Not all temples in southeast Asia hide their paintings inside. In Laos, many temple facades are illustrated with Jatakas (birth stories of the Buddha) or scenes of the path to enlightenment of Gotama, the Buddha of the current age. The facade of Wat Ho Xieng in in Luang Prabang provides numbers to each scene and a lectern with textual descriptions. The guardians on the doors are balletic figures of forest rishis.
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Interior of viharn in Luang Prabang, Laos