Everyday we drive past this temple and admire it from the street, but only recently did we venture inside the gate and join the hordes of, mostly Thai, tourists. The Haw Phra Keo temple was originally built in 1565 to house the Emerald Buddha and was used for worship for the royalty of the ancient Lao kingdom. Some of you may know that the Emerald Buddha can now be found in Bangkok. The reason the Buddha is now in Bangkok is that the Thais removed the Buddha in 1779. If that wasn't enough, the Thais came back to Vientiane in 1827 and destroyed most of the city. The French and Lao cooperated to rebuild the temple in the 1930s and today it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Vientiane and home to a small collection of Buddhist artifacts. While visiting we debated which temple we liked better, this one or Wat Sisaket, which was described in an earlier posting. The decision is split though driving by Haw Phra Keo at night is one of the most beautiful sights in Vientiane. We won't bore you with the Buddhist iconography--just enjoy the photos.
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