This small town was the seat of the Kingdom of Champasak until the French abolished this independent state in 1945 and created the Kingdom of Laos. The town is even smaller today, more a series of villages that nestle on a pair of roads beside the Mekong River. A string of guesthouses and restaurants cater to the tourists who are visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Vat Phou Temple complex.
Getting to Champasak is fun, turning off the Pakse to Don Det road down a dusty orange track before boarding a small boat to cross the river, bags by your feet. Once across the other side, it’s a steep climb up a sandy bank before boarding a songthaew. With our luggage thrown on the roof, balanced precariously, it is just a short journey to our accommodation.
Young children smile and wave, shouting hello and sabaidee as we pass by. Cows and chickens graze by the roadside. We feel that we have travelled back to a bygone era, young children on electric scooters aside…
The landscape of the Vat Phou Temple complex is a well-preserved and deliberately planned layout more than 1,500 years old. It was designed to the Hindu vision of the relationship between nature and humanity. Stretching down from the Phou Kao Mountains to the riverbank of the Mekong it is set out in a geometric pattern incorporating temples, shrines and water sources. Experts suggest the site was active and developed between the 5th and 15th centuries. Though Vat Phou is mainly associated with the Khmer Empire, perhaps due to the Royal Road that once linked the two, it pre-dates Angkor Wat by hundreds of years, making it possibly the oldest place of worship in South East Asia.
There are obvious similarities between here and Angkor Wat, vast reservoirs and huge walkways flanked by carved stone pillars, though Angkor is huge in comparison. What’s missing here are the carvings of apsaras and the huge crowds – Angkor Wat attracts some six million tourists a year, Vat Phou remains rarely visited, and due to that, it is incredibly serene. The two sites both flourished as religious centres during the Khmer era (802 to 1431 A.D), and most of the temples and remains here are from between the 11th and 13th centuries.
Be prepared to climb steep steps, and lots of them! One of the more curious relics that are scattered across the forested hillside is a boulder with an alligator-shaped design. We initially thought it looked like a suspiciously recent addition, further research after partially hearing a story from a tour guide suggest that dates back to the sixth century and was used for human sacrifices in honouring a mountain spirit.
The views from this elevated height are incredible, an apt reward for the sweaty climb up. When we return back down to the bottom, we can take a breather in the museum before cycling the ten or so kilometres back home…
Oldest On the Bus 