This temple’s name is said to come from a donation of 100,000 kip (sene kip) which was used to construct the temple in 1718. Restored in 1957, on the occasion of the 2500th anniversary of the birth of the Buddha, Vat Sene also houses two long boats which are used in the annual Boat Racing Festival. Vat Sene is on the main road of the peninsula across from a school just past the Villa Santi Hotel.

We found two different stories that tried to explain the name. One is that the name refers to the original endowment of 100,000 Kip donated to build the temple in 1718. The second story is that the name refers to the number of lotus blossoms stenciled on the walls of the sim and other pavilions. Both versions seem unlikely.

The temple is sited right on the main road, with its many buildings set on a paved courtyard, although most of the buildings are angled relative to the street so that they face east. The sim is rather nicely proportioned, although when you get up close you will notice that the doors are actually very small, making the whole facade appear bigger than it really is. The sim and all the other buildings are painted an ochre color, with a large lotus blossom motif stenciled in gold.

A small gilded stupa stands next to the sim, right next to the street. In the compound in front of the sim is a small pavilion sheltering a Buddha footprint shrine and another larger open-fronted pavilion housing a standing Buddha image.