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Sabaydii Adisack and all,

Adisack: Great to hear that you are back with our
group again. That means you already got a Ph. D
degree, right? Congratulation, my dear brother!

*****
(continued from the last episode)

Before I get on to other things, I would like to talk
at some length about That IngHang. To the Lao people
especially Savannakhet ones, That IngHang
  is considered to be one of the important and revered
That (stupa). It is said
  that it is the place where the Buddha came down and
leaned at the place where
  the That was built.  I guess that is why the stupa
was called "That IngHang"
  ("Ing" means lean and "Hang" means the ground where
some animals made
  a dwelling place such as Hang Mot (ant dwelling
place) and Hang Taen).

  In terms of architectural style, That IngHang
typifies what is considered to be
  Lao style, different from our neighbors. In general,
Lao architectural style is
  kind of square. If you don't know what I am talking
about, just take a look
  at That Luang, That Sikhot (That Muang Khout) and
That Phanom (the Siamese
  made some changes to That Phanom to make it not so
Lao). What is different
  about That IngHang than other Lao stupas lies in its
complete squareness.
  Besides, it thrusts into the sky like a bamboo
shoot. Also, maybe, to preserve
  its uniqueness, That IngHang still keeps its ancient
color: black; unlike
  That Luang which is painted golden now.

Boun That IngHang was held in the same month as Boun
That Luang.  The
difference was that Boun That Luang offered a greater
variety of entertainment
than Boun That IngHang.  Besides, there were many
foreign pavilions to visit.
I guess that didn't surprise anybody because That
Luang was in Vientiane, the
capital of Laos, and was considered as the national
symbol of Laos.  One thing
that is still vivid in my mind is in the mid sixties. 
They had a real train running
around That InHang that we could actually ride on it. 
Wasn't it exciting for a
country that had no railway at all?


    (to be continued)
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