Pha That Luang is probably the most significant religious and national monument in Laos and is located on the outskirts of Vientiane.
The temple was built on the site of a much earlier 13th century Khmer temple and that was on the site of a 3rd century Indic temple.
The central pyramid at Pha That Luang was originally covered in huge amounts of gold leaf, but this was repeatedly plundered by the Burmese, Siamese and Chinese. The temple was destroyed in 1828 during the Siamese invasion.
In 1930, the French rebuilt Pha That Luang and now it is a symbol of national pride.
The architecture of Pha That Luang reflects different aspects of Lao tradition , in particular the three levels represent different levels of spiritualism in Buddhism.
I took this photography in the year 2000, it was taken on Kodak film with a 17mm lens.
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