Khone Phapheng: Our fist stop of the day was at the Khone Phapheng falls, located on the Mekong River. The Mekong spreads out to a maximum width of 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) during the height of the rainy season, forming hundreds of small islands. This area is known as Don Dhet, or four thousand islands. The falls are the largest by volume in all of Southeast Asia and continue on for 10 kilometers (over 6 miles). Although they are impressive to look at, they are the main reason the Mekong is not navigable from the ocean into Laos and China. We saw a small portion of the falls before grabbing lunch at one of the many restaurants surrounding the falls at this point.
On the road: In order to get to Vat Phu we had to board the ferry since there are no bridges across the Mekong at this point. Of course, we had to wait for the ferry to arrive and people and vehicles coming over to disembark before we could get our vehicle on the boat for the trip across.
Once we were safely on land again, we started driving along a narrow, two-lane road to the World Heritage Site. Along the way, we passed mom's childhood home, although she had difficulty remembering exactly which building it was due to all the changes since she was a child.
Vat Phu: Vat Phu, which means Mountain Temple in Lao, was originally built by the Khmer as a Hindu temple. Approaching the temple by the main central walkway, we first passed the bathing pools, one for men and one for women pilgrims. Next we passed the crumbling men's and women's palaces before climbing the steps to the second level.
As we climbed level by level we passed various artifacts, including a statue of the guardian Phratavaraphan, or Priyacomata, holding a hammer and shield. Eventually, we reached the top level and stood before Thevalay Palace.
Thevalay Palace: Although the sight was originally built as a Hindu temple, it was later converted to a Buddhist temple as the people of Laos changed religions. This is abundantly apparent with the Buddha images located inside Thevalay Palace. However, there are still many Hindu religious symbols carved into the sandstone palace walls and in the rocks surrounding the sight. Also indicative of the Buddhist influence is the presence of a Buddha foot carved in the rock face of the mountain.
Over years of neglect and exposure to the elements, the palaces of Vat Phu have steadily degraded. After being declared a World Heritage Site, money was made available and excavation and preservation work has begun.
On the ride back, mom was able to remember which house had been her childhood home, so we stopped for a couple of minutes to take a picture and say hello to the people living there.
