This somewhat pompous building, with its 1 900 doors and windows, is located in the centre of Pakse. It was meant to have been the palace of Chao (Prince) Boun Oum, the last monarch of the kingdom of Champasak, the most southerly of the three kingdoms in Laos. Started in 1969, its construction came to an abrupt halt in 1975, when Chao Boun Oum had to suddenly leave the country and take exile in France. Restored in 2004, the building has since been converted into a hotel.