Trip to Lao

The next order of business was to get an extended Visa, by leaving Thailand and re-entering.

And since I had heard wonderful things about Lao silk, that seemed like a good place to go.

You can see a young girl spinning the silk that has been dyed using all natural plant color.

The skirts, blouses and shawls were exquisite...
but since I am traveling light, I only bought a small shawl.... but there were so many other beautiful items that they were hard to resist... a true test of my new frugality.

One of the most well known sight in Vientiane, the capital of Lao is "Xaysettha, That Luang Stuppa"  or as the tourists call it, the gold building. It is huge and almost unbelievable.

The grounds surrounding had many Spirit Houses, Buddhas and Temples as well as a museum of ancient statuary.

The most amazing thing that happened was while I was standing in line at the border; I met a young woman who is on a Fulbright Scholarship from Fordum University in NY, but she grew up in Stoughton, Wisconsin... the same little town that I came from... Who would think we would meet in Lao?

From there I went to BUDDHA PARK, about an hour drive from the capitol, but well worth the trip.  As you can see a tiny "me" in one of the photos you may get an idea of the magnitude of the statues in the park. Truly magnificent works of art.