Three (four?) headed mustache man. He sees everything!
Women with long hair. Really, really long hair.
Standing guard. Or, just standing and looking adorable.
"I brought a club." "I brought a hoe, let's get this rumble started."
Follow our adventures as we share our thoughts, impressions and awe at what could be called: Foreign Service's Wide World of Talalay.
Three (four?) headed mustache man. He sees everything!
Women with long hair. Really, really long hair.
Standing guard. Or, just standing and looking adorable.
"I brought a club." "I brought a hoe, let's get this rumble started."
Built in the 16th century, kept up like it's a shiny, new toy. The place is more crowded than most other wats in town as it's thought a pop in and a prayer brings good luck.
Don't be afraid of busy decoration. Go red, go carved, go scenes, go all in.
Rubbing for some luck. The mystery Buddha. Back outside, brightly painted planter in a drab world.
Hello happy elephant.
The main temple, white, orange and airy. Friendly? Sure, just steer clear of the big gaggle of hissing dragons.
Ahh, animals. How about a golden deer and a silver horse?
The big building. Imposing.
Old important rocks, vases, stuff from A Long Time Ago. A painting depicting bloody history. Looks like red is winning and they have a really, really big elephant to help them.
War, idealized with a golden, cubist style soldier statue and the grim reality of endless bombs and landmines.
A typical section of the small tombs, each unique.
A couple of family examples, worn to the point of unrecognizable and newer with portrait tile.
Two more tombs, framed in gold.
The temple to shopping.
Inside, stall after stall over several floors, selling clothes, housewares, textiles, everything a local Lao might need.
The bling is drained when the shops are closed. Open, bling spilling from shelves.
A lineup of Buddha statues. Monkey man deity, paying homage to yet another Buddha statue.
High relief wall carving. Extreme yoga? Buddha is too chill to do that type of twisting. Let him continue reclining.