That Luang Stupa Temple in Vientiane, Laos

That Luang Stupa is about four kilometres from the Vientiane town centre. This beautiful temple is also known as the Golden Stupa and is Laos’s most important national monument.

Getting to That Luang temple is easy; you can take a tuk-tuk or rent a motorcycle and ride there. Well, only some tourists choose this way unless you take a local tour here.

By the way, if you need to become more familiar with the name, That is pronounced Thut, and Luang is pronounced as Loo-Wang.

A statue is seen at the entrance to the temple.

There will take you to pass Arc Patuxai, and is a straight easy road to this temple. A motorbike parking spot is upon reaching the stupa grounds, or the tuk-tuk will drop you at the drop-off point.

Walking in, you will see the Golden Stupa far in the back and pass a statue of King Setthathirat, where locals will pray to the figure.

A Lao lady offers some prayers at the temple.

The main entrance to the Golden Stupa of Vientiane, Laos.

The Golden Stupa is a fantastic sight, as the temple is painted gold. It was also built in 1566 and restored twice in the 18th and 19th centuries. This stupa’s condition is fantastic, as this is the most important temple in Vientiane, Laos.

When I was here, I noticed that some budget travellers refused to pay the 3000 KIP entrance fee and just stood outside to take pictures. Oh well, as they say, there will be all kinds of travellers worldwide.

Inside the Golden Stupa of Vientiane.

I recommend going in as not every trip to a new country, you will see something as grand as this. The structure and finishing of the temple are really well done.

The stupa grounds are well taken care of, and the place is clean. Some minor renovations are always ongoing to completely restore the national pride of Laos.

Some of the broken artefacts are seen inside the temple.

You will see several broken pieces belonging to statues from ancient times along the Golden Stupa corridors.

They are put out in the open, but guards are in the area, so I don’t have any funny ideas. If caught trying to carry relics or artefacts out of Laos, it is a national crime.

Me doing the mandatory pose.

Devotees at the That Luang Tai temple.

Just at the south end of the main stupa, there is another temple called Wat That Luang Tai. This Wat is another fantastic place to visit.

History says that in 1566, four Wats were built around the main Golden Stupa; however, to this day, only two remain, and Wat That Luang Tai is one of them.

A story is depicted on the walls and ceiling of the temple.

Entering Wat That Luang Tai and seeing the beautiful hand-painted artwork will put your mind in pure awe. It is incredible how they can beautify a simple temple with Buddha artwork.

A close-up of the paintings in the temple.

Looking around the temple, you will see that the pictures tell a story. Sadly I did not have a guide to translate it for me.

So if you go there with a guide, please ask them what the story is about as it looks fascinating.

Sitting at the steps of the That Luang Tai temple.

Statues at Wat That Luang Tai.

Also, there are various statues of Buddha and deities on the temple grounds, with some animal statues offering prayers to Buddha.

If you look carefully, you will notice that these statues are all life-sized, well-crafted and robed in orange.

Wat That Luang Nuea temple.

The other Wat or temple, which is at the north corner of the Golden Stupa, is Wat That Luang Nuea.

This temple was closed when I was there, but it looked very nice and grand, but not as great as the Golden Stupa from the outside.

The temple grounds are peaceful; you can just sit there and relax, admitting the beauty and tranquillity there.

A local hawker selling interesting Lao whiskey.

After finishing our Stupa visit, we walked around the temple grounds and saw various hawkers selling all sorts of things.

The one that captivated me most was the local whiskey seller, as in the picture above. Just look at the lovely goodies he has packed in the bottles. (Click the picture for a close up)

Vientiane street bazaar.

A small street bazaar or market also sells various souvenirs and praying items. We took a slow walk to see what the locals were selling.

Local Lao food and drinks are sold apart from the local handicraft and souvenirs abundant along the street.

Money offerings are a Lao custom.

One of the stalls was selling Lao money (called KIP) folded into various shapes for praying purposes and a local custom. I wanted to ask the vendor about these items’ details, but my Lao speaking skills could be better.

So, I ended up gawking at them while the lady spoke to me in Lao, trying to explain the items, and again, I was just clueless.

Motorbike parking at the temple grounds.

Finally, in the end, we get to the rented bike at the motorcycle parking and head back to town to continue our fantastic Lao holiday.

For those of you planning to go to Laos or Vientiane, remember that the Lao people’s biggest festival happens on every full moon of November.

They call this the That Luang Festival, celebrated continuously for 7 days and nights. This would be an incredible sight to witness.