Wat Nong Sikhounmuang, Luang Prabang

The sim of Wat Nong Sikhounmuang, Luang Prabang.

Wat Nong Sikhounmuang, whose name is also written as Wat Nong, Vat Nong and Wat Nong Sikhunmuang, is a monastery on Kounxoa Road in Luang Prabang. Kounxoa Road runs parallel to the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. I visited it while Luang Prabang with some members of AsiaExplorers. Trying to photograph Wat Nong Sikhounmuang presented a challenge for me because the sim was facing northwest while the morning sun was shining from the east.

Wat Nong Sikhounmuang is one of the bigger temples in Luang Prabang. It was built in 1729, during the reign of King Inta Som (1727-76), but was razed in a fire in 1774. The only thing salvaged from the fire was a bronze statue. A full restoration was carried out in 1804 by the Thais, thereby introducing some Thai elements to the design.

The sim has a three-tier roof which are tiled orange, much like the temples in Bangkok. The roof ornamentation, called dok so faa, is in the form of parasols ascending to the top. The roof eaves are in the form of descending nagas.

Within Wat Nong Sikhounmuang is the bronze Buddha statue called Pra Chao Ong Saensaksid which survived the 1774 fire. This statue is said to have been brought here by a merchant from the village of Ban Koom Sayla north of Luang Prabang. The merchant had brought it from Chiang Saen in present-day Thailand, and had intended to bring it home, but changed his mind after his raft stopped somewhere near this spot in Luang Prabang.

Side view of the sim showing the dok so faa on the roof.

Monks' quarters at Wat Nong Sikhounmuang.

The triple-tier roof has a design of descending nagas.

A novice monk reading by the wall of Wat Nong Sikhounmuang.

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