But not just any park, the Buddha Park near Vientiane. Built in the 1950s by Louang Pou as a representation of his religious and philosophical views and as a means to spread his message, the park today is a little bit tourist trap and a little bit impressive oddity. Perhaps it is the Lao equivalent of those dinosaur statues or used car sculptures that you find along rural highways in the U.S. The garden, situated on the Mekong across from Nong Khai, is actually beautiful on a sunny day and impressive considering it is entirely a result of the labors of one man. Besides the large reclining Buddha above and dozens of other statues, there is a giant, three-story orb with a concrete tree growing out of the top of it. You enter, as you can see below, through a mouth and inside there are statues representing hell, earth and heaven (according to the guide books--they just look like statues obscured by the darkness to us). Inside, there are dark rooms and hallways with occasional steep flights of stairs that eventually lead to the top which offers nice views of the entire park. I won't attempt to interpret the significance of the combination of Hindu and Buddhist images but we hope you enjoy the pictures. 
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