Obeisance to Buddha before entering Wat Phou

The statue on the way up to the historical area of Wat Phou near Pakxé mostly is known as a image of Lord Buddha.
People leave their offerings on the altar in front of the holy statue.

But afterwards we were tought that the image isn't Lord Buddha but the Bodhisattva of Yasovarman I (first) the Khmer Angkorian king who reigned in 889 - 910 CE and was to let built the Prasat Wat Phou on the hill a part of the Khmer Empire centred on Angkor Ancient Khmer Highway to the southwest.
Yasovarman I was called the "Leper King", the king who had leprosy.