1926—Champasak Town, Champasak, Laos. - Dated Buildings and Cornerstones on Waymarking.com

Champasak town is a small town, 30kms to the south of the provincial capital city of Pakse. The province is named after this town, rather than the provincial capital as in years gone by Champasak city was an independent kingdom. The town of Champasak is now a quiet backwater, with a dozen or so guesthouses and a sleepy, but pleasant lethargy, nestled on the shores of the Mekong River. Its one claim to fame, and the major tourist attraction in the region, is the World Heritage Site of Wat Phu.

On the northern side of the town, on the road leading out of the town is this house. It is clearly the best house in the town, and is in the French colonial era design. In appearance it seems to be a residence, but I would expect it was constructed as a government building, possibly related to the river trade? There is a guard post (unstaffed) outside the gated entrance to the house.

Above the doorway is the date of 1926. One would assume this to be the date the house was completed. There is also a word 'Chadratsadanay' in the Latin script, and above this, a phrase in Laotian. All in all, I have no idea what this means. There are few fluent English speakers in this small town, thus no one I could question. The building showed signs of occupancy, and the front gate was closed.

This was a surprise find. For whatever reason there are few dated buildings in the former French colonial regions of south east Asia. This is one of the few. One wonders what stories this residence could tell.

Year of construction: 1926 Full inscription: Chadratsadanay 1926 Cross-listed waymark: Not listed

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