The Best of Cambodia & Laos

274
LUANG PRABANG LUANG PRABANG & NORTHERN LAOS
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visited on evildoers, adorn the entry and the side walls. There have been many reconstructions
over the years. The first one was in 1823. The wat was also destroyed by a
storm in 1900 and rebuilt once again. The octagonal pediment pillars and the verandas
on the northeast and southwest sides of the sim were added in 1952. The octagonal pillars
and gilded leaf capitals were added as recently as 1973.
Wat Long Khun Wat Long Khun with the rather uplifting meaning of the “Monastery
of the Happy Song” is also sometimes dubbed the “Monastery of the Willow
Stream.” It is pleasantly situated at the top of a long stairway leading from the river’s edge
on the far bank of the Mekong almost directly opposite Wat Xieng Thong.
The monastery had important links with royalty and it was tradition that each new
king would spend 3 days there in ceremonial bathing and meditative retreat before crossing
the river for the preenthronement ceremonies at Wat Xieng Thong. With the end of
royalty, Wat Long Khun was abandoned and fell into disrepair, as did the other temples
on the right bank of the Mekong. The Lao Department of Museums and Archaeology
and L’École Française d’Extrême Orient painstakingly restored the temples during the
mid-1990s using traditional materials and techniques.
The Luang Prabang style sim has two sections set on a low platform. The rear and
older half is the original sim and dates from the 18th century. It has some interesting
interior jataka murals depicting the various lives of the Buddha. Sadly many of them are
badly decayed by damp. At the front is an extended portico built during the reign of King
Sisavang Vong in 1937. On the facade of the sim are depicted two large, bearded Chinese
warriors on either side of the main entry. There some traditional wooden kutis (monks’
quarters) in the grounds and a long, narrow structure without windows that served as a
royal meditation room.
Wat Mahathat Wat Pha Mahathat or the “Monastery of the Stupa” was founded by
King Say Setthathirat in 1548. The king was actually ruling from the Lanna Kingdom of
North Thailand at that point. He also erected the imposing Lanna-style stupa, to the rear
of the sim. The northern Thai influence can be seen in the golden umbrellas on the top
of the stupa.
The staircase leading from Thanon Chao Fa Ngum Road with its silver colored sevenheaded
naga has echoes of the similar but much longer staircase at Doi Suthep in Chiang
Mai. The sim was rebuilt in 1910 by Chao Maha Oupahat Boun Kong to replace the one
that collapsed during a storm that struck during evening prayers in April 1900. Many
people died in this tragedy. The sim, built in Luang Prabang, was restored in 1963. There
are interesting relief murals in the portico at the front and decorations that depict the
legends of King Thao Sithoanh and the Nang Manola. Others portray the kinnari (divine
half-woman/half-bird renowned for its carefree kindness) and stories from the Ramayana.
Within the confines of the wat also are the ashes of the revered Prince Phetsarath (believed
by many to have had magically invincible powers as a half-deity), who declared Lao independence
after the Japanese surrender in 1945, and Prince Souvanna Phouma, his younger
half brother, who served as prime minister before the advent of the Pathet Lao.
Wat Mai Wat Mai Suwannaphumaham, or the “New Monastery” is actually
one of the oldest surviving monasteries in Luang Prabang. Like Wat Xieng Thong it was
spared the ravages of the Chinese Haw invaders of the 1880s. It is also is one of the biggest,
most beautiful, and most photographed of all the wats in the city. It is located right
on Sisavangvong Road where all the restaurants and Internet cafes can be found.