Wat Thad Luang Temple Vientiane

Wat Thad Luang or Pha Thad Luang is the largest temple in Laos, this huge golden pagoda is located in Thad Luang road only 4km away from the old town center.

It is one of the most important religious structures and also the most recognizable landmark of Laos.
Wat Thad Luang was built in 1566 after King Setthathirath had made Vientiane the new capital of the Lan Xang Kingdom. In 1827 most of the city of Vientiane was destroyed and looted by Siamese army during the invasion, many temples and monuments were destroyed, and Pha Thad Luang was left heavily damaged and eventually left abandoned until it was rebuilt in the 1930's by the French to its original design during the colonial.
The best way to get here is by walking for 30-40 minutes, by bicycle and motorbike. And of course you can hire taxi.
The temple opens everyday from 8:00am-12:00pm and from 1:00pm-4:00pm.
Please avoiding lunch break hour from 12:00pm-1:00pm.
The fee is 30,000 Kip or about $2:50 for foreigner.
And 5,000 Kip or $0.40 for Lao citizen.


Dharani, the Goddess of earth in Buddhist Mythology.
According to the legend, right after the Buddha achieved enlightenment, and while he was sitting quietly under the Bodhi tree when this demon called"Mara" or the God of death appear from the darkness and claimed that the seat of the enlightenment is rightfully belongs to him, and demanding the Buddha to move.

The Buddha calmly reminding Mara that the seat is his and that he won't be moving, telling the Mara that he has achieved the enlightenment.
Hearing that Mara was even more angry and so he challenge the Buddha "Who will speak for you?
The Buddha touches his index finger into the earth and appears this Dharani the goddess who claimed to be the Buddha's witness, who she speaks up against the demon on behalf.
She then squeeze her hair and with the water from her hair is powerful enough to wash away all the demon and his troop.

This Mara, the demon is believed to have tried to stop the Buddha from becoming enlightenment for a few occasions.
One time was 7 days before the Buddha reaches the state of enlightenment the demon sent his three daughters name Rakha, Dhosa and Moha to awake the Buddha while he was in deep meditation.
They're the goddess of desire, Anger and delusional, These three goddess are the base of all suffering in human minds.

Hi folks, NatNomad here. An ex-Buddhist monk from Laos with a big dream of seeing the world. Throughout my time for over 10 years being a monk I kept asking myself one question "What life is like out there beyond the monastery?" and because of this question alone made me take a big step in 2014 when I finally say goodbye to my wonderful monastic life.
And now I'm doing what I've always wanted to do. Though I am not quite sure if I can say that I'm living my dream but you know what I'm loving my new adventure.
Please make sure to stick with me so we can explore new exotic places together.
Let the adventure begins!
Thanks so much for your support.