Today was forecast to be 36C ; acknowledged as unusually hot for this time of year. We decided to breakfast at the hotel and then set off early for the two temples that we rated to be our last such visits. The first, Wat Si Muang houses the city pillar which was placed here by King Setthathirat in 1563 when he moved the Capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane. Today the temple is a favourite with locals who go to obtain blessings from the monks. We were told Saturday could be very busy but found it very relaxed and interesting. I will attach photos separately.
From there we took a tuk tuk actross to the Great Stupa which is a monument to Buddha rather than a temple. It is surrounded by a cloister in which ancient artifacts are displayed and we could stroll in shaded comfort. As usual we learnt a bit more about styles of Buddha as there were some 17th C bronze statues which had survived intact from various destructive invasions. The most damaging one was by the Siamese in 1828 and perhaps explains the some of the tension with Thailand today. At both these sites there is evidence of Khmer construction as far back as the 12th C. The Stupa is impressive in it's own right at 45 metres high , renovated in 2018 and coated in gold paint.
We tuk tuked to a nearby shopping centre which offered mostly garments for locals or tourist items from the Hill Tribes area. We didn't do any buying because we will be going closer to the Hill Tribes areas at Luang Prabang. It did have a good food hall and we had traditional style chicken and noodle soup which was delicious.
This afternoon was pretty relaxed with some local domestic shopping. We are just now researching ideas for tomorrow. So more to follow. Photos to follow.
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