Today we were up by about 8am so that we could get some sight-seeing done before the heat of the day kicked in. Our first stop was Phu Si, a 100m tall hill in the middle of the city centre and not far from our hotel. At its summit is a 24m gilded stupa called That Chomsi, which is flood-lit at night and can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. We started the long, slow climb from the entrance opposite the Nam Khan river and stopped for regular rests on the way up - definitely not a climb to be doing in the middle of the day. About half-way up, we came to a temple area and saw lots of gold Buddhas around the rocks. We think there was a monastery and a Buddha footprint around this area somewhere but we didn't manage to find either of them. Eventually, we made it to the top and soaked in the amazing views of the city while trying to cool off! We also spotted an anti-aircraft cannon nearby that was left over from the war years - it seemed a bit of a random thing to have there, but there it was! The descent back to town was much easier and we took a route on the opposite side to the way we climbed up so that we would come out opposite the Royal Palace Museum (Ho Kham) which was our next stop.

The former Royal Palace (the monarchy was abolished in Laos in 1975) was built in 1904 and was the main residence of King Sisavangvong until 1959 - now he's got the road outside named after him! We paid our 30,000kip entrance fee and headed first into the magnificent temple in the grounds. Inside, the walls were covered in gold leaf and Laos scenes had been carved into the walls. In the centre of the room was a 16-man gilt palanquin (a bit like a throne) which is used to carry the Pha Bang, a gold-alloy Buddha during the parade through town every year as part of the Laos New Year celebrations. An impressive start to our visit - now to the main palace.

As always, we had to leave our shoes and this time our bags behind and we headed into the entry hall. The first room was the King's reception room, where the walls are covered in scenes from a typical day in Laos, going from dawn to nightfall, around the room; it was very clever that they were arranged so that the light from outside would fall on each section at the right time of day. Next, was the grand throne room with deep red walls and more mosaics. At each side of the room were Buddha statues that had been rescued from destroyed temples during the Siamese invasion. Lastly, we saw the family's residential areas which were quite plain compared to the rest of the palace and have been left pretty much the same since the King left in 1975. Outside, in a separate building we also visited the Royal collection of cars (only 5 of them) which were massive 1960s American Fords (I want one!).

After the Palace we found a fantastic French café where we had baguettes and read the papers - very nice! Then we had a quick walk to the Mekong and along the riverbank for a while - it's huge, misty and very impressive. Then it was back to the guesthouse for a lazy afternoon watching 'The Other Boleyn Girl' on the laptop and snoozing.

In the evening, we went back to the handicraft and food markets and tried to find a bar we'd read about called Ancient House along the Mekong waterfront. When we eventually did find it, it turns out it's called Antique House, and was dead! So we tried another one from the guide book called Utopia, which was hidden away down a maze of alleys. It was another garden bar/restaurant, filled with cushions, gardens, palm trees and statues - very relaxing and a good way to end the day. We also got talking to a lad we spotted wearing a Boro top - the first we've seen on the whole trip! Turns out he's from Stockton and is travelling for 4 months through South East Aisa - nice to chat to someone from the homeland!