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Champasak is now a quiet, dusty, one-horse town in the south of Laos. But only 30 years ago it was the seat of the Lao royal family. It's known mainly as the jumping off point for the Wat Phu temple complex just south of here.

We arrived here by boat from Pakse, but there is a new paved road which is how most people get here if they're pressed for time. We weren't.