The caves of Pak Ou, a photo from Louangphabang, North

Photographer's Note

慣he caves of Pak Ou�

On my previous picture I showed the small beach at the other side of the Mekong (more precisely on the Nam Ou just before its mouth in the Mekong).

It were the high cliffs of the karst mountains perpendicular to the river that impressed me.
Two caves in the cliffs on the west side of the Mekong are much visited by tourists.

These caves are famous for their miniature Buddha sculptures.
According to Wikipedia there are hundreds of very small and mostly damaged wooden Buddhist figures that can be seen on the different wall shelves. The little statues have many different positions, including meditation, teaching, peace, rain, and reclining.
It was very crowded in the caves with little room to take a decent picture.
See 1st picture of the 3 in the WS.

Fis2, holmertz, ikeharel, ikeharel, jhm, alvaraalto, PiotrF, Royaldevon, pajaran, COSTANTINO, ChrisJ, adramad has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Fis2 (170747) 2020-05-08 0:22

Witaj Paul!
A very curious place, view is impressive.
Good framing, colors and light.
I like boats.
Well done my friend.
Nice day.
Krzysztof

Silvio1953 (221593) 2020-05-08 0:34

Ciao Paul, my today neighbour, great view of fantastic caves, wonderful colors, excellent clarity, splendid light and fine details, very well done, my friend, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

holmertz (102700) 2020-05-08 1:20

Hello Paul,
This is probably the best choice for main photo, but WS2 and 3 could also have done well, in spite of the lack of a decent sky in #3. I can't remember hearing of these caves in 1973, but even in case they were mentioned in my guidebook (if I had any, I'm not sure), it would have been impossible to see them. The Pathet Lao controlled most areas across the river from LP. It would have been fun to go there, because they look really spectacular. Maybe they are actually too spectacular these days, but the photos are fascinating.
Best regards,
Gert

lousat (139266) 2020-05-08 2:50

Hi Paul,just a pity for the lot of people,but it's normal during the Christmas holidays i think,now this place is surely desert..ehehe..the pic in the WS showing the small statues is still good and useful,3 fantastic views from this this unique and incredible place! Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

jean113 (27853) 2020-05-08 3:40

Hello Paul, you give us an excellent impression of this area of the Mekong with your four interesting shots. Any one would have been a good main post.
In your main post we are able to see how the visitors approach the caves, and as we see quite a few boats, it is no wonder that the caves are crowded.
An excellent documentary of your trip.
Kind regards, Jean.

ikeharel (113345) 2020-05-08 5:45

Hello Paul,
Good focal upon the cave and blue boats at the foot of the cliff.
Scale was perfectly done with the visitors up the terrace.
Intriguing location for any photographer.
Good afternoon,
Ike

jhm (211736) 2020-05-08 6:27

Dag Paul,

Een heel mooie maar moeilijk te bestuderend beeld.
In een minuut kan ik deze niet bekijken.
Want er is zoveel op te zien.
De rotswand maakt uw aantrekkelijk ook de boten in de voorgrond geven extra kleur.
Mooi foto werk Paul, bedankt.

Groeten uit Oost-Vlaanderen,
John

alvaraalto (42804) 2020-05-08 6:40

Dag Paul,
Drie foto抯 die deze toeristische plaats van verschillende kanten laat zien.
Vooral de 1e workshop geeft een interessant en artistiek verantwoord beeld van de toeristen toevoer naar de grot.
Weer een mooie informatieve bijdrage.
Goed weekend, groet Rob

Tue (92360) 2020-05-08 8:32

Hallo Paul,
Een mooi gezicht op de indrukwekkende kliffen waar de grotten uit opdoemen, mede dankzij de spierwitte muren die afsteken tegen de bruinige tinten. De compositie is uitstekend, mede dankzij de aanwezigheid van de kleurrijke boten.
Lars

Ilonka1974 (10289) 2020-05-08 14:01

Hi Paul,
Beautiful picture,
Excellent presentation.
Lovely composition.
Well done.
Best regards
Janusz

PiotrF (54666) 2020-05-08 15:23

Hello Paul,
An interesting series of photos from Pak Ou Cave.
Unique place. I like nice composition, nice colours and good sharpness. Fine presentation
Regards
Piotr

rychem (72187) 2020-05-08 21:29

A very good series of photos from the cave, I like photos in WS too, especially the photo with Buddha figurines
regards Ryszard

Nicou (193806) 2020-05-08 22:56

Hello

avec ce temple dans la paroi rocheuse quelle image quelle vue ces bateaux en premier plan en bleu ce blanc cette roche superbe
Bravo et amiti�
Nicou

emka (158156) 2020-05-09 1:17

Hello Paul, For me personally, the most interesting photo is the view from inside the cave to the Mekong. I can understand now where my picture was taken. And the boats are just like the boats we went by from Chiang Rai. Except of more boats here, everything looks the same as in 2003. I liked these caves with so many Buddha statues. when there were not so many tourists it was better to enjoy it.
I post Workshop picture for comparing.
Take care

MAlgo

[workshop] [compare] +

Royaldevon (85932) 2020-05-09 6:55

Hello Paul,

A fascinating series of photographs.
I was immediately intrigued!
Can the caves only be accessed by boat?

The sheer curtains of stone don't look like the sort of places where caves form but what a superb cave has resulted. You have done a fine job revealing it from inside and out, from near and from far, despite the number of tourists with the same agenda.

The decorative, white fencing adds interest, though we have no idea what it could be concealing!

Thank you for including so much information so that we can obtain a full understanding of what you have photographed, Bev :-)

pajaran (115891) 2020-05-09 11:23

Pozdrav.
Lep pogled i trenutak, dobar tekst ...
Lepa litica sa pecinama i stara arhitektura. Lepi drveni brodovi.
Lepo pokazano, dobro uhvacen trenutak.
Zelim vam sve najbolje.
Paja.

Greeting.
Nice view and moment, good text ...
Beautiful cliff with caves and old architecture. Beautiful wooden boats.
Nicely shown, well captured moment.
I wish you all the best.

ifege (48085) 2020-05-09 21:25

Hi Paul
A good one of the river boats and the cave stairs along with not quite gold water.
cheers
Ian

COSTANTINO (116490) 2020-05-09 22:35

Hello my friend and have a nice Sunday
original version
a different place from the usuals
I have ever seen presenting a part from the caves of Pak Ou
these colorful boats add color
to the whole scenery
thanks for your useful notes about the caves which are famous for their
miniature Buddha sculptures
regards
costantino

Miguel82 (47110) 2020-05-11 12:34

Hallo Paul, these caves carved in the steep cliff contain Buddhist sanctuaries. The wooden boats are the only means of transportation to reach this site of patrimonial interest. I see some stupas far off. Fine colors, good sharpness, interesting photo note, regards.

ChrisJ (171822) 2020-05-11 23:38

Hello Paul,

Pak Ou was a fun day out. Gert would have liked it. We can see some of the internal Buddha statues inside the cave even from this distance. Tfs!

adramad (72978) 2020-05-13 11:55

Hola Paul.
Muy interesantes estas fotos de la cueva, situada en esa pared rocosa vertical, dificil acceso mediante sus escaleras, preciosa la foto del rio desde el interior de la cueva, por otra parte considero demasiada gente dentro, un poco agobiante pienso.....
Punto de vista, nitidez, luminosidad, colorido y la composici髇 elegida son excelentes.
Una foto muy hermosa. Me gusta.
Que tengas un buen dia.
Saludos cordiales.
Luis.

dekanski (9365) 2020-05-14 5:15

We don抰 often get a chance to see something so interesting, even less from Laos! TFS. I learn something new every day!

Regards

jmdias (115156) 2020-05-19 12:56

paul

I liked the contrast of the caves and the blue boats. we can imagine how it is entering in the caves and the vistas we can see from the river being up there.

take care

jorge