At the southern end of the Mekong promenade stands a large bronze statue of Chao Anouvong, the last king of Vientiane, who launched an ill-fated rebellion against Siamese rule in 1828. The Siamese answer was to raze his capital so thoroughly that nothing but Wat Si Saket survived. The statue, unveiled in 2010 to mark Vientiane's 450th anniversary, shows him pointing across the Mekong — and across the modern border with Thailand.
The park around the statue is one of the few green spaces in the city centre. In the early morning it fills with joggers and tai chi groups; in the evening, with food stalls and aerobics classes. It is a good first stop on a walk along the river.