These two wats are situated very close together and share the oldest archway in Luang Prabang. I show two pictures of it where you may wonder how on earth it is still standing, which is understandable considering that it was built in 1504.
Wat Thakmo is described in Ancient Luang Prabang as displaying Sinhalese influence. Having recently traveled to Sri Lanka, I can only say at this time that I look forward to studying this comparison further. It is different than the rest of the wats we visited in Luang Prabang. It is referred to as the Watermelon stupa because of watermelon shaped dome.
If you step down over the wall next to the two very tall palm trees on the grounds of Wat Thakmo, you are at the more recently renovated Wat Aham, with its red-lipped, stuccio lions guarding the entrance stairs and Ramayana deities stationed at the front corners of the building.
We were there at lunchtime where we got to see a food vendor serving lunch to monks at the site.
