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The neighbourhood encompassing the section of Xiang Thong Road just north of the former Royal Palace is known to locals as "Ban Jek" or Chinatown , and contains some fine examples of Louang Phabang shop-house architecture, a hybrid of French and Lao features superimposed on the South Chinese style that was once prevalent throughout urban Southeast Asia. A left-turn at the end of the row of shop-houses will take you to Wat Pa Phai , the Bamboo Forest Monastery, whose sim is painted and lavishly embellished with stylized naga and peacocks. Doubling back up to the corner, turn left to continue down Xiang Thong Road as far as Wat Saen , where an ornate boat shed houses the monastery's two longboats , used in the annual boat race festival. Held at the end of the rainy season, the boat races are believed to lure Louang Phabang's fifteen guardian naga back into the rivers after high waters and flooded rice paddies have allowed them to escape. The boathouse is decorated with carved wooden images of these mythical serpents.
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