Mother and Child at the That Ing Hang - Savannakhet Tales

Lao Wats (buddhist temples) are community institutions bearing the responsibility of performing certain rituals that ensure the prosperity of a community. This includes summoning good health for the people and the fecundity of the farm lands. These practices aren’t too remote from Catholic practices – like sending dozens of crates of eggs to a nunnery to ensure good weather during a celebration or feast; celebratory offerings for special intentions like making the grade or getting your romantic feelings reciprocated; even prayerful congregations for the souls of the departed.

I arrived in That Ing Hang’s halcyon bewilderment, feeling relaxed and grateful that I once again made it to one of South Laos’ holiest temple grounds. That buddha once rested here – leaning against a tree, while convalescing from a sickness, I was awash with contemplation. After paying my entrance fee, I noticed the very few people coming in – mostly women, bearing offerings. I have none on my hand, but a camera and a curious demeanor. I have a few intentions to whisper – I know someone might just be listening; just for safe travels.

A Lao woman carrying her child spoke to her in a tender voice, her tone in a sacharine singsong, motherly and comforting, I wish I understood Lao. The little girl, decked in pink dress and bunny head band, stared at her mother. She was holding a pair of white tulips, while her mom was clutching a pyramidal offering made of coconut-leaf.

Such offerings are ordinary day opportunities to gain “boon” (merits). According to Laovoices.com, “Flowers will bring in beauty”. The “lotus” is one of the 8 auspicious symbols in buddhist household and public art. It represents the primordial purity of the body, speech and mind, floating above the muddy waters of “attachment” and “desire”. The ultimate goal is the full blossoming of wholesome deeds in blissful liberation. “Nirvana” should stand along this concept.

Confucian scholar Zhou Dunyi once wrote, “I love the lotus because while growing from mud, it is unstained!”

Savannakhet allows backpackers to slow down. Despite some other people’s frenetic itinerary, there’s no way other than immersing in the laidback nature of this place. It is quite – “shockingly quiet!” as one traveler described it. I like that, but sometimes you do feel that Savannakhet needs a little shaking to nudge its people from its somnolence. After all, a border town (Thailand's Mukdahan is just across the Mekong) should be bustling with activity, instead of being slumbering while the rest of the world is moving in frenzied motion.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

South Laos Journeys here:

- Don Kho: http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2012/02/temple-on-island-called-don-kho-church.html

- Chasing Water Falls and Ethnic Tribes at the Bolaven Plateau - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2012/02/chasing-waterfalls-ethnic-tribes-nature.html

- Magic and Beauty at the Bolaven Plateau - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2012/03/bolaven-plateaus-magic-spellbound-in.html

- Whispery Temples and Smiling Monks in Pakse - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2012/03/pakse-tales-whispery-temples-smiling.html

- Pakse to Champasak Town - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2012/03/pakse-to-champasak-town-lost-in.html

- Lost in a Slumbering Paradise - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2012/03/pakse-to-champasak-town-lost-in.html

That Ing Hang in Savannakhet - Buddha's Spine in South Laos

It had been a long journey from Vientiane, the Lao capital, to Savannakhet – 470 kilometers, to be exact. It must have been the bus number that clued me in – Bus no. 6666 – that the trip would freeze every crevice of my body. What did they say about "hell freezing over?" Since our 8:45 PM departure, it had been a bitterly cold ride, the AC went unregulated. I tried to sleep through my misery, but it was a shallow sleep, despite a very comfortable seat at the top deck of my bus. I had the best seat as I was facing the windshield - no obstruction, but darkness crept through our ride.

We reached Savannakhet slumbering in the wee hours – 4:30 AM. The view from my front seat didn’t help much. As our vehicle slid through places, I couldn’t venture an impression for everything was bathed in pitch darkness. I was only aware of the abundance of foliage, none else!

I alighted from my bus and saw some unoccupied benches at the almost deserted bus station. There was a flickering light at the unmanned ticket booth. Everywhere else was dim, almost to its creepy witching-hour veneer. Walking around in solitary darkness, when you could hear each stride that you take, offers a surreal experience. For a few moments, I half expected itinerant souls pinching me to signify that I wasn't the only one who's wide awake at 4:30. Once left with nothing else to do, I lazily pulled my luggage until it plopped carelessly on top of a bench. I decided later to look for a guest house at the break of dawn when people were possibly awake. For now, at least, there’s a bench where I could lie down for an hour or two. The station – with its 3 other occupants in dreamland – felt like a safe haven.

Later that day, after finding Leena’s Guest House, right through secluded Chow Kim Road, I asked my tuktuk driver to pick me up at 8 AM. We negotiated on a price – 100,000 kip ($12.50) return.

I was going to visit the second holiest religious edifice in South Laos (after Wat Phu Champasak). It's called That Ing Hang! “That" or "Thaat”, in Laos, refers to a “Buddhist stupa”.

Thaat Ing Hang is said to have been built in the mid-16^th century, rising 9 meters from the ground. Like most sacred sites in Indochina, the site is steeped with history: Buddha is believed to have stopped here when he was sick while roaming the ancient lands. He rested by leaning (“ing”) on a Hang Tree – thus “Ing Hang”. A relic of Buddha’s spine is believed to be kept inside the “thaat”. This particular stupa has been restored by the French in 1930. It is located about 15 kilometers northeast of the city center (Savan).

My ride to Ing Hang was pleasant. We passed through houses that looked deserted; through a roundabout with a couple of huge dinosaur statues standing guard beside a city monument.

Along the way, I noticed stalls selling what would be temple offerings, not unlike incense, flowers, fruits; but these were conical things wrapped in coconut leaves. I've only seen such offerings here in Laos. My tuktuk parked right in front of the ground walls. After paying 5,000 kip ($0.60) for my entrance, I made tentative steps towards a square compound: each of the 4 sides are lined by uniform gleaming buddhas, and right at the center is the stupa. It isn’t as visually impressive as I thought it would be, but you feel piety all around. At some point, women weren’t allowed inside. There weren’t a lot of people, and like most sights in Laos, there were no bothersome touts either.

It doesn’t take much to roam the compound. And I was pleased to have made my journey there.

Lonely Planet's description doesn't quite match what I saw, thus I was somehow asking myself if this indeed was Ing Hang. A guy on his way out, so I asked him and he nodded. That was a relief! Somehow, it felt like a place waiting to be visited. It's modest size imparted a sense of intimacy, which I liked. Special sights too far removed from the madding crowd gives me a sense of empowerment. A tourist as inconsequential as myself has stepped on lands where Buddha used to roam. That, to me, is a little bit of magic!

This is the Eye in the Sky!

A parade of medium-sized buddhas line every four corners of this holy compound.

The way out!