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On the west bank of the Mekong River, in southern Laos, the ancient ruins of Vat Phou (Wat Phu) sit in tranquil solitude at the base of a mountain. Built between the 5th and 11th centuries this unique Khmer temple complex, and it associated settlement, were inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2001. The only Khmer temple in Laos, Vat Phou is much older than the famous Angkor Wat, and is where it all began.