Building Buddha

I am not a Buddhist.  Nor do I have much interest in modern Theravada Buddhism.  The form in Cambodia is particularly cold and oppressive.  But while on a short trip to Pakse, Laos I noticed a gleaming golden statue of a Buddha dimpled into a hillside.  I was in an adventurous mood and for the next few hours set off to get a closer look, walked through streets, alleys construction sites, over a bridge spanning the Mekong, crossed highways, jumped fences and scaled up a large hill in the tradition of mankind seeking out the glint of far off gold.

The base of the stairs started like this...

but quickly turned into this.

With a little sweat, dirt and a few scratches I made it up to the top.

It's massive.  This gives a good sense of scale.

Behind the Big Buddha are dozens of life-sized Buddhas.

Gotta love the colorful wats!