About 5km south of town on the Mekong stands the oldest active temple in Champasak, more popularly known as Wat Muang Kang. The intriguing hǎw tąi (Tripitaka library) combines elements of French-colonial and Lao Buddhist architecture. The hǎw tąi 's three-tiered roof has coloured mosaics at the corners, and a small box with coloured crystal windows at the centre of the top roof ridge, reminiscent of Burmese architecture.
Ostensibly these crystal-sided boxes hold Buddha images, but local legend ascribes a more magical purpose to the one atop the hǎw tąi . Supposedly at a certain moment in the annual lunar calendar (most say it's during the Wat Phu Festival), in the middle of the night, a mystic light beam comes from across the river, bounces through the kâew (crystal) and alights atop Sri Lingaparvata, the holy mountain above Wat Phu Champasak.
It's easy enough to reach Wat Muang Kang by bike – head out of town on the riverside road, turn hard left after about 2km when the road takes a big bend to the right, then hug the dirt trail along the Mekong for another 3km or so.
