation with the French, he incorporated the small city states along the Mekong River into his rule. In World War II, communists and nationalists seized power in Laos and he was deposed. When the French returned in 1946 he was reinstated as King of Laos.
That Dam stupa.
That Dam is a huge stupa. Many Laotians believe it is inhabited by a seven-headed nāga who tried to protect them from an invasion by the Siamese army in 1827. It is really old.
Throughout my travels I can’t across another cat Cafe. Unable to resist, I stopped to see the kitties. They have a second floor cat house where they watch kitties for those traveling. They do have a one drink and one plate rule to see the kitties. I had a wonderful almond croissant.
A purrfect (sorry) way to cool off. It is hot here and it is winter.
The arch that mimics the arc d’triomphe in France.
Inside the arch in the ceiling.
We find a great Laos restaurant called Kualao. They had traditional Lao music, performances, and food. I had a wonderful green curry which is lighter sauce than an Indian curry with purple sticky rice.
On the way back we saw Chinese performers going to perform for Chinese new year.
The lion dance. The performers are so much fun.