Vat Siphoutthabat Thippharam (Vat Pa Khe)
ວັດສີພຸດທະບາດ ທິບພາຣາມ (ວັດປ່າແຄ)
Vat Founded in 1851 as Vat Pa Khe, "Temple of the Jolcham Oak Tree Forest", to celebrate the despatch of Lao emissaries to Kunming by King Chantharath. The sim is notably of Siamese style using brick construction without wooden supporting pillars and having a long and narrow floor plan with high walls. Inside are interesting though badly deteriorated murals, not only depicting Lao Buddhist Jataka stories (Sadok) but also showing Lao emissaries paying tribute the Chinese Emperor Ton Zhi. The murals are believed to have been painted by local artists under the direction of a Siamese master artist. Two of the ornate door panels appear to depict seventeenth century Dutch merchants rather than the usual guardian deities but the reason for this is not known.
In the 1940's Vat Pa Khe, Vat Phabat Neua and Vat Pa Fang were bought together as Vat Siphoutthabat, "Temple of the Buddha's Footprint" named after the Buddha's footprint found in the rock on Mt Phousi and reached by the staircase behind the sim.
The gold coloured chedi at the front of the sim is believed to contain the ashes of King Chantharat. At the rear of the sim is a relatively small white painted chedi. The top was broken off during a storm on 22 March 2024.
In the 1940's Vat Pa Khe, Vat Phabat Neua and Vat Pa Fang were bought together as Vat Siphoutthabat, "Temple of the Buddha's Footprint" named after the Buddha's footprint found in the rock on Mt Phousi and reached by the staircase behind the sim.
The gold coloured chedi at the front of the sim is believed to contain the ashes of King Chantharat. At the rear of the sim is a relatively small white painted chedi. The top was broken off during a storm on 22 March 2024.
