January 16, 2011

071209 Wat Had Siaw 2 - viharn exterior

An interruption to normal programming - a 'special feature' series of posts on Wat Had Siaw in Chomphet district of Luang Prabang. Please see part 1 of this series for background info on this place & the reason for this 'special feature'.



The humble little viharn of Wat Had Siaw:

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Just as the cat arrived, novice monks were scurrying around to locate their stock of fuel for the boat & to get dressed in full robes - the abbot (& the novice monks accompanying him) had to climb down to the riverbank & cross the Mekong to attend some meeting/event. & so the cat had the entire place to itself - & no one to ask about the history of the temple...although the oldest monk present said something about a path to a 'Phou something' before he hurried off with the rest.

Is there any kind of art to be found in this temple?

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The walls of the viharn had large cracks running across & all the way through, such that one could peep through them into the interior:

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Anatomy of a temple pillar:

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Front view of viharn:

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How long more before it crumbles to bits? Such is impermanance.

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