Wat Pak Huak, Luang Prabang

The sim of Wat Pak Huak, Luang Prabang.

Wat Pak Huak, whose name is also transcribed as Wat Paa Huak, Vat Pha Huak and Wat Pa Huak, is a small, rather neglected Laotian monastery in Luang Prabang. It is located along Sisavangvong Road at the foot of Mount Phousi, just across the road from Haw Kham, the Royal Palace. Wat Pak Huak is slightly elevated from the road. To reach it, you need to climb up a short flight of steps.

Wat Pak Huak is surrounded by groves of frangipanni trees, making it look like a small country cottage. It has a two-tier roof and a wooden gable that is intricately carved with a sculpture of the deity Indra mounted on the elephant Erawan. The façade also shows that it has shiny mosaic tiles, many of which have already dropped off when I viewed.

The name Wat Pak Huak means "Monastery of the Bamboo Forest" - most temples with "paa" or "pak" to their names are forest retreats that were built deep in the forest so that monks can retreat to for meditation. Some of these forest monasteries have since became town temples as the towns grew in their direction.

Wat Pak Huak was built in 1861 by Phra Sri Mahanam, a nobleman during the reign of King Cyhantarath (1851-72) in Laos and King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910) in Siam. As Phra Sri Mahanam has ties with the Siamese royal family, his monastery shows Siamese as well as Chinese influences - he had two artists working on the murals, one of which came from southern China while another may have studied painting in Bangkok.

Wat Pak Huak was restored during the 1990's with assistance from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Ornamentation of the gable shows Indra mounted on the elephant Erawan.

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