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The older parts of the city may have a higher concentration of monasteries and old buildings, but there is plenty to see beyond Setthathilat Road. Wat That , officially known as Wat Pha Mahathat, is situated on a rise next to the Phou Si Hotel and is reached via a stairway flanked by some impressive seven-headed naga. At the top of the stairs is perhaps the most photographed window in all of Louang Phabang. Framed in ornately carved teak, it's a blend of Lao, Chinese and Khmer design. Other elements of the wat suggest influence from northern Thailand, namely the gold-topped that for which the monastery was named. Wat Visoun and Wat Aham share a parcel of land on the opposite side of Phou Si from the Royal Palace Museum. The sim of the former was once lavishly decorated but was razed in 1887, and the bulbous, finial-topped stupa, known as that makmo - the Watermelon Stupa - was destroyed as well. The looters made off with many treasures stored within, but what they left behind is now on display in the throne room of the Royal Palace Museum. Wat Visoun's reconstructed sim is an unremarkable mix of Louang Phabang and Vientiane styles, but the Watermelon Stupa is still quite unique. Neighbouring Wat Aham features a delightfully diminutive sim and a couple of mould-blackened that. A small fee is sometimes collected from foreign visitors for access to these monasteries.
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