We climbed some steep stairs up to Mount Phousi for sunset. We saw many Buddha statues and shrines on our way up. There was a group of teenage monks applying cement onto a new brick wall. They were really half playing and half working with no real technique. A man who was watching them offered to show them how to do it. The monks retreated one by one and soon, that guy was the only one left working. Kids!

We reached the top about 90 minutes before the expected sunset time of 6:33 pm. There were over twenty people there; about five of them were seated in the area designated for sunset viewing. A couple was seated on the cliff behind the most iconic spot where everyone would want a photo. My immediate thought was if these two stay there until after sunset, there’ll be many people disappointed because these two will mess up all their photos.

More and more people showed up. I saw people nudging this couple to get out of their photos by offering them a way to get down, but they stayed put. Some were quite annoyed with them. About an hour in, a tour group arrived and everyone in the group started queuing for a photo at that spot. A man, probably the tour guide, asked the couple if they could come down so that they’re not in all their photos. The guy said, No, we’re here to enjoy the sunset.” The girl added, “No, we can’t come down. We’re here for the sunset!” Assholes.

The sunset was not very vibrant and most people, including that couple, left before the sun has completely set. We came down the hill a different way, walked through the night market and went for Mexican food.

Map of Places Visited