The Chao Anouvong Park and riverside promenade run for around two kilometres along the Mekong embankment, from roughly the centre of town to the Chao Anouvong statue at the south. Until 2010 this was a muddy strip; the current paved promenade is a Korean-funded project that gave Vientiane its most popular evening gathering place.
From about 4pm the Night Market sets up here — rows of red-roofed tents selling clothes, souvenirs, and tat. Food stalls along the embankment grill chicken, fish, and pork skewers; aerobics classes pulse loud music in the open air. At sunset the river turns gold and the lights of Si Chiang Mai blink on across the water in Thailand. Get a Beer Lao, find a plastic chair, and watch the day end.