The National Palace of Laos, in the heart of Luang Prabang (“LP”) is of modest interest. It’s got a palace, which is not to be confused with one of the grand palaces of Europe, for instance, and some other stuff.
Built in 1904 by the French for the king and his family at the time, it was occupied by the various kings and their families until 1975, when the commies overthrew the government. The royal family were taken to "re-education camps" and never heard from again. I'm sure they lived out their re-education lives quite happily.
There are four main highlights:
- A temple you can’t go in, only look in;
- A massive statue of some dead Laos leader done by the Soviet Union in their typical non-subtle brutalist style. The guy looks like he took Dear Leader steriods, probably to help him tortue and kill dissidents more easily;
- The modestly interesting National Palace and Museum; and,
- An incredibly beautiful, absolutely huge banyan tree.
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