280707 + 021209 Wat Nongbone - 05 misc

The place where cremations were held, as mentioned here:


Photo by K-san

The coconuts must be good, for 'rungs' to be nailed on the trunk for easy access?

A peaceful respite in central Vientiane - this section has the feel of a 'wat pa' (forest temple):



Remains of a stupa?



Perimeter wall:

280707 + 021209 Wat Nongbone - 04 Pha Lak Pha Lam

Paintings on two of the buildings at the back of the temple compound:



Green monkey flanked by two mermaids:




In front of the other stairs:



With discus & trident in hand, against a backdrop of what looks like the top half of the Singapore flag, albeit missing one star:



Lao meow in Lao wat:

021209 Wat Nongbone - 03 new sim

Not sure if this is a new building or the complete makeover of an old one. For some reason it faces the perimeter wall (towards Pha That Luang) - away from all other buildings in the temple - & with just a few metres between its front entrance & the wall. In July 2007 it was all bare concrete, in December 2009 some progress had been made:




Emaciated Buddha on the rear gable:



At one point during his search for Enlightenment, he ate only one grain of rice (in some accounts, a leaf or a nut) a day, thinking that he could put an end to desire by fasting...only to realise that desire cannot be ended by extreme asceticism.



Main door - before (280707):



Main door - after (021209):



The dashes of white paint on the left pillar haven't changed one bit :P

An aura of whitewash:



Windows so new, the panels still clad in shrinkwrap:





Detail of window/door frames - face in the center might be a kala (kirtimukha), a demon that has no lower jaw & body because it was told by Lord Shiva to eat itself up:



What might be the head of a ramad with horn that looks more like an elephant's trunk?

280707 Wat Nongbone - 02 pavilion + drum tower

Pavilion:





Monks' quarters:




Temples in Vientiane & Huay Xai have huge multi-storey drum towers, unlike the small little single-storey ones in the temples of Luang Prabang:


Photo by K-san

It was 4:00PM:


Photo by K-san

While hunting for the sim (main chapel) we found these bits & pieces lying around & signs of construction work in progress:

Saysouly Guesthouse

Compared to elsewhere in Laos + Thailand, Vientiane isn't replete with good clean accommodation options within the cat's budget. Stayed here more for the convenience - central but relatively quiet location + space for meeting with Lao friends + familiarity with staff + used to be one of the few (if not only) cheap places that could be booked online. Reviews on Travelfish here.

July 2007:



October 2008:



Main/older building pictured above. Hidden on the right is the newer building. Secure + sheltered parking for bikes in the space just inside the left entrance that gets shuttered up at night. Night shift guy sleeps in the lobby just inside the middle/main entrance.

August 2007:



July 2007 - non-ensuite twin (old building 2F):



Because the room we had in mind wasn't available for the first night - the previous guests had decided to stay on for another day. The parquet flooring might interest those who love jigsaw puzzles - no lack of loose pieces & gaps to play around with ;) The AC must have worked when the cat was still a kitten :P

August 2007 - ensuite twin (new building 2F):



What someone on Thorntree had recommended as the best of all rooms in this place.

October 2008 - non-ensuite double (old building 3F):



November 2009 - non-ensuite double (old building 2F):



Again, because the room the cat had in mind wasn't available for the first night. The AC unit is purely for security reasons - to plug that large rectangular hole in the wall. One of the 2 shared bathrooms on this floor was pretty bad - the cat has stayed in more basic guesthouses in rural Laos with cleaner bathrooms.

071209 Wat Had Siaw 6 - meditation corridor

An interruption to normal programming - a 'special feature' series of posts on Wat Had Siaw in Chomphet district of Luang Prabang. Please see part 1 of this series for background info on this place & the reason for this 'special feature'.

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Facing the viharn is the long narrow building for the practice of walking meditation:



Apparently only 4 temples in Luang Prabang have such a structure, & 3 of them are on this side of the Mekong (the other two being Wat Long Khoun & Wat Khok Phab). The cat has yet to come across any mention of similar structures in temples elsewhere - do they now exist only in Luang Prabang?

Like the viharn, this structure is also crumbling - parts of the roof are gone:




Instead of windows, it has only small openings along its length for ventilation, & a single door in the middle:



The floor of the interior was littered with bits & pieces of the roof & plaster that had cracked off the walls:



The wall facing the viharn is keeling over: