Vientiane - most relaxed capital ever!
Our overnight bus (which we really did not enjoy too much) was, nevertheless, very well organized and managed to get us all the way into the Capital city of Laos, Vientiane (with only 250 000 inhabitants). Visas are simply picked up at the border and the rest is quite straight forward. Vientiane was really a pleasant surprise in so many ways. For one, it is the most peaceful and relaxed capital city we have yet to visit.
The traffic is minimal, the people are all friendly and softly spoken and the city is well set-up for tourists without being overly touristy. Internet is great and eating options (a lot of them with French influence) even better. Laos is doing well to promote itself as a very decent tourist destination, but we experienced our stay in Vientiane as quite authentic. The city, and indeed most of the country, has not yet developed to the stage where people are used to the tourist industry. No-one hassles you, you get the prices that the locals get without a fight and the customary practices of the people are genuine happenings. We also had opportunity to enjoy some Indian food, of course!
Our first full day in Laos we set aside for our own walking tour of the city. We started our walking tour in the most efficient way - in a tuk-tuk. Our first stop was at the iconic monument of Laos - the giant golden buddhist stupa (a sacred Buddhist monument) called the Pha That Luang. Johan wasn't keen on paying the entrance money to go in, but rather on capturing the perfect profile from outside. The stupa had 4 wats (Buddhist monasteries) built outside it, but only two remain. We took a couple of pics around the one wat, Wat Luang Neua, where we found many Buddha statues "enlightening" under a huge tree and Janine could get up close to a dragon. After a bit of souvenir shopping (Johan found some old Lao and French occupation tender and Janine bought some genuine Lao music) we headed off down the main road to Laos's equivalent of France's Arc de Triomphe - Patuxai (basically the same meaning).
Our first full day in Laos we set aside for our own walking tour of the city. We started our walking tour in the most efficient way - in a tuk-tuk. Our first stop was at the iconic monument of Laos - the giant golden buddhist stupa (a sacred Buddhist monument) called the Pha That Luang. Johan wasn't keen on paying the entrance money to go in, but rather on capturing the perfect profile from outside. The stupa had 4 wats (Buddhist monasteries) built outside it, but only two remain. We took a couple of pics around the one wat, Wat Luang Neua, where we found many Buddha statues "enlightening" under a huge tree and Janine could get up close to a dragon. After a bit of souvenir shopping (Johan found some old Lao and French occupation tender and Janine bought some genuine Lao music) we headed off down the main road to Laos's equivalent of France's Arc de Triomphe - Patuxai (basically the same meaning).
This fascinating monstrosity (the Laos call it that themselves!) was built (although never properly finished) from US purchased cement that was supposed to be used to build the airport (some still refer to it as the vertical runway). From close up you can see all the Lao imagery. Besides that, the concrete benches set up around the monument have each been sponsored by some or other hotel or company in town.
The tourist information center was fantastic. We popped in on the way to the market which had hundreds of stalls selling everything from ornate bottles of alcoholic drinks with snakes and spiders inside, spices, Lao fabrics, yarn and clothing - all the way to electronics, silver, eye wear, cooking utensils and so much more. We picked up a little box carved out of stone.
The tourist information center was fantastic. We popped in on the way to the market which had hundreds of stalls selling everything from ornate bottles of alcoholic drinks with snakes and spiders inside, spices, Lao fabrics, yarn and clothing - all the way to electronics, silver, eye wear, cooking utensils and so much more. We picked up a little box carved out of stone.
After a spicy lunch at a local restaurant we headed on in the general direction of home. We decided to take a quick peak at Vientiane's oldest surviving temple (1818) - Wat Si Saket. The area had ancient temples before, but most were destroyed during invasions and such like. This little building was great - what was especially fascinating was the cloister wall hedging the temple in: each wall has thousands of alcoves holdings Buddha statues of sizes ranging in size from matchbox to Labrador. Total number: 10136 statues!
Janine discovered a beautiful weaving style in Laos. She was very excited to learn of an organization that offers weaving training for tourists. She spent the next day with the women of the organization weaving, drinking mulberry leaf tea and soaking up the peacefulness of their countryside location. While Janine was away weaving Johan hopped on a local bus and headed off to Xieng Khuan (Bhuddha Park) about 24km out of town. This buddha park is just filled with statues of Buddhist and Hindu personalities. Some statues are enormous - there is even a grand pumpkin with 3 levels (representing heaven, earth and hell) which one can climb up into. Johan enjoyed the bizarre display. That evening we ate at the stalls next to the river - very romantic.
The rest of the time in Vientiane was totally relaxing. Internet, French steaks and strolling. All good! (And it was cheap! - Johan)
Culture shocks: In Laos you see Buddhist monks everywhere! Truth is most of these orange guys are just busy with an internship which can even be as short as 2 weeks. The roads are excellent as are the imported cars - but traffic there is none (no hooting either)! French cuisine is widely available - as are baguettes with Laughing Cow cheese :-) People are really hectic about leaving shoes outside and will perform major acrobatics to avoid stepping in certain areas with shoes!
Janine discovered a beautiful weaving style in Laos. She was very excited to learn of an organization that offers weaving training for tourists. She spent the next day with the women of the organization weaving, drinking mulberry leaf tea and soaking up the peacefulness of their countryside location. While Janine was away weaving Johan hopped on a local bus and headed off to Xieng Khuan (Bhuddha Park) about 24km out of town. This buddha park is just filled with statues of Buddhist and Hindu personalities. Some statues are enormous - there is even a grand pumpkin with 3 levels (representing heaven, earth and hell) which one can climb up into. Johan enjoyed the bizarre display. That evening we ate at the stalls next to the river - very romantic.
The rest of the time in Vientiane was totally relaxing. Internet, French steaks and strolling. All good! (And it was cheap! - Johan)
Culture shocks: In Laos you see Buddhist monks everywhere! Truth is most of these orange guys are just busy with an internship which can even be as short as 2 weeks. The roads are excellent as are the imported cars - but traffic there is none (no hooting either)! French cuisine is widely available - as are baguettes with Laughing Cow cheese :-) People are really hectic about leaving shoes outside and will perform major acrobatics to avoid stepping in certain areas with shoes!
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