A tuktuk sits on a hill overlooking grass-covered That Foun (also called That Chomsi). The brick stupa (Buddhist shrine) was built in 1576 in an ancient capital city, Xieng Khuang, in present-day Muang Khoun (northeastern Laos).
In the 19th century, Chinese bandits tunnelled into the stupa’s interior, creating the entryway that is visible today. They spirited away the priceless Buddhist relics from within.
Photography & text © Tricia A. Mitchell. All Rights Reserved.
Tricia A. Mitchell is a freelance writer and photographer. Born in Europe but raised in the United States, she has lived in Valletta, Malta; Heidelberg, Germany; and Split, Croatia. An avid globetrotter who has visited more than 65 countries, she has a penchant for off-season travel. Tricia has learned that travel’s greatest gift is not sightseeing, rather it is the interactions with people. Some of her most memorable experiences have been sharing a bottle of champagne with distant French cousins in Lorraine, learning how to milk goats in a sleepy Bulgarian village, and ringing in the Vietnamese New Year with a Hanoi family. She welcomes any opportunity to practice French and German, and she loves delving into a place’s history and artisanal food scene. A former education administrator and training specialist, Tricia has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in international relations. She and her husband, Shawn, married in the ruins of a snowy German castle. They’ve been known to escape winter by basing themselves in coastal Croatia or Southeast Asia. Her writing has appeared in Fodor’s Travel, Frommer’s, and International Living. View more posts
Travels With Tricia