December 4th: the bizarre statues of Xiengkuane Buddha Park, from 3 Days in Vientiane

(This is an excerpt from my revamped book, 3 Days in Vientiane. More on that in a minute.)

Xiengkuane Buddha Park Thadeua road, Vientiane (GPS: 17.912633,102.764289)

Admission: 5,000 kip (add 3,000 kip for a ‘photography fee’ and 3,000 kip if parking a motorcycle). Open 8:00am to 6:00pm. This bizarre site was erected in 1958 by Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat, a priest / shaman who aimed to integrate Hinduism and Buddhism into a single religion. After the revolution in 1975 forced the king to...