We love discovering unique, quirky places on our travels and Asia is full of them, often creative interpretations of Buddhism like the extravagant White Temple in Chiang Rai, Thailand and the playful Otagi Nenbutsuji in Kyoto, Japan. On a recent visa run from Chiang Mai to Lao’s capital city Vientiane we discovered another weird and wonderful place.
The Buddha Park or Xieng Khuan is a sculpture park 25km from Vientiane in a meadow next to the Mekong River. It isn’t a temple but it does contain over 200 Buddhist and Hindu statues created in 1958 by monk Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat who studied both religions.
The weathered concrete sculptures scattered throughout the park seem older than they are and include many Buddhas and characters from Hindu mythology, as well as animals, humans and demons. Most are larger than life and carved with intricate and often bizarre details.
The focal point of the Buddha Park is a pumpkin-like structure that you can enter through a demon’s mouth and climb up the three stories that represent heaven, earth and hell. From the top there are views over the entire park.