Laos: Buddhist monks performing their daily early morning almsround at Vat Phou (Wat Phu), a ruined Khmer Hindu temple sanctuary (now Buddhist), Champasak Province, southern Laos. Wat Phu was a part of the Khmer empire, centred on Angkor to the southwest, at least as early as the reign of Yashovarman I in the early 10th century. Later, the original buildings were replaced, but some of the original stone blocks were reused. The temple as it stands today was built primarily during the Koh Ker and Baphuon periods of the 11th century.