We walked out to the riverfront and down to a park with an enormous statue of King Anouvong facing the river. Then, we sneaked past the side of the Presidential Palace and ended up at That Dam, or the black stupa. We went from there past the US Embassy to visit the Vat Sisaket, one of the oldest temples here. When looking up the boulevard, we could see the Patuxai, or a huge war memorial that looks like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. We walked towards it and found the Morning Market and two nearby malls. When we finally got to the Patuxai, we bought water and then each paid 3000 Kip for the honour of walking up to the top. (The funding for the monument is interesting. I encourage you to search the Net for it.). The weather was close to 100 Fahrenheit and the nights cool down to a more comfortable 80 Fahrenheit. Staying hydrated is a major task!
In the evening we found a touristy place for dinner on the road closest to the river. On the way back to the hotel we went to the temple where yesterday we'd seen monks setting up for some sort of celebration. In the dark with candles and religious materials, hundreds or perhaps thousands of devotees were listening to prayers seated around every corner of the temple grounds.
