Nestling dormant at the southern tip of Laos lies the ancient temple Wat Po Champasak. The site has long since passed into the passages of history. This sprawling sentinel became a guardian of historic yore, a remnant of a bygone age as time melted away.
Unlike the powerhouses of its neighbours – Wat Po in Bangkok, Cambodia’s Angkor Wat or the Javanese stupas of Borobudur – this megalith fell to the ravages of history. Encroaching lichen carves its psychedelic swirl on the now-defunct halls and staircases to chart the passage of time. The husk of what once was retreats further from the light at Champasak.
However, the throb of Wat Po Champasak’s residual energy never totally dies. Instead, it regroups and envelops its surroundings. To its rear lies a mountain. Before it, a plateau stretches into the horizon. The attitude is one of supplication. Much like the adherents of yore, the countryside seems cowed, afraid to see the temple directly.
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An unknowable intelligence broods close to the surface. The feeling mimics some great reptile watching an interloper in its territory. Visitors need not worry, though. The site has long since passed into static restfulness. But there remains at the site the flicker of life, with an agenda far beyond mortal knowing.
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