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272<br />
LUANG PRABANG LUANG PRABANG & NORTHERN LAOS<br />
13<br />
made by the local artisan Thit Tanh. Covering the walls are murals depicting traditional<br />
Lao scenes, painted by French artist Alex de Fauntereau in 1930. <strong>The</strong>se were placed so<br />
that at the right time <strong>of</strong> day natural light falls on a corresponding depiction <strong>of</strong> the same<br />
time <strong>of</strong> day in the painting highlighted.<br />
In the right front corner room <strong>of</strong> the Palace (you access it from the outside entrance)<br />
are many <strong>of</strong> the museum’s top attractions including a replica <strong>of</strong> a golden standing Buddha<br />
that was a gift to King Fa Ngum from Khmer king Phaya Sirichantha in 1359. This<br />
is the Phra Bang from which the town takes its name. It translates as “holy image” and<br />
the original was cast in Sri Lanka in the 1st century a.d. Twice the Siamese stole the<br />
Buddha image—once in 1779 and again in 1827. King Mongkut returned it in 1867.<br />
This room also has on display another Buddha image engraved with large elephant tusks<br />
and three embroidered silk screens made by the queen herself.<br />
To the left <strong>of</strong> the entrance hall, the secretary’s reception room is filled with a variety<br />
<strong>of</strong> paintings, china, and silver presented to <strong>Laos</strong> as diplomatic presents from countries<br />
the world over. <strong>The</strong>se objects are, quite bizarrely, grouped by their origin—either capitalist<br />
or socialist.<br />
What was the queen’s reception room is next on the left. <strong>The</strong>re are huge royal portraits<br />
<strong>of</strong> King Savang Vatthana, Queen Khamphoui, and Crown Prince Vong. <strong>The</strong>y were<br />
painted by the Russian artist Ilya Glazunov in 1967.<br />
<strong>The</strong> central throne room is decorated with colorful glass mosaics dating from a renovation<br />
in the 1930s. After the throne rooms is a compound <strong>of</strong> not very lavish bedrooms<br />
containing what little finery was left after the last king was evicted in 1975. <strong>The</strong> bedrooms<br />
have been preserved as they were in 1975 when the king departed. <strong>The</strong>re is a<br />
dining hall and a room that contain royal seals and medals. <strong>The</strong>re is a wedding cake–like<br />
temple at the compound entrance and a large, obviously Soviet-made, statue <strong>of</strong> Sisavang<br />
Vong, the first king under the Lao constitution.<br />
Sisavangvong Rd. Admission 30,000 kip. Daily 8–11am and 1:30–4pm. Informal dress is not allowed. You<br />
cannot wear skimpy shorts or have your shoulders exposed.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre (TAEC) This museum is a<br />
fantastic place to learn about the various ethnic minorities <strong>of</strong> <strong>Laos</strong>. <strong>The</strong> modest-size<br />
center is housed in the 1920s former residence <strong>of</strong> a French colonial judge. Staff is<br />
extremely friendly and can answer any questions you have. <strong>The</strong> handful <strong>of</strong> exhibits are<br />
well curated, displaying traditional clothing, weaving looms, and household wares.<br />
Accompanying explanations are in Lao and English. Entry fees and donations go directly<br />
toward running TAEC and promoting cultural diversity and preservation. <strong>The</strong>re’s a<br />
small shop in the back selling textiles and housewares purchased directly from artisan<br />
communities.<br />
Photisarath Rd. & 071/253-364. www.taeclaos.org. Admission 20,000 kip. Tues–Sun 9am–6pm.<br />
Wat Aham This is the “Monastery <strong>of</strong> the Opened Heart” (Le Monastère du Coeur<br />
épanoui) and stands between Wat Wisunarat and the Nam Khan River. It has a somewhat<br />
contentious past as it served as a mediating, or perhaps meeting, ground between<br />
the animist religion <strong>of</strong> spirit guardians and <strong>The</strong>ravada Buddhism. Stylized stucco tigers<br />
guard the front entry steps, and statues <strong>of</strong> temple guardians Ravana and Hanuman (central<br />
figures <strong>of</strong> the Indian Ramayana epic and its Laotian counterpart, the Phalak Phalam)<br />
stand at the southern and eastern corners <strong>of</strong> the frontal porch. <strong>The</strong>re are a number <strong>of</strong><br />
stupas in the grounds as well as two large and quite large bodhi (banyan or Bo), trees