vientiane, vat si saket 2

The only temple to survive a 19th century invasion, Wat Si Saket is unique among all Vientiane's temples for retaining its original structure, lacking any remodeling. Nearly 7000 depictions of the Buddha inhabit the interior, and a group of large wall murals are well-known for their elaborate portrayal of one of the Buddha's previous lives - a story called Balasankhaya Jataka. Wat Si Saket now signposted as Sisaket Museum. The oldest standing temple in Vientiane and among the most atmospheric, was built in 1818 by Chao Anou in the Bangkok style and hence left unsacked when much of Vientiane was razed in a Siamese raid in 1828 (worldvisitguide) The only temple in Vientiane to survive the sacking of the city by the Siamese in 1828, Wat Sisaket is the oldest and considered by many to be the most interesting of the Laotian temples. The interior walls of Ho Trai and the main hall feature hundreds of little niches and shelves containing a total of 6,840 Buddha images and Buddhist inscriptions from the 18th century. Over 300 hundred Buddha images varying in size and material reside on the shelves, amongst the silver and ceramic Buddhist images, most of which are from 16th -19th century Vientiane.